connecting over connect four

Of course I wanted to win. But that doesn't mean victory was my only reason for playing. Far from it, actually. My main motivation was to try and guess her moves before she made them.

Sometimes it was simple - the mere dropping of a piece to cut me off at three in a row. Other times it was a little harder. Was she trying to set up the diagonal on the left side of the board or would she continue building her verticals on the right?

The real challenge came in looking ahead two moves or more. Why did she just drop that piece there? What was she trying to do? Was she setting up an unblockable foursome that I didn't see? Blocking my potential win before I could close the deal?

It was tough at first. I was wrong more often than I was right. As time wore on and more games were played, my percentages went up. My guesses were less random. More accurate. It was rewarding, sure, but it was more of a comfort than anything else.

Even though I couldn't figure out what she was thinking about me, at least I could know what she was thinking about the game.