Connect Four Game

A classic Connect Four game implementation with both text-based and graphical interfaces. The game lets you play against a computer AI that uses various strategies to make its moves.

Features

• Play Connect Four against the computer
• Both text-based and SDL graphical interfaces
• Computer AI with strategic moves
• Modular C code for easy maintenance and extension

Prerequisites

To build the SDL version, you'll need:

• C compiler (gcc or clang)
• SDL2 library
• SDL2_ttf library

Installing Dependencies

On Windows:

• Download and install MinGW with SDL2 and SDL2_ttf libraries

Text-based Version

• Follow the on-screen instructions
• Choose a column (0-6) to drop your piece
• Try to connect four of your pieces in a row, column, or diagonal before the computer does

SDL Graphical Version

• Click on a column to drop your piece
• You can also use number keys 0-6 to select columns
• Press ESC to exit the game
• Click anywhere after a game ends to start a new game

Game Controls

• Mouse Click: Drop a piece in the selected column
• Number Keys (0-6): Drop a piece in the corresponding column
• ESC: Exit the game

Code Structure

• main.c: Entry point for text-based game
• sdl_ui.c: SDL-based graphical interface
• board.c/h: Board representation and operations
• game.c/h: Game logic and win detection
• ai.c/h: Computer AI strategy

Extending the Game

You can modify the game in various ways:

• Adjust board dimensions in board.h
• Add new AI strategies in ai.c
• Future ideas could include: multiplayer, difficulty levels, sound effects

License

This project is released under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• Original code by Nikolaos Rotas
• SDL2 library: https://www.libsdl.org/
• SDL2_ttf library: https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL_ttf