Renju VCF
Forced-win puzzles by continuous fours (VCF): every attacking move makes a four, the opponent must block, and you finish with five in a row. Each answer is exhaustively verified.
By number of attacking moves
Latest problems
⚫ How to Win at Gomoku: Fours, Threes & Four-Three
Fours, threes, four-three, and VCF — explained with diagrams. New to renju/VCF? Start here.
How to Win at Gomoku: Fours, Threes & Four-Three →🚩 Renju VCF: First Steps
New to VCF (a forced four-in-a-row chase)? Work through these 12 in order — six 3-move wins, then six 5-move. Find the winning first move; solved ones get a ✓.
First Steps →⏱ Renju VCF Speed Run
How many can you win in 90 seconds? Find the winning first move, fast. No hints — your best score is saved on this device.
🖨 Renju VCF Worksheets (PDF)
Generate free printable renju VCF (continuous-fours) problems as PDF — for clubs, classrooms, or screen-free practice. Answers (winning first move + line) go on a separate page.
Print worksheets →📖 Related reading
- Gomoku & Renju Glossary — Fours, Open Fours, the Four-Three, VCF, and the Forbidden MovesA beginner-friendly glossary of the words that come up most in gomoku and renju: three, four, open four, four-three, VCF (continuous fours), and the forbidden moves (double-three, double-four, overline). Knowing them makes the VCF puzzles and explanations much easier to follow.
- Renju Forbidden Moves: Double-Three, Double-Four, and Overline (and Why Only Black)The biggest difference between free gomoku and Renju is the forbidden moves. In Renju, only Black may not play a double-three, double-four, or overline. The three rules, why they apply to Black alone, and the 'making five wins' exception.
- How to Defend at Gomoku: Block the Four, Deny the Double ThreatGomoku isn't won by attacking alone. A priority-ordered guide to defense: blocking fours, stopping an open three before it becomes an open four, denying double threats (four-three, double-three, double-four), counter-attacking, and Renju defense.
- How to Win at Gomoku (Five in a Row): Threes, Fours, and the Four-ThreeThe basics that win free-style gomoku: forcing with threes and fours, the unstoppable open four and four-three, watching the opponent's threats, and how Renju differs.
- Gomoku & Renju VCF: Winning with a Continuous Four-ChaseVCF (Victory by Continuous Fours) is a forced win — every move makes a four, your opponent must block, and you chain fours into five. How to read it, plus Renju's forbidden moves.
How to play & strategy
What is VCF?
VCF stands for “Victory by Continuous Fours.” Black wins by making a four on every single move. A four is a line of four of your stones with an open end that threatens five — your opponent has to block it, which means they never get a free move. Chain enough fours together and you finish with five in a row.
Find the move that starts it
Each puzzle asks for the first move of the forced sequence. Look for a move that makes a four (or a stronger double threat), assume your opponent blocks, and check whether the position gives you another four — and another — until five is unavoidable.
Threats that can’t all be blocked
A “four-three” (a four plus an open three) or a double four creates two winning threats at once. Your opponent can only answer one of them, so these shapes are how a continuous-fours attack finishes.
Gomoku and renju
These problems are pure four-chains and don’t impose renju’s forbidden-move rules (no 3-3, 4-4, or overline restrictions on the attacker), so the winning lines work for both free gomoku and renju.
What exactly counts as a “four”?
Four of your stones in a line with at least one open extension to five. Your opponent must block it immediately, or you win on the next move.
Does the opponent get any choice?
No. Because every Black move is a four, White’s reply is forced each time. That is what makes a VCF a guaranteed, readable win.