Connect IV

Written by Alessio on 1/15/2025

Born from a boring university assignment, Connect IV is a return to basics. No gigabyte graphics engines, just a black screen, colored text, and nostalgia.

The Concept

Forget 3D graphics for a moment. In this project, the TUI (Text User Interface) rules supreme, powered by ncurses. It adopts an archaeological approach where every cursor movement is handled manually, stripping away modern abstractions to focus on raw logic.

The Tech: Minimax

The core is the AI based on Minimax. A ruthless algorithm calculating thousands of future moves. No neural networks, just pure math maximizing the machine's victory.

The Challenge

It proves fun only needs well-written C code and logic. Download it, compile it, and try to beat the computer. It's free, open source, and harder than it looks.

And as Linus Torvalds would say: "talk is cheap"; so here is the code:

https://github.com/kairosci/connect-iv