2048

2048 is a number puzzle in which you slide the tiles on the board and merge equal numbers until you make the 2048 tile. You can play with the keyboard or by swiping, a few minutes at a time.

How to use

1. Under "Board size", choose 3×3, 4×4 or 5×5. The default is 4×4.
2. Press the arrow keys or W, A, S, D, or swipe the board on a phone, to slide every tile to one side.
3. Two tiles with the same number merge into one when they meet. Press "Undo" after a mistake, and choose how far you can go back under "Undo": "Last move only" or "Up to 500 moves".
4. After you reach the target tile, press "Keep playing" to aim for a larger number. Press "New game" to start again.

How it works

• After each move, a new tile appears in one empty cell: a 2 nine times out of ten, otherwise a 4. The game ends when there is no empty cell and no tiles can merge.
• The score is the sum of all tiles created by merging. Merging two 8s adds 16 points.
• The target tile is 2048 on 4×4 and 5×5 boards and 512 on the 3×3 board. Progress and the best score for each board size are saved in this browser automatically.

Questions and answers

What is the strategy for 2048?

A common method is to keep the largest tile in one corner and slide mostly in the two directions towards that corner. Keeping large tiles out of the middle stops the board from filling up.

Does the game end when you make 2048?

No. Press "Keep playing" to continue towards larger tiles such as 4096.

Why does a tile not merge twice in one move?

A tile that has already merged during a move cannot merge again in the same move. Sliding 2, 2, 4 to the left gives 4, 4, not 8.

Are there keyboard shortcuts?

Slide with the arrow keys or W, A, S, D, and undo with U or Ctrl+Z.