What is 5-in-a-Row?
5-in-a-Row is a published version of the game played to five in a row. The standard grid of 7 columns and 6 rows gets an extra column on each side, making it 9 columns wide, and both extra columns start full of discs, red and yellow alternating. In this version each row has one red and one yellow disc at its two edges. These slider discs stand for discs that have already been played: nobody drops into the outer columns, but their discs count toward lines of their colour.
You play in the seven middle columns exactly as in the standard game, and the first player to get five of their discs in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins. Four in a row is not enough.
The longer line changes the game. Threats take longer to build, a vertical five needs five of your own discs stacked in one column, and the filled edge columns can finish a horizontal or diagonal line at the side of the board. Because the outer columns already hold 12 discs, the open part of the grid is still 42 spaces, so a game lasts at most 42 drops, as in the standard game.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Four in a Row | 5-in-a-Row |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Standard Four in a Row7 columns × 6 rows. | 5-in-a-Row9 columns × 6 rows: the standard grid with one extra column on each side. |
| Starting position | Standard Four in a RowThe grid starts empty. | 5-in-a-RowBoth outer columns start full, red and yellow alternating, with one disc of each colour at the ends of every row. Their discs count toward lines. |
| How to win | Standard Four in a RowFour of your discs in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally. | 5-in-a-RowFive of your discs in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Four in a row wins nothing. |
| Legal moves | Standard Four in a RowDrop a disc into any column that is not full. | 5-in-a-RowDrop a disc into any of the seven middle columns that is not full. The outer columns take no discs. |
| End of the game | Standard Four in a RowAt most 42 drops. A full grid without a four is a draw. | 5-in-a-RowStill at most 42 drops. A full grid without a five is a draw. |
History
5-in-a-Row comes from a rule sheet from 2009 for a set of the game that describes five games: the original game, PopOut, Pop 10, 5-in-a-Row and Power Up. The set included two cardboard sliders, used only in 5-in-a-Row, that attach to the sides of the grid. The rules say the game plays like the original except that you need five checkers in a row, and that the checkers on the sliders represent checkers that have already been played.
Because the two sliders hold 12 discs, the game is still a 42-move game, like the classic one, even though the board is wider. The same rule sheet suggests combining its games, for example PopOut and 5-in-a-Row, and here you can turn on Pop Out with 5-in-a-Row in the table setup; the slider discs can never be popped.