Every merge adds the new tile's value to your score, so big merges late in the game are worth more than a dozen small ones early on. The New game button starts over from scratch, and the sound button turns the merge sounds on and off. Beat your best score and the game asks for your name — that puts you on the global leaderboard, with separate daily, weekly and monthly boards and your own rank on each one.

Skins change what the tiles show but never how they play: Classic is plain numbers, Empires marches from the Roman Kingdom to the British Empire, Ming Dynasty runs from Xia to Ming, and Fruit Battle grows from a grape to a watermelon. Switch skins from the title at any time — switching starts a new game.

How scoring works

Every merge adds the new tile to your score. Merge two 8s and you score 16. Merge two 128s and you score 256. The same move can score several times over if it sets off a chain: one swipe that merges two 4s, two 8s and two 16s in different rows scores 8 plus 16 plus 32, which is 56 points from a single move. That is why a quiet board with one big merge planned beats a busy board full of small merges.

The arithmetic also explains why the endgame pays so well. Building a single 2048 tile from 2 tiles alone would take merges worth 20,480 points in total. In a real game the number is different, because 4 tiles also appear on their own and because you score points from side merges along the way, but the shape of it is true: the bigger the tile you merge, the more each move is worth, so the late game is where scores are made.

Keyboard or touch

On a computer, the arrow keys or WASD move the board, and keys are exact: one press is one move, and you cannot slip sideways by accident. On a phone, swipe on the board itself, and make each swipe a clear straight flick in one direction. Short, careful swipes beat long dramatic ones, because a swipe that drifts sideways can move the board the wrong way and drag your biggest tile out of its corner.

How do I play 2048?

On a computer use the arrow keys or WASD; on a phone, swipe on the board. Tiles slide and merge when two with the same number touch. Reach 2048 to win.

What happens when I reach 2048?

You win, and you can keep playing to chase a higher score.

Is 2048 free to play?

Yes. It is free to play in your browser. No download and no sign-up needed.

Can I play 2048 on my phone?

Yes. Swipe on the board to move the tiles. It works the same as on a computer.

Does the game save my best score?

Yes. Your best score is saved, so it is still there when you come back.

• Keep your biggest tile in one corner and build around it.
• Don't move the big tile out of its corner — pick a direction you avoid.
• Set up merges one move early instead of swiping at random.
• When the board gets crowded, merge the smallest tiles first to free space.
• Build in a snake: keep tiles in descending order along one edge, biggest in the corner, then the next biggest beside it, and so on, so every merge walks toward the corner.
• Never make a move just because you can. If no merge is ready, make the move that sets up the most merges for the next turn.
• Keep one row or column as your workbench and leave the corner row alone. Do your merging in the workbench, and only touch the corner row when a merge there is ready.
• Count your free squares before every move. With four or more free, you can be bold; with one or two, play safe and merge the smallest tiles first.

The corner strategy

Pick one corner and never let your biggest tile leave it. That single rule turns a random sliding puzzle into a building project: every other tile has a place, and every move has a purpose. The most common mistake is moving toward the corner without thinking, because that is the move that pulls the big tile out. Choose one direction you avoid, and treat it as locked unless the board gives you no other choice.

The snake order

Once the corner is set, lay tiles out in a snake: biggest in the corner, the next biggest next to it along the edge, then the next, and so on down the rows. What matters is the habit: when two tiles of the same value appear, the one nearer the corner is the one that stays, and the one further away is the one that comes to meet it.

Chasing a high score

Score follows tile size, so chase the biggest tile, not the most merges. A run that reaches 512 will outscore a run that makes twice as many small merges and stalls at 128. For the leaderboard, play for survival first: keep two free squares at all times once the board fills up, and only take a risky merge when the safe move leaves you with no merge at all.