Connect Four on 6 high, 7 wide grid, there are 4,531,985,219,092 positions for all game boards populated with 0 to 42 pieces. The game was first solved by James Dow Allen (October 1, 1988), and independently by Victor Allis (October 16, 1988). Allis describes a knowledge-based approach, with nine strategies, as a solution for Connect Four. Allen also describes winning strategies in his analysis of the game. At the time of the initial solutions for Connect Four, brute-force analysis was not deemed feasible given the game's complexity and the computer technology available at the time. Connect Four has since been solved with
How (video game) 29, 2012, with an update with several bugfixes and a few more levels coming two weeks later. Many players have reflected their frustration at the punishing difficulty of the game. One of the most repeated complaints is the fact that when the player dies he loses all progress in the game, no matter how many levels he has cleared. To this, Michael Jensen replied back in his blog that the game allows players to tackle each level in whatever order they want, and that players should use that to their advantage, finishing first those levels they are most likely to