Does five in a row win in Four in a Row?
Yes. Any line of four or more of your discs wins, so a disc that joins two groups into five or six in a row ends the game just as a line of exactly four would.
There’s no “exactly four” rule. Whenever a disc you drop makes a line of at least four of your colour, in any direction, you win.
Example
Coral has discs in columns 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the bottom row, with column 3 still empty. Dropping a disc into column 3 joins the two pairs into a line of five across the bottom, and Coral wins on the spot.
This makes the gap in a broken line a powerful square: it can complete two groups at once. A move that creates two different winning squares at the same time is the classic way to win, as the strategy guide explains.
Lines count in every direction, including diagonals: see do diagonals count.
For practical play beyond this rule, read How to Win at Four in a Row.
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