🔢 2048 Game
Slide the tiles, merge matching numbers, and build the 2048 tile. Works with arrow keys, WASD, or swipe, and your game in progress survives a page refresh.
How to play 2048
- Press an arrow key (or WASD, or swipe) and every tile slides as far as it can in that direction.
- When two tiles with the same number collide, they merge into one, and you score the value of the new tile (8 + 8 → 16, +16 points).
- After every move, a new 2 (90% of the time) or 4 (10%) appears in a random empty cell.
- Make a 2048 tile and you win. Press Keep going to chase 4096, 8192, and beyond.
- When the board is full and no neighboring tiles match, the game is over.
2048 strategy: how to get a high score
1. Park your biggest tile in one corner
The single most effective 2048 strategy is the corner strategy: keep your largest tile in one corner (say, bottom-left) and almost never press the direction that pulls it out (in that case, up). Once a big tile drifts into the middle, small tiles get trapped around it and the board locks up fast.
2. Build a "snake" of descending tiles
From the corner, line up 1024 → 512 → 256 → 128 along the bottom row, then continue the chain in the opposite direction on the row above (a zigzag). This ordering lets merges cascade down the line one after another.
3. Keep the bottom row full
If a gap opens in your corner row, a new 2 can spawn there and wreck the chain. Slide left and right only while the bottom row is completely filled so your big tiles cannot be pushed out of place.
4. Use the forbidden direction only in emergencies
If you are forced to press up, press down right after to restore the corner. Avoid any move you cannot immediately undo.
How is the 2048 score calculated?
Each merge adds the value of the newly created tile to your score. Building one 2048 tile entirely from 2s adds up to 20,480 points along the way (10 × 2048), so by the time you reach 2048 your score is usually around 20,000 (a little lower when 4s spawn, since those skip a merge).
| Tile | Points earned building it from 2s |
|---|---|
| 256 | 1,792 (7 × 256) |
| 512 | 4,096 (8 × 512) |
| 1024 | 9,216 (9 × 1024) |
| 2048 | 20,480 (10 × 2048) |
Your total score is a bit higher than this because of the other tiles on the board, and a bit lower whenever 4s spawn.
Your best score and play count are saved only in a first-party cookie in this browser. Nothing is sent to a server. Clearing cookies or pressing "Reset records" deletes them.