2048

In 2048, you slide numbered tiles around a 4×4 board. When two equal tiles meet during a move, they merge into their sum: two Twos become a Four, and two Fours become an Eight. Your first goal is to create a tile worth 2048.

Controlling the board

Click or tap the board. On a computer, use the arrow keys to slide left, right, up or down. On a touchscreen, swipe in the direction you want. Each move affects every tile that can move in that direction.

After a move that changes the board, a new tile appears in an empty cell. If nothing can move or merge, the board stays unchanged. The game ends when no moves remain.

What happens with several matching tiles?

A tile can merge only once during a move. Sliding the row 2, 2, 2, 2 to the left produces 4, 4, empty, empty. A later move can merge those Fours into an Eight.

Each merge awards points equal to the resulting tile. Merging two Eights creates a 16 and awards 16 points. Your score is therefore not simply the sum of the tiles on the board.

Daily game and best scores

In the daily game, everyone uses the same starting seed and sequence of random decisions. Different moves still lead to different boards and later tile placements. Each free-play round starts with a new random sequence.

Spielaro saves your best score locally in this browser, separately for the daily game and free play. The current board is not saved across a reload. “Restart” resets the round.

Three ways to keep space available

• Keep large numbers together, for example along one edge, to avoid trapping small tiles between them.
• Before changing direction, consider whether there will be room for the next new tile.
• Look at the whole row: a merge in one place can block an important move elsewhere.

These tips do not guarantee a win. Each new tile has a 90% chance of being a Two and a 10% chance of being a Four. Its available position depends on the current board.

For a number puzzle without new random tiles, try Sudoku. Discover other free thinking games in the game catalogue.