2048

Play the 4×4 sliding-number puzzle locally in your browser. Merge equal tiles, build toward 2048, track your score and best score, undo the latest successful move, and continue beyond 2048 if you choose.

How to Use the 2048

Combine equal tiles on a 4×4 board without running out of legal moves. Every successful move shifts the whole board and adds a new 2 or 4 tile.

  1. Use Arrow Up, Down, Left, or Right, or W, A, S, and D, to slide all tiles in one direction. On touch screens, swipe at least a short distance across the board.
  2. Join equal tiles such as 2 + 2 or 64 + 64. A tile can merge only once during a single move.
  3. Watch Score for points earned from merges and Best for the highest score stored in this browser.
  4. Use Undo or Ctrl+Z to reverse the most recent successful move; use Restart to begin with two new tiles.
  5. When you create 2048, choose Keep going to continue or Try again to start over.

Strategy

  • Keep your largest tile in one corner and avoid moves that pull it away without a clear recovery path.
  • Build an ordered row or column toward that corner so smaller tiles feed into larger ones.
  • Protect empty cells. Repeatedly moving in every direction can scatter high tiles and remove merge options.

Common mistakes

  • A key press that does not change the board creates no new tile and does not replace the stored Undo move.
  • Two equal pairs in a row can merge in one move, but a newly merged tile cannot merge again until a later move.
  • Restart immediately replaces the saved current game; there is no list of earlier games.

Persistence and privacy

Play runs entirely in the browser. The current game, best score, and theme use localStorage on this device; there is no cloud sync, account backup, multiplayer mode, or daily challenge.

FAQ

How do you play 2048?

Move every tile with an arrow key, WASD, or a swipe. When two equal tiles collide they merge into one tile worth their sum. Create a 2048 tile to win.

How is the 2048 score calculated?

Each merge adds the value of the new tile to your score. For example, merging two 32 tiles creates 64 and adds 64 points.

What does Undo restore?

Undo restores the board and score from immediately before your latest successful move. Only one move is retained, and starting a new game clears it.

What happens after I reach 2048?

The game pauses and offers Keep going or Try again. Keep going lets you build larger tiles; the game ends only when the board has no empty cell and no adjacent equal tiles.

Do the themes change the rules?

No. Classic, Midnight, and Soft change colors; Emoji, Animals, and Programming change tile labels. The hidden numeric values, merges, score, and win condition stay the same.

Is my 2048 game saved?

The current board, score, best score, and selected theme are saved in this browser's local storage. They are not synced between browsers or devices and can disappear if site data is cleared.