2048 is a sliding-tile puzzle with one idea and a lot of depth. You slide numbered tiles around a grid, matching tiles fuse into a bigger one, and the aim is to build a tile that shows 2048. This page covers everything you need to start playing and a few details that even regular players tend to get wrong.
The goal
You start with a 4×4 grid holding two tiles, each showing a 2 or, less often, a 4. Your job is to combine tiles of equal value until one of them reaches 2048. When it does you win, and the game lets you carry on playing for a higher score if you want to.
Winning is not the same as surviving. After every move that changes the board a new tile appears, so the grid is always trying to fill itself up. The game is a steady negotiation between the tiles you are creating and the space you are using up.
How a move works
Each turn you choose one of four directions: up, down, left or right. Every tile on the board then slides in that direction as far as it can go, until it meets the edge of the grid or another tile. All the tiles move at once, so one move can rearrange the whole board.
If a moving tile runs into a tile with the same number, the two merge into a single tile worth the sum of both. Two 2s become a 4, two 4s become an 8, and so on up the doubling ladder. A move only counts if something actually moves or merges. Pressing a direction in which nothing can shift does nothing, and no new tile appears.
The rules of merging
Three small rules decide every merge, and they explain nearly every surprise you will meet:
- Only equal tiles merge. A 4 will never combine with an 8, however close together they sit.
- A tile merges once per move. A tile that has just been created by a merge cannot merge again until your next move.
- Merging starts at the wall you are moving towards. When more than two equal tiles line up, the pair nearest that wall fuses first.
Here is what those rules look like in practice. Each example shows one row before and after a move to the left, where a dot is an empty square.
Scoring
Each time two tiles merge, the value of the new tile is added to your score. Merging two 2s scores 4, merging two 64s scores 128, and a single merge that creates a 2048 tile scores 2048. Sliding without merging scores nothing.
Because bigger merges score more, your score grows faster the further you get. As a rough guide, building one 2048 tile from scratch is worth a little over 20,000 points in total, counting every merge on the way up. Your best score for each board size is saved separately on your device, so a record on a 5×5 board never overwrites a record on a 4×4.
New tiles
After every 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 one time in ten. The game never creates anything larger: every tile bigger than 4 exists because you merged it.
Winning, losing and carrying on
The moment a 2048 tile appears, the game announces your win. You can then choose Keep going to continue on the same board and aim for 4096 and beyond, or start a new game. Your score keeps counting either way.
The game ends when the grid is full and no two neighbouring tiles share a value, because at that point no move can change anything. You will often see a loss coming several moves earlier, which is why the strategy guide spends so much time on keeping the board organised.
Each game has three lives, shown as hearts under the board. After a loss, an optional “watch an ad for a new life” button may appear. If you choose it, the game clears the two smallest tiles from the board so you can keep playing, and one heart is spent. It is never required.
Controls
| Action | Touch screen | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Move tiles | Swipe the board in any direction | Arrow keys, W A S D, or H J K L |
| Undo | Undo button | U |
| New game | New Game button | R |
| Open help | The i button | I |
Undo takes back your last move. You get one free per game, so save it for the move you regret. Your score steps back with the board. Swap trades the places of two tiles you tap, and Shuffle re-deals the tiles you have. They sit in the dock under the board with one free use each; once it is spent, a short video gets you another.
Resuming. Your game is saved automatically after every move. Close the tab, come back tomorrow, and the board is exactly as you left it. The saved game lives only in your browser, so it will not follow you to another device.
Choosing a board
The classic game is played on a 4×4 grid, and that is where the strategy advice in these guides is aimed. The picker above the board offers every size from 3×3 to 8×8. Small boards are tense and quick; large boards are relaxed and long. The board sizes guide explains what each one feels like and which to pick.
Common beginner mistakes
- Swiping back and forth. Alternating left and right (or up and down) scatters tiles instead of organising them. Pick a corner and stay near it.
- Merging the nearest pair first. The easiest merge is not always the useful one. A merge that leaves your biggest tile exposed can cost more than it gains.
- Ignoring the empty squares. Empty squares are the real resource. Every merge frees one, and a board with fewer than four empty squares is already in danger.
Ready to try it? Play 2048, or read the strategy guide first.