Rules · 1 player

How to play 2048

Slide numbered tiles together until one of them reaches 2048.

The rules, step by step

1. 1

   Swipe on a phone or use the arrow keys on a computer to slide every tile in one direction at once.

2. 2

   Two tiles showing the same number merge into one tile of double the value when they collide.

3. 3

   A new tile — usually a two, occasionally a four — appears after every move.

4. 4

   The game ends when the board is full and no neighbouring tiles match.

5. 5

   Reaching 2048 wins, but nothing stops you from carrying on for a higher score.

Three tips that change how you play

• Pick one corner and keep your biggest tile there. Never swipe in the direction that would move it.
• Work in rows. Keeping the top row full lets you merge underneath it without disturbing your anchor.
• Swiping in all four directions at random is the fastest way to lose. Two directions plus an occasional third is usually enough.

Building a descending row

Anchor bottom-left. Aim for a bottom row that reads, left to right, 256, 128, 64, 32 — each tile half the one before it. Now every new tile that arrives on the row above can be merged downward in sequence: a 32 lands, you merge it with the 32 to make 64, which merges with the 64 to make 128, which merges with the 128 to make 256, which doubles your anchor to 512. One swipe can cascade the whole row. This is why order matters more than raw score: a tidy descending row turns a single lucky tile into four merges, while a scattered board of equal-sized tiles turns the same tile into nothing at all.

Three mistakes that cost beginners the game

Swiping in the direction that moves your biggest tile out of its corner.

Choose a corner at the start and treat the two swipes that would empty it as forbidden. Almost every lost game traces back to one careless swipe that stranded the largest tile in the middle.

Chasing every available merge as soon as it appears.

A merge that breaks up your ordered row costs more than the points it earns. Take merges that keep the row descending from your anchor, and leave the rest.

Swiping up when your anchor is on the bottom row.

If you are anchored bottom-left, live on left, down and right. Up is the emergency move — use it only when the other three do nothing, and expect to spend a few moves repairing the board afterwards.

Common questions about 2048