Original 2048

How the tiles move and merge

2048 uses a four-by-four board. Each move slides every tile as far as possible in the chosen direction. Two equal tiles that meet combine into one tile with twice their value: two 2s make a 4, two 4s make an 8, and so on. A tile can merge only once during a single move. A new tile appears after a move changes the board.

Select Play Now, then use the arrow keys or W, A, S, and D. On a touchscreen, swipe across the board in the direction you want the tiles to move. The game waits for your input, so you can inspect the whole board before choosing. New Game or the R key starts a fresh board.

Keep space around your largest tiles

Try keeping your largest tile near a chosen corner and arranging smaller tiles along its row or column. Before moving away from that corner, check which tiles will shift and whether the next merge still has a path. This is a planning habit, not a guarantee: new tiles can force you to change your approach.

Empty cells give you room to rearrange the board. When space becomes scarce, compare the possible merges in both directions before taking the first available one. Reaching a 2048 tile opens a winning message, and Keep going lets you continue. A run ends when no empty cell or neighboring equal pair leaves a legal move.

Try color matching in Hextris · Plan a route in Snake · Browse the game collection

Creator, local changes, and source

Gabriele Cirulli created 2048. DriveMad.lol hosts a locally adapted copy of that open-source game, rather than claiming it as a new original work. The upstream project and the source for this hosted version are linked below, along with the retained MIT license.

Gabriele Cirulli's 2048 source · Download this version's source · Read the 2048 MIT license

Controls and quick steps

1. 01
   Open the board

   Select Play Now to load the locally hosted game by Gabriele Cirulli.

2. 02
   Merge equal tiles

   Use arrow keys or swipe across the board. Equal numbers combine when they meet.

3. 03
   Keep space available

   Plan around empty cells. New Game resets the board; saved progress belongs to this browser.