# How to win 2048: a step-by-step strategy > How to win 2048, step by step: anchor a corner, fill the edge row in order, feed it from above, recover a broken corner and finish the 1024 + 1024 merge. Source: https://play2048forfree.com/how-to-win-2048 Winning 2048 means making a single 2048 tile before the board locks up. You do it by building one long, ordered chain of tiles in a corner, then collapsing it. This guide breaks a winning round into five stages, with checked examples from the Classic rules used on this site: new tiles are 2s 90% of the time and 4s 10% of the time, each tile merges once per move, and a move that changes nothing adds no tile. ## How long a winning round takes Every valid move adds one new tile, worth 2.2 on average. The values on the board only ever add up, so to hold a single 2048 tile you need roughly 2048 รท 2.2, or about 930 valid moves on average, and in practice a little more. That is why winning is mostly about not making mistakes for a long time, rather than finding one clever move. The score works the same way. Each merge adds the new tile's value, so a 2048 tile built only from 2s has earned 20,480 points along the way: 2048 for each of its ten levels of merging. Tiles that arrived as 4s skip one level, so the points for that tile are a little lower, while the other tiles on the board have earned points of their own. ## Stage 1: choose a corner and two main directions Pick a corner, say bottom left, and commit to it for the whole round. Down and left become your main moves. Right is your third, and up is the move you avoid. Your largest tile lives in the corner from the first few moves onward. If you are new to the idea, the [corner strategy](blog/2048-corner-strategy.html) shows how it plays out move by move. ## Stage 2: fill the bottom row in order Keep pressing down and left, and fill the bottom row with tiles that fall in value away from the corner. A typical bottom row a few hundred moves in looks like this: ``` 256 128 64 32 ``` Keep the row full. A full row with no matching neighbours does not move on left or right, so your 256 stays in place even when you need the third direction. ## Stage 3: feed the row from above The second row works as a feeder. Build the next tile there, directly above the smallest tile of the bottom row, and continue the order in the opposite direction, like a snake: ``` . . 8 16 256 128 64 32 ``` When the 16 becomes a 32 above the bottom row's 32, a down move joins them. Then the chain can collapse along the row. Here is the bottom row on three left moves in a row, assuming each new tile arrives somewhere above it: ``` 256 128 64 64 256 128 128 . 256 256 . . 512 . . . ``` Each step is one merge per move: 64 + 64, then 128 + 128, then 256 + 256. The row turns into a single 512 in the corner. ## Stage 4: recover when the corner breaks Sooner or later a forced up or right move will pull your largest tile out of the corner. When that happens: - Move it back on the next move if a single down or left will do it. - If a small tile has already dropped into the corner, do not fight for it. Build the chain around the large tile where it now sits, and move the corner gradually. - Merge the stray small tiles first. A board full of 2s and 4s is what turns a broken corner into a lost round. [Why empty spaces matter](blog/2048-empty-space.html) explains how to read a crowded board before choosing a direction. ## Stage 5: the final merges Near the end, the bottom row might read `1024 512 256 128`, with the matching 128 being built above. This is the most fragile part of the round, because the large tiles take up most of the board. Keep at least two or three cells empty while you build the last small pieces, and resist any move that does not either merge or keep the chain in order. When the second 1024 lands next to the first, one more move makes 2048 and the Classic round ends with a win. If you want to keep going, [4096](play/4096.html) uses the same rules with a higher goal. ## Common mistakes that lose winnable rounds - Chasing the biggest merge on the board instead of the one that keeps the chain in order. - Pressing up out of habit when only one column has space. - Letting the bottom row develop a gap, so a sideways move drags the corner tile along. - Building two large tiles in different corners that can never meet. - Swiping fast. There is no clock in Classic, and every move counts. ## Practise one stage at a time [2048 Practice](play/practice-2048.html) lets you stop at 256 or 512 to practise stages 1 to 3 without a long round. [Zen 2048](play/zen-2048.html) removes the 10% chance of a 4, which makes the chain easier to plan. Once you can win Classic, try [Hard 2048: Twin seeds](play/hard-2048.html), where two new tiles arrive after every move. For short habits you can use in any stage, see the [2048 tips](2048-tips.html). ## Questions about winning 2048 ### Is every game of 2048 winnable? No. New tiles land in random empty cells, so some rounds reach a position no move can save. Strong computer players win almost every time, though: by 2022 one program reached the 16384 tile in more than 95% of games, according to [Wikipedia's 2048 article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2048_%28video_game%29). Careful corner play wins far more rounds than random swiping, but no strategy wins them all. ### How many moves does it take to beat 2048? About 930 valid moves on average, because each move adds a tile worth 2.2 on average and the board must hold 2048 in total. Most winning rounds take a little more. ### What should I do when my big tile leaves the corner? Put it back on the next move if one swipe can do it. If not, build around its new position and merge the small tiles first, so that the board keeps some empty cells. [Start a Classic round](index.html#play) and try stage 1 and 2 on your next game.