2048 is the sliding number game: push every tile one way, merge equal numbers and build up to the 2048 tile. This version plays the classic rules on the standard 4×4 board, with smaller and larger boards and higher targets one click away. No app, no sign-up and nothing to dismiss before your first swipe; it works offline and plays fully from the keyboard.
2048 board is loading.
4 by 4 board, target 2048. Score 0. Highest tile 2. Row 1: 2, empty, empty, empty. Row 2: empty, empty, empty, empty. Row 3: empty, empty, empty, empty. Row 4: empty, 2, empty, empty.
Most games of 2048 are lost to clutter, not to bad luck. The board has only 16 cells, and every move adds a tile, so the whole game is about keeping large numbers together and small numbers where they can meet.
Choose one corner, say bottom-left, and play almost every move with the two directions that keep the big tile there: down and left. Use right when those two are blocked, and keep the bottom row full so no new 2 can drop in beside the big tile. A large tile stranded in the middle of the board splits the space in two and blocks merges on every side of it.
Fill the bottom row from the corner outwards in falling order, for example 512, 256, 128, 64. When the smallest tile of the chain is doubled, the whole row can collapse into the corner in a few moves. Then continue the chain up into the next row, snaking back the other way, so each new value sits next to the one it will merge with.
Up, in this example, pulls the big tile out of its corner and invites a small tile underneath. Press it only when nothing else moves, and then press down straight away to repair the edge. With undo set to one step, you can take back a slide that goes wrong, but the same tile will appear again if you repeat it, so plan a different move.
Loose 2s and 4s scattered across the top of the board are what fill it up. Merge them whenever the move keeps your corner, even if the gain is small, and count free cells rather than points: five or more empty cells is comfortable, two is a warning.
The score is the total of every merge you make, so building one 2048 tile out of 2s alone is worth 20,480 points: the 2048 merge itself, plus two 1024 merges, four 512 merges and so on down the tree. The 4s that spawn by themselves skip one layer of merging, which is why real games land a little below that for the tile alone, before you count the other tiles on the board.
Each move adds one tile worth 2.2 on average, and a 2048 tile holds 2048 in value, so it takes at least about 930 moves to make one. The move counter sits next to the score.
The picker above the board offers every variant, and each keeps its own stats and best score.
The original 2048 was released in 2014 by Gabriele Cirulli, an Italian developer, as an open-source project under the MIT licence. It drew on earlier sliding-number games and spread quickly, helped by code anyone could read and adapt.
Game rules are not protected by copyright, so many versions exist. This one is our own implementation, written from scratch with the classic rules: 2s and 4s spawning nine to one, one merge per tile per move, and the score as the sum of merges.
The timer starts on your first move and pauses when you switch tabs. Stats are kept per board in your browser: played, won, win rate, best and average time, and best score, saved when a game ends in a win or a loss. Each board size and each target has its own stats.
Undo takes back one move. There are no hints, since 2048 has no single right move. Each game has a puzzle code such as A7K3Q; open it with ?p= to replay the same start and the same new tiles. The end panel copies a short result to share. There is no daily 2048 and no printable version.
The board keeps its size from the first paint and never scrolls, so a swipe on a phone always moves the tiles, and the arrow keys or W, A, S, D do the same on a keyboard. Tidy Puzzles runs entirely in your browser: there is no app to install, no account to create and no interstitial before you can play. After the first visit the game also works offline, because each puzzle is generated on your device from a seed. Every board can be played with the keyboard alone, on a phone or a desktop, and your stats and unfinished puzzles stay in this browser rather than on a server.
Slide all the tiles in one direction with a swipe or an arrow key. Equal tiles that touch merge into their sum, a new 2 or 4 appears after each move, and you win when a 2048 tile appears.
Keep your largest tile in one corner, build a falling chain of values along the edge next to it, and use only the two directions that keep that corner filled. Use the other directions only when you have no choice.
Yes. Press Keep playing on the win panel, or turn on "Keep playing after reaching the target" in Settings before you start a game. The game then runs until no move is left, and the final score counts towards your best.
Yes, one step. Undo takes back your last move. The tile that appears after a move is fixed by the puzzle, so repeating the same slide brings back the same new tile.
One new tile in ten is a 4, including the two starting tiles.
On the 4×4 board the largest tile that can exist is 131,072, and only with very lucky spawns. In practice, a game that reaches 2048 usually scores somewhere above 20,000 points.
Yes. After your first visit the game is cached in your browser, so it loads and plays without a connection. Your best scores stay on your device.
No. 2048 has no daily puzzle here. Each game has a puzzle code instead, which you can share so someone else gets the same start and the same new tiles.
Nine cells, a 1024 target and no room for error.
Twenty-five cells, a roomier board for longer chains.
Thirty-six cells and a gentle, long game.
The biggest board, 64 cells, for marathon sessions.
The standard board with the target doubled.
Two doublings past 2048 on the 4×4 board.
The 8, 15 and 24 puzzles, shuffled with real moves.
Three classic sizes with a safe first click.
Last updated 2026-09-27. Written and maintained by the Tidy Puzzles team; puzzles are generated on your device. How it works.