Drop Four

Drop Four is a cozy 3D take on four in a row. A chunky wooden frame stands on a little picnic table, chips drop and clack into place, and across the table sits your rival: a small clay critter who thinks, cheers and sulks. There are eleven species, from bunnies and hedgehogs to otters, owls and penguins. Take turns dropping chips and be the first to line up four across, up and down or on a slant.

The campaign has 120 levels in eight worlds of fifteen. Levels are either matches against named critters or puzzles in which you must find a forced win in a set number of moves while your rival defends perfectly. Each world ends with a best-of-three boss match where the first move swaps every round. Rivals start out gentle and grow sharper across the campaign; some think many moves ahead and set traps that open two threats at once.

Each world adds a rule. In Pebble Orchard, stones in some columns give the board hills and valleys. Lily Pond uses wider boards, and the widest asks for five in a row. At Lantern Market a chip in a golden hole counts for both players. Frost Peak wraps lines around from the right edge to the left. Harbor Nights adds a move clock, and if it runs out a random column is played for you. In Cloud Garden you may pull one of your own chips out of the bottom row instead of dropping, and everything above slides down. Star Observatory mixes every rule against the strongest rivals.

A match earns one star for winning, one for winning within the move target (or, in a boss match, without losing a round), and one for not using a hint. Puzzles give three stars on the first try, two on the second and one after that. Some tips: before every drop, check whether your rival can win on the next move. Golden holes can finish your rival's line as easily as yours. On wrap-around boards, look across the edges, where lines are easy to miss. In pop-out games, think about what slides down when a bottom chip leaves.

Coins buy chip sets such as Marble, Galaxy and Gold & Silver, and frames in woods and paints. A daily puzzle pays coins once a day and keeps a streak, and the Two players mode lets two people share one screen, first to three rounds, with any rule they have unlocked.

Single matches and puzzles make it easy to play in short sittings. It plays with mouse, touch or keyboard in portrait or landscape.

Pick a column and drop your chip; it falls to the lowest free spot. Four in a row across, down or diagonally wins. You earn up to three stars per level for winning quickly and without hints.

Coins buy new chip sets and frames, and a fresh puzzle waits every day.