4 Colour

A two-handed shedding card game: match the colour or the number, empty your hand first

2 player, one device
cards
party
2 player

▶ Play 4 Colour Loads here in the page. No download, no account.

Prefer it full screen? Open 4 Colour on its own.

About 4 Colour

4 Colour is a head-to-head take on the shedding card game — one deck, seven cards each, a discard pile you have to answer by colour or by number. It was built in-house for this site and cut down to what actually works with exactly two players: four colours, numbers nought to nine, and three action cards that all land on the person opposite you.

Because it is a duel rather than a table of five, the arithmetic is tighter than you would expect. There is no direction to reverse and nobody to pass a problem along to, so every card you play hits one specific person, and every card you draw is one you must find a home for yourself. A bad colour is not something you can wait out while four other people take turns — it is on you immediately.

Rounds run a couple of minutes. Take on the computer, or pass one phone back and forth with a cover screen in between so neither of you catches a glimpse of the other hand.

What is different about this version

There are no wild cards and no colour changes anywhere in this deck. Every card belongs to one of four colours, so you can never rescue a dead hand by declaring a new colour — you hold a bridge or you draw. That single omission changes the texture of the whole game: colour control becomes the real contest rather than something wilds paper over. Skip is redefined for two players as well. Instead of passing a turn to nobody, it hands you a second turn straight away, so two Skips in the right colour make a small combo. The deck runs one nought and two of every other number per colour, plus four each of +1, +3 and Skip.

How to play 4 Colour

You each start with seven cards and the pile is turned up on a number.
Play any card matching the top card's colour or its number.
A +1 or +3 makes your opponent draw; a Skip gives you another turn immediately.
With nothing playable, tap the deck to draw one card. That ends your turn.
Empty your hand to take the round. Your last card is announced for you.

Controls

Desktop	Click a playable card to play it, or click the deck to draw.
Phone or tablet	Tap a card to play, tap the deck to draw, tap the cover screen when the phone reaches the right person.
Players	One or two people on the same device. Nothing here plays over the internet.

Strategy

Colour is everything, because nothing in the deck changes it for free. Take rough stock as the round opens: five blues and two reds means your job for the next few turns is keeping the pile violet, and every number you play should be chosen for the colour it protects rather than the card it sheds. What lets you cross between colours is a number you hold twice over — a pink seven answers a violet seven — so treat duplicate numbers as bridges and do not spend them casually.

Skip is the most undervalued card here. A second turn does not merely deny your opponent a play; it lets you drop two cards running, which is how you turn an awkward colour into a comfortable one without handing back control. Holding a Skip and a card that would leave the pile somewhere you cannot follow? Play the Skip first and fix it on your own time.

The draw cards are worth far more late than early. A +3 against an eight-card hand is an inconvenience; the same card against a two-card hand undoes a whole round of shedding. The counter at the top shows how many cards your opponent holds — two or three is when you cash in. Holding both, lead with the +1 and keep the +3 for the card that would otherwise have won them the round.

Mistakes that cost you the game

Dumping high numbers early because they look expensive. Face value scores nothing here; having a card in every colour is what matters.
Playing your last pink just to be rid of it, then spending three turns drawing because the pile stayed pink.
Sitting on a +3 until the round ends. An unplayed action card did nothing at all.

Tips

Watch what your opponent draws on. Two draws on teal means teal is where they are thin.
Check that your final two cards can follow each other. Same colour is safe.
The discard is reshuffled when the draw pile empties, so the cards you counted on come back.
The computer plays the first legal card it finds rather than the cleverest one.

Questions about 4 Colour

Is there a wild card or a colour picker?

No. Every card has a fixed colour, so the only way to shift the pile is a card matching by number.

What if I draw a card I could have played?

Drawing ends your turn regardless. Play it next time if the pile still suits it.

Do I have to press anything on my last card?

No. One card left is announced automatically — a warning to your opponent, not a trap for you.

Does Skip block a turn or give me an extra one?

It is built as an extra turn: the pile stays put and you play again.

How do two of us play on one phone?

Switch to the two-player setting. A cover screen appears between turns so the phone can change hands safely.

Is anything carried between rounds?

A tally of rounds won by each side, cleared when you start a fresh match.

Does it cost anything?

No. 4 Colour is free to play, runs in your browser, and needs no download, install or account.

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