Like most strategic board games, Chess, Checkers, Go etc, there are tactics that can give a player an edge.
To win at 4tec a player needs to the be first to get 4 counters in a straight line. There are 64 positions for a counter to be placed on from the start, with the number of available positions reducing with each successive move made by the players. 16 of these positions have the possibility to connect in 7 different directions, while the other 48 positions can only connect in 4 directions.
It follows therefore that in the early stages of play a player should try to place counters on one of the 16 positions that connect in 7 directions as opposed to any of the other 48 positions.
Referring to the diagram, you can see these 16 positions comprise of the 8 corners and the 8 centre-most positions. If you start by taking a corner position you will be pursuing an “outer” strategy – so you will be following your corner move with another corner move rather than following a corner move with an inner move.
Similarly, if you start on one of the inner 8 positions, you should follow with an inner move to build your options from the centre.
These strategic tips only apply to the start of any game. After a couple of moves by each player the subsequent moves tend to be dominated by your opponent’s moves rather than just what you would like to do yourself.