2048

2048 is the merge puzzle that turned into a genre: slide every tile in one direction, equal numbers fuse into their sum, and a new 2 or 4 appears. The rules take ten seconds to learn and the 2048 tile takes a lot longer. This is a faithful implementation of the original rules, tuned for thumb swipes instead of a keyboard.

How to play 2048

1. Swipe left, right, up or down. Every tile on the board slides as far as it can in that direction.
2. Two tiles with the same number merge into one tile worth double. New tiles appear after every move that changes the board.
3. Keep merging upwards: 2 → 4 → 8 → … → 2048. Reaching 2048 wins, and you can keep playing for a higher score.
4. The game ends when the board is full and no two neighbouring tiles match.

Strategy tips

Pick one corner and never move your biggest tile out of it. The standard method is to keep the largest tile in a bottom corner and only ever swipe in two directions, so the row holding it never gets pulled apart. Merges inside a single swipe only happen once per tile, so swiping quickly does not double-merge — plan the whole board before moving, not after.

Why play it here

Runs entirely in your browser with no ads between moves, keeps your best score locally, and scales the 4×4 grid to your screen so the tiles stay legible on a small phone.

Questions

How do you win 2048?

By merging tiles until one tile shows 2048. The theoretical maximum on a 4×4 board is 131,072, but practical games end somewhere between 2048 and 8192.

What is the best strategy for 2048?

Corner strategy: lock your biggest tile in one corner, keep a descending line of tiles next to it, and avoid moving in the direction that would pull the corner tile out. Most high scorers only use three of the four directions.

Does the game work on a phone?

Yes — it is built for it. Swipe anywhere on the board; the gesture threshold is generous, so short flicks register. The board sizes itself to the viewport.

Is my score saved?

Yes, your best score is stored in your browser's local storage on this device. Clearing site data resets it.