Classic 2048

The familiar four-by-four puzzle: slide equal numbers together and build a 2048 tile. Take your time; there is no clock or move budget.

Play

The playable board loads above these notes when JavaScript is enabled. Choose Start your trail, then use the arrow keys, a swipe or the direction buttons.

The rules of Classic 2048

• Board: sixteen cells in four rows and four columns.
• New tiles: 2s (90%) and 4s (10%).
• Merges: Double equal numbers; 2 + 2 makes 4.
• Goal: reach 2048.
• A blocked move does not add a tile or count as a move.

Read one move

A left move transforms this row as shown, before the next tile appears elsewhere on the board:

Before: 2 2 4 .
After:  4 4 . .

Each tile can merge once per move. A tile just created by a merge cannot immediately join another tile during the same swipe.

A useful first exercise

Keep your largest tile near a chosen corner, then build its matching partner along an edge. A score increase is useful only if the resulting board still has room.

Start with the corner exercise: predict where your largest tile will finish before each of your next ten moves.

Controls and saved rounds

Choose Start your trail, then use arrow keys, board swipes or the four direction buttons. Trail tip suggests a legal direction without changing the board. End round records an early stop; after an ending, New trail prepares another attempt. Your unfinished round and this mode's best score stay in this browser when storage is available. Changing a theme does not change a tile.

For the complete controls, read how to play. Compare all nine variants, choose another game, or work through the practice lab.