2048: how to play, and how to actually reach the 2048 tile

The rules in one minute

Swipe up, down, left or right and every tile slides as far as it can. When two tiles with the same number touch, they merge into one tile with double the value: 2 and 2 make 4, 4 and 4 make 8, and so on. After every move a new 2 or 4 appears in an empty square.

You lose when the board is full and no move can merge anything. You win when a 2048 tile appears, and you can keep going after that.

Cirulli based it on 1024, which was itself a copy of the paid game Threes, and he called 2048 conceptually similar to Threes. It spread fast: over 4 million visitors in less than a week.

The corner strategy, step by step

• 1. Pick a corner. Choose one corner, say bottom-left, and keep your biggest tile there all game.
• 2. Use two directions most. Mostly swipe down and left. Right is your third move. Up is for emergencies only.
• 3. Keep the bottom row full. A full row cannot shift sideways, so your big tile stays locked in place.
• 4. Build a chain. Line tiles in falling order along the bottom row, like 256, 128, 64, 32, so merges roll into the corner.
• 5. Fix small tiles early. Merge stray 2s and 4s before they get stuck behind bigger tiles.

Merge puzzle ideas with a twist

• Meme merge. Two small memes merge into a bigger meme, up to one legendary one.
• Pet evolution. Kittens merge into cats, cats into lions. Your own pet is the final tile.
• Head to head. Two players on the same seed. First to 512 wins.

Questions people ask

Who made 2048?

Gabriele Cirulli, an Italian developer, released it on March 9, 2014.

Can you keep playing after 2048?

Yes. In the original game you can continue past 2048 to build bigger tiles.

Is 2048 always winnable?

No. New tiles appear at random, so a board can lock up even with good play. The corner strategy makes wins much more likely.