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One Quick Try

2048

Slide the tiles, join equal numbers and try to make a 2048 tile.

Type
Logic
Takes
about 5-15 min
Result in
best tile

2048

~5-15 min

  1. Slide every tile with the arrow keys or a swipe. Two equal tiles that meet join into one.
  2. Each join adds the new tile to your score. After every move a 2 or a 4 appears.
  3. Make a 2048 tile. The game ends when no move is left.

Keyboard: arrows or W A S D.

Your result: — tile

How it's measured

Try another challenge

  • Sliding Puzzle

    Slide the tiles back into order.~2-5 min

  • Minesweeper

    Clear the board without setting off a mine.~2-10 min

  • Sudoku

    Fill the grid so every row, column and box has 1 to 9.~5-20 min

  • Tower of Hanoi

    Move every disk in the fewest moves.~1-5 min

  • Make 24

    Use all four numbers to make 24.~2-4 min

  • Lights Out

    Turn off every light. Each press flips its neighbors.~1-3 min

How do you play 2048?

The board is 4 × 4. Press an arrow key, or swipe, and every tile slides as far as it can that way. When two tiles with the same number meet, they join into one tile worth their sum: two 8s make 16. After every move that changes the board, a new tile appears on an empty square: a 2, or a 4 about one time in 10. Make a 2048 tile to win; you can keep going for a bigger one, and the game ends when no move is left.

A tile made by joining can't join again in the same move, so a row of 2, 2, 2, 2 slid left becomes 4, 4, not 8. Each join adds the new tile's value to your score.

What does your 2048 result show?

Your result is the best tile you made. Next to it are your score (the total of every tile made by joining, the original game's rule), the number of moves and the time. A move that changes nothing isn't counted.

What is the best strategy for 2048?

  • Keep your biggest tile in a corner. Choose one, say bottom left, and use mostly two directions (down and left) so it never has to leave.
  • Build a chain along the edge. Keep the tiles beside the corner in falling order, 256, 128, 64, so each join feeds the next.
  • Use the third direction only when stuck, and avoid the fourth: it pulls the big tile out of its corner, and a 2 can land behind it.
  • Join small tiles early. Scattered 2s and 4s fill the board and leave no room to move.

What is the highest tile possible?

131,072, which is 2 to the power 17. To make it you need two tiles of half that, and the second has to be built from a chain of every smaller tile down to two 4s, one on each of the 16 squares. The board is then full, so the last 4 must arrive as a new tile, which happens only one time in 10.

Who made 2048?

Gabriele Cirulli, who released it in March 2014 as an open-source web game. It was based on an earlier game called 1024 and inspired by Threes!, released the month before. This version is written for this site, with the original's rules. For another sliding puzzle, try the Sliding Puzzle; for squares you clear by reasoning, Minesweeper.

Questions

Is 2048 always winnable?
No. The new tiles appear in random places, so even careful play can be boxed in. Keeping to a corner strategy makes it far less likely.
What happens after 2048?
You can keep playing for a bigger tile, or stop and see your result. The game ends when no move is left.
How is the score worked out?
Every time two tiles join, the new tile's value is added: joining two 64s adds 128. New tiles add nothing.
Can I play 2048 on a phone?
Yes: swipe on the board in the direction you want the tiles to slide.
Is there an undo?
No. Like the original, every move stands.