Connect Four (Microvision)

Connect Four

Microvision - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Milton Bradley Electronics Publisher Milton Bradley Electronics Published 1979-11-?? Platforms Microvision Genres Connection, Single-screen, Strategy Series Connect Four Multiplayer Alternating versus Distribution Commercial

Connect Four is a strategy video game developed and published by Milton Bradley for the Microvision in 1979. It is a video game adaption of the 1974 game, Connect Four and was a launch title for the Microvision.

For their first and only video game console, Milton Bradley exercised their trademark on the game to produce this adaption which was only the second official video game adaption of Connect Four, the first was released on the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A a couple months earlier. This version features two-player mode or one-player against an AI with two levels of difficulty.

Personal

Own?	Yes. Complete in box.
Won?	Yes. Level 2 difficulty each player starting first.
Finished	2024-10-28.

I bought a boxed Microvision with several games from a local seller who was getting rid of his collection. Predicting this game would have an AI I could beat, it was the first I tried to beat. It took me several attempts, but I eventually beat it on hard difficulty, then, after learning you could let the CPU play first, I beat it again that way.

Review

2	3	2	1	4

Best Version: Microvision

Good

• The game has a decent AI for 1979. It will beat amateur players, but isn't so perfect that a good player can't beat it. The game wasn't solved until 1988, so a perfect AI wouldn't have been possible at the time anyway.

Bad

• Having to use an analog dial for control isn't very accommodating.
• The game is programmed to have an almost entirely predicable artificial intelligence. Because of this, as long as you have a good memory, you can replay the same game with minor variations each time until you memorize the moves which result in victory.

Ugly

• The game is just Connect Four. While it does have an AI, which would have been impressive for the time, it doesn't feature any other play modes. Instead of spending the equivalent of hundreds of dollars, you could just buy Connect Four and play against a person.
• While the graphics are passable, the limited 16x16 screen resolution doesn't leave much room for creativity. One player has all black square checkers, the other has half black half white square checkers. The overlay could have made them look like circles.
• The audio is quite bad and quickly becomes annoying.

Media

Box Art

• 

  Cover - USA.

• 

  Vector art I made from the box logo. Typefaces used are Geometr 231 Heavy and Futura Light.

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  Cover - France.

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  Cover - Germany.

Game Media

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  Cartridge - USA.

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  Overlay - USA.

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  Cartridge - France.

Documentation

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  Manual - USA. This scan doesn't have color.

Screenshots

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  Starting a new game.

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  Playing against the hard AI.

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  Victory!

Videos

Longplay - Easy difficulty.

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are no characters.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no characters.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no characters.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English (UK)	Connect 4
English (USA)	Connect Four
French	Puissance 4	Puissance 4	Connect 4
German	Vier op'n Rij	Vier op'n Rij	Four in a Row
Italian	Forza 4	Forza 4	Force 4

Links