Connect 5 Java Game

Connect-Five is a strategic two-player board game similar to tic-tac-toe, featuring an 8-column by 7-row vertical board. Players take turns placing colored pieces (typically black and red) with the goal of being the first to align five pieces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

The AI opponent uses the minimax algorithm with alpha-beta pruning and plays at multiple difficulty levels. Pieces drop to the lowest available position in each column, so players have to think several moves ahead.

The game is built with Java and Swing, with a custom GUI for board rendering and piece animations.