Questions people ask about 2048 and about this version of it, grouped by topic. If you cannot find your answer here, the contact page says how to ask.
Playing
Is this game free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser, with no sign-up, no download and no in-game purchases. The site is supported by advertising, which sits below the game and never over the board.
Can I win every game?
No, and nobody does. The new tiles appear at random, and even the best players lose games. What good play changes is how often you reach 2048, not whether the game can still end badly. The strategy guide covers what improves your odds.
What does Undo do, and is there a limit?
Undo takes back your last move, including the new tile it spawned and the score it earned. Each game gives you one free Undo; once it is used you can watch a short video to get another. Swap and Shuffle work the same way: one free use per game, then a video.
What happens when I reach 2048?
The game announces your win. You can then choose Keep going to continue on the same board and aim higher, or start a new game. Your score carries on counting.
What are lives, and what do Swap and Shuffle do?
Every game has three lives, shown as hearts under the board. When you run out of moves, a button may offer a new life if you watch a short video: the game clears the two smallest tiles so you have room to move again. Swap trades the places of two tiles you tap, and Shuffle re-deals the tiles you already have. All of it is optional, and if no video is available the buttons simply do not appear.
Why did my game start over when I changed the board size?
Each board size is a separate game, so picking a different size starts a new one. Your best score for each size is kept separately and is not lost. See board sizes for what each one is like.
Scoring and tiles
How is the score worked out?
Every time two tiles merge, the value of the tile they create is added to your score. Slides that do not merge anything score nothing. The how-to-play guide has worked examples.
What decides which tiles merge?
Each move slides every tile as far as it can go in the chosen direction, starting with the tiles closest to the wall you are moving towards. A tile merges only with the next tile it meets, only if the two have the same value, and only if neither has already merged during that move. That is why a row of 2, 2, 4 sliding left becomes 4, 4 in one move and not an 8: the new 4 cannot merge a second time in the same move.
What are the odds of a 2 or a 4 appearing?
After any move that changes the board, one new tile appears on a random empty square. It is a 2 nine times out of ten and a 4 the remaining one time in ten. Nothing larger than a 4 is ever spawned; every bigger tile comes from a merge.
Is the tile order random, or can it be predicted?
It is random in the sense that matters for play: you cannot tell which square or which value is next. Technically the game draws from a seeded pseudorandom generator, which is what makes Undo exact and lets a saved game resume with the same upcoming tiles it would have had if you had never left.
What is the highest possible tile?
On a 4×4 board the theoretical maximum is 131,072, which would take an almost perfect game. Larger boards raise the ceiling dramatically, and the smallest, 3×3, tops out at 1,024. The full table is on the board sizes page.
Saving, devices and offline play
Is my progress saved?
Yes. Your current board, your best score for each size and your settings are saved in your browser after every move, so you can close the tab and come back to the same game. Clearing your browser’s data for this site, or using a private window, removes it.
Will my game follow me to another phone or computer?
No. Saves live only in the browser you played in, because the game has no accounts and no server to keep them on. The same is true of best scores.
Can I play offline?
Yes. After your first visit the game is stored on your device, so it keeps working with no connection. You can also install it as an app from your browser’s menu, which gives it its own icon and window.
Which devices and browsers are supported?
Any reasonably recent version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on a phone, tablet or computer. It plays with swipes on a touch screen and with the keyboard on a desktop.
Does it have sound?
There are optional sound effects, off by default. The speaker button beside the theme button turns them on or off, and your choice is remembered.
Does it have a dark mode?
Yes. By default the game follows your device’s light or dark setting. The theme button cycles between system, light and dark if you want to override it.
The editions
What are the Doge and Anime editions?
They are the same game with pictures in place of the early tiles: a ladder of dogs, bones and rockets in Doge 2048, and one of blossoms, snacks and lanterns in Anime 2048. Every tile still shows its number in the corner and the rules do not change. Each edition has its own page, /doge and /anime, with its full tile ladder.
About this site
Who made 2048?
The original 2048 was created by Gabriele Cirulli in 2014. This site is an independent re-implementation of the same puzzle. The history page tells the story of where the game came from.
What data do you collect?
The game itself stores your saves and settings only on your own device. The site uses privacy-friendly page-view analytics and Google AdSense for advertising; the privacy policy explains exactly what each does and how to opt out.
I found a bug, or a mistake in a guide.
Thank you. Please tell us on the contact page, including your device and browser if it is a bug. Corrections to the guides are made as soon as they are confirmed.