Want to rent Connect 4? Click the button above to find a rental location

The Origin of Connect Four

It seems that for as long as humans have been playing games, they have been racing to see who could line things up the fastest. There is evidence of alignment games being played as far back as 3500 years ago in ancient Egypt. These games were scratched into simple boards, and likely the dirt before that, where pieces would be placed in an effort to get three in a row before their opponent. These games were similar to Tic Tac Toe although boards would get more elaborate at times. 

Fast forward a few thousand years and while Captain James Cook was sailing around the world, he was spending much of his down time playing an early version of connect four. It is said that he spent hours playing this game in which round wooden balls were dropped into slots on a wooden game board. There had been games with a similar premise brought to market such as In-A Row, where game pieces were stacked, and Qubic, where the board had four levels, but national notoriety had not yet been gained.

It was in 1974 when Milton Bradley brought the plastic version of Connect Four to the masses creating a cultural phenomenon. The story of who invented Connect 4 is a very interesting one, and it seems to have been a co-op of two inventors – a team headed by Ned Strongin and an associate toy designer Howard Wexler. Milton Bradly was eventually bought out by Hasbro who continues to sell the game.

Being humans, settling for a little plastic game clearly would not do. Now this game we all loved as kids can be played in a giant version. Regularly seen at breweries around the country the game has begun to show up in people’s back yards bringing children and adults together to compete in this giant game. The game that is easy to play yet hard to master has the same rules the board game version. Simply outthink your opponent as your try to get your own pieces in a row while blocking your opponent.

If having Giant Connect Four at your next gathering is a must, but storing a giant game seems like a burden, we have you covered. Rent the game here and hours of family fun will be headed your way.

Get a Quote

We're happy you found us! We enjoy providing yard game rentals to families, businesses and communities across the US. Please select your location from the dropdown below.

Tony Moceri is a Bellingham, WA based writer, entrepreneur and the proprietor of Yard Game Nation. Read more from Tony at https://tonymoceri.com/