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How to play 2048
2048 is a sliding puzzle played on a 4 × 4 grid. Every tile shows a number. Swipe on your phone, or press the arrow keys (or W, A, S, D) on a keyboard, and every tile on the board slides as far as it can in that direction.
When two tiles with the same number bump into each other, they join into one tile worth their total: two 2s make a 4, two 4s make an 8, and so on. The number on the new tile is added to your score.
After every move that changes the board, one new tile appears in an empty square. It is usually a 2, sometimes a 4. A move that changes nothing does not count and adds no tile.
You win when a tile reaches 2048. You can then keep playing for a higher score. The game is over when the board is full and no two neighbouring tiles match, so no move can change anything.
Your game is saved as you play. Close the page and come back later, and it will be exactly where you left it. Your best score is kept on this device too.
Tips
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Pick a corner and keep your biggest tile there. Most good games are built around one corner, for example the bottom-left. A big tile stuck in the middle of the board blocks everything around it.
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Mostly use two or three directions. If your corner is the bottom-left, lean on down and left, use right when you need to, and press up only when nothing else works. Every up move risks pulling your big tile out of its corner.
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Keep the row next to your corner full. A full bottom row cannot shift sideways by accident, so your big tile stays put when you press left or right.
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Build a staircase. Line tiles up in falling order away from the corner (for example 256, 128, 64, 32). Then one merge at the small end sets off a chain that rolls all the way into the corner.
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Deal with small tiles early. A lonely 2 trapped between big tiles can waste a lot of space. Merge small tiles while they are next to each other, before they get separated.
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Look before you slide. Before each move, check where the new tile could land. If a move leaves an empty square next to your corner, a 2 may drop in and get stuck there.
Where 2048 comes from
2048 was created by Gabriele Cirulli in 2014. This version was written from scratch for nibgames, with its own look.
