Reverse 2048

Start large and work down. In Reverse, matching tiles merge into half their value: two 2048s make 1024, and the final pair of 4s makes your winning 2.

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 Reverse 2048

• Board: sixteen cells in four rows and four columns.
• New tiles: 2048s (90%) and 1024s (10%).
• Merges: Halve equal numbers; 2048 + 2048 makes one 1024.
• Goal: reach 2.
• 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: 2048 2048 1024 .
After:  1024 1024 . .

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

Your smallest tile measures progress here. New large tiles keep arriving after valid moves, so make matching partners for the lower numbers without losing all your spare space. Scores add the resulting tile value.

Think in ranks instead of magnitude. Protect the 1024 in the same way you would protect a growing 4 in Classic; it represents one merge further along the trail.

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.