A move shifts the whole board. Equal tiles can merge into a tile worth twice as much, and a new tile appears after a valid move. Think about the arrangement you leave behind, not only the pair you combine now.
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Swipe, use the direction buttons, or press an arrow key to slide the board. Equal tiles merge once per move, and each merge adds its resulting value to your score. A changed board gains one new 2 or 4. Classic targets 2048; Practice targets 1024. You can continue after reaching the target. The 30-move Challenge has no undo and ends after 30 valid moves or when no move remains.
Tiles slide as far as they can until a boundary or another tile stops them. Equal neighbors may merge, but each newly formed tile can merge only once during that move. The order of values matters even when two rows contain the same total.
Moving 2,2,4,4 left produces 4,8,empty,empty before the new tile appears. Both original pairs merge independently. Moving 4,4,8,empty left produces 8,8,empty,empty instead. The new eight cannot immediately merge again with the existing eight. Predicting this intermediate row helps you understand the final board rather than reacting to an animation.
A merge adds the value of the resulting tile to your score. Two twos create a four and add four points; two fours create an eight and add eight. A slide that changes the board without merging is valid, but movement alone does not earn points.
A direction that changes nothing does not spawn a new tile or use one of the challenge moves. After a valid move, a two or four is added in an empty square. The board after sliding and the board after spawning are separate stages of one turn. Leave room in your prediction for that new tile.
Classic targets 2048. Practice uses 1024 as its first goal. Both let you keep playing afterward, and both offer undo. Their boards and local records are stored separately. Reaching 4096 means continuing to build and combine larger values; it is not a special reward unlocked outside the game.
The challenge mode scores a maximum of thirty valid moves. It stops at that limit or earlier if no direction can change the board. There is no undo. A challenge link preserves the starting board and its turn-based random sequence, so you can try it again. Different directions still lead to different positions and can produce different final scores.
Use a corner as an anchor if that helps you maintain a readable order. Before moving your largest tile, check whether the neighboring values can still feed into it. A corner is a planning aid, not a rule enforced by the engine or a promise that you will win.
Look for a sequence you can combine along an edge. Choosing an attractive nearby merge can push a small tile between large ones and make the next combination awkward. Consider what every tile in the row or column will do, including tiles far from the pair you noticed first.
When the board fills, scan for equal tiles that share an edge. Equal diagonal tiles cannot merge directly. Finding a legal merge proves that one move is available now; it does not prove the following spawn will be harmless. More empty space can help, but empty-cell count alone is not a complete strategy.
On a phone, swipe inside the board or use the directional buttons. A computer keyboard uses the arrow keys. All of these controls apply the same movement rules. There is no speed requirement, simultaneous gesture, or hidden bonus for moving quickly.
The browser saves your board and records locally. Another browser or device has separate data, and deleting site storage can remove a saved game. Pause or switch tabs when the break ends; the timer stops rather than counting down toward a deadline. Results are not compared on a global leaderboard. If you share a challenge, use the same link and agree on the result you want to compare.
No. A newly created tile must wait until another move before merging again.
Not if a horizontal or vertical equal pair can still merge.
No. It is a planning approach whose usefulness depends on the actual board.
Yes, in Classic. Continuing makes larger values possible but does not guarantee them.
No. Undo is offered in Classic and Practice, not in the 30-move challenge.