2048

About 2048

2048 is a sliding number puzzle played on a 4 × 4 grid. Every move pushes all the tiles as far as they can go in one direction. When two tiles with the same number bump into each other, they merge into a single tile worth their total: two 2s make a 4, two 4s make an 8, and so on, doubling each time. The goal is to build a tile showing 2048.

The game was made by Italian developer Gabriele Cirulli in March 2014 as a weekend project. It was inspired by two earlier tile games, Threes! and 1024, and its code was published as open source. Within days it was being played by millions of people, and countless versions have appeared since. This version is built for phones first, with smooth swipes, an undo button and your progress saved after every move.

How scoring works

You score points only when tiles merge. The points you get equal the value of the new tile. Merging two 8s into a 16 gives you 16 points, and merging two 1024s into a 2048 gives you 2,048 points. Reaching the 2048 tile usually means a score of around 20,000. You can keep playing after you reach 2048 to chase 4096 and beyond.

After every move a new tile appears in a random empty square. Nine times out of ten it is a 2, and the rest of the time it is a 4. The game ends when the board is full and no two neighbouring tiles match.

Quick tips

• Pick a corner and keep your biggest tile there. Most strong players choose a bottom corner and almost never move away from it.
• Use mostly two directions. If your corner is bottom left, swipe left and down most of the time. Use right when you must, and up only as a last resort.
• Build a chain. Line up tiles along the edge in falling order, like 512, 256, 128, 64. Merges then roll along the row into your big tile.
• Don't chase every merge. A merge that pulls your biggest tile out of its corner usually costs more than it gives.
• Use undo to learn. If a move goes badly, undo it and think about what the board looked like before.

Want the full strategy? Read How to win at 2048.