How to play Five in a Row: strategy

Five in a Row is quick to learn and quick to lose. The key ideas are all about threats: making them, spotting them and stopping them.

The rules

Players take turns placing a stone on an empty point of a 15×15 board. Gold goes first. The first to get five or more stones in an unbroken line, across, down or diagonally, wins.

Threes and fours

• Open four: four in a row with both ends empty. It can’t be blocked: you win next turn.
• Four: four in a row with one end open. Your opponent must block it now.
• Open three: three in a row with both ends open. If it’s not blocked, it becomes an open four.

Block open threes immediately

Most beginner losses come from missing an open three. Each turn, scan for your opponent’s lines of three with space on both sides, and block one end.

Double threats win

A move that makes two threats at once, such as two open threes or a four and an open three, can’t be stopped with one stone. Look for spots where two of your lines cross.

Play compactly

Stones close together create many possible lines. Spread-out stones are easy to block one at a time.

The first-player advantage

On an open board, the first player has a strong advantage. That’s why you move first against the computer, and why expert tournaments use extra opening rules.