2048

2048 is a sliding tile puzzle played on a 4x4 grid. Your goal: combine tiles to create 2048.

• Slide tiles —press arrow keys or swipe to move all tiles at once
• Merge matching numbers —two tiles with the same number combine into their sum (2+2=4, 4+4=8, ...)
• A new tile appears —after every move, a 2 (90%) or 4 (10%) spawns randomly
• Reach 2048 —and then keep going for 4096, 8192, and beyond!

The most effective strategy is the corner strategy: pick a corner and keep your largest tile there at all costs.

Ideal board state (bottom-left corner):

• Pick a corner —bottom-left or bottom-right works best. Never move your highest tile out of it.
• Build descending rows —tiles should decrease as they move away from your corner. This creates natural merge chains.
• Avoid the opposite direction —if your corner is bottom-left, never press Up unless forced. It breaks your structure.
• Keep the bottom row full —a full bottom row prevents your corner tile from shifting when you move horizontally.

With perfect corner strategy, reaching 2048 is nearly guaranteed. Reaching 4096 requires about 80% optimal play. 8192 is the realistic ceiling for most players. Read the full addiction psychology deep-dive →

2048 is a deterministic state machine. Every swipe is a state transition -- and the corner strategy works because it creates a "monotonic gradient" that guarantees merge chains.

Monotonic Gradient: why corner strategy works

A monotonic arrangement means tiles increase as they approach your corner -- creating a cascade that merges like dominoes.

A monotonic gradient is the reason corner strategy is optimal -- it maximizes merge opportunities in one direction. Read the full addiction psychology deep-dive →