2048 puzzle
Move with the arrow keys or WASD; on a touch screen, swipe. Every move slides all tiles as far as they go, and equal numbers merge on contact. Each move that changes the board drops a new 2 or 4. Only the best score is kept in this browser — the board starts over on refresh.
Arrow keys, WASD, or swipe
Keep the big tile in one corner and use two directions
Park your largest tile in one corner, say bottom-left, and push only left and down. The bottom row then fills from the largest tile outward and new tiles appear above it. Pushing up can open a hole in the bottom row and drag the corner tile out, so use it only when neither left nor down moves anything. Two 1024s side by side are one push away from 2048.
The first board starts in the same place for everyone
The two tiles you see when the page opens come from a fixed seed, not from a random number, because the board the server drew and the board the browser draws when it attaches must be identical. After one push, or a new game, it is real randomness from then on. The best score updates the moment the score rises rather than when the game ends.
On today's board the same moves produce the same tiles
2048 uses randomness on every move, not only when the board is made, so today's board seeds each move with the board number plus the move count — push in the same order and the same tile lands in the same cell for everyone, which is what makes it the same board. The result is the score at the moment no move is left, and only the first attempt of the day is written down. Making 2048 does not end the board, so you have to keep going for a result to be recorded. Today's score also counts toward the best.
What this screen does not do
No undo. The board is not stored, so a refresh starts over, and no time is measured. The only thing kept is the best score; the largest tile you reached is not recorded.
Common questions
QDoes 4 4 4 4 become 16 or 8 8?
8 8. A tile merges only once per move. If a freshly made 8 could merge again with the 8 beside it, one keystroke would climb two levels and the game would become far easier. Merging resolves from the side you push toward, so 2 2 2 pushed left gives 4 2.
QNothing moved and no new tile appeared.
That is intended. A new number appears only when the board changed. If pushing into a wall still filled the board, the game would not hold together.
QIs 2048 the end?
You can stop there or keep going. Choosing to keep going leads to 4096 and 8192. The game ends when there are no empty squares and no neighbouring pair can merge in any direction.
QHow is the score counted?
Each merge adds the number it created — making a 4 adds 4, making an 8 adds 8. That is why scores climb steeply as tiles grow: reaching a single 2048 tile banks 2,048 points on the way there. The best score stays in this browser, never leaves it, and goes when you clear browser data.
QDoes a 4 appear by some rule?
Each new tile is a 2 nine times out of ten and a 4 once. An early 4 looks like a head start, but it fills a square just the same, so late in a crowded board it is a burden.
QIs there an undo?
No. If a move could be taken back, every bad tile could be undone until the score grew, and the best would measure persistence rather than play. The board is not stored either, so a refresh is a new game.
QI swiped and nothing moved.
A swipe shorter than 24 px is treated as a tap. Try a slightly longer one. Whichever axis moved further sets the direction.