Life-Sized Connect-4 Game

Whether you are in summer or back to school, here’s a great game to play with a large group of 42 or more students.  The best part is that the instructions should be short as many students have played the classic table game and will enjoy getting to become the playing pieces!

Set up a grid of 42 squares that is 7 wide and 6 tall.

• If you are outside, you can use chalk in a parking lot or spray paint on grass.
• If you are inside, gaff tape is the easiest to remove from carpet, although pricey.

Designate one side as “Top” and one as “Bottom”.

Divide your students into two teams.

• If you have old t-shirts or have an event or camp going on, have half the students wear one color while the other half wear a different color
• Use athletic wrist sweatbands of two different colors
• Get large sheets of two different colored cardstock or construction paper

Each team lines up in a single-file line on opposite sides of the grid.

When you say, “Go,” one team has their first  player go across the top to a column of their choosing.

Once they enter a column, just like in the table game, they must proceed all the way to the “bottom” square in that column.

Then the opposing team does the exact same thing, choosing any column they want.

Just like in the table game, once players pick a column, they must go straight down to the lowest square in that column.

First team to line up four players across, vertical or diagonal wins!

You’ll have a blast as teammates cheer on their player hoping to get the best spot to connect four players.

*Tip: If you are able to have someone looking down from a balcony, ladder, lift or drone camera, that can make it much easier to keep track of how the game is going.