Four in a Row — Rules

Drawn opening

A 7×6 board, four in a row, a two-game match, unrated. The first 3 moves of a game are made not by a player but by lot: the opening is drawn from a set of openings that the solver rates as equal. In the move list these moves are marked "drawn opening".

Both games of the match are played with the same opening, with colours swapped. Strong players cannot steer the game into a memorised start, and each gets the benefit of the opening once — like three-move ballot in checkers.