Building to 2,048 in Merge Tiles, Games by Zaweba

Four rows, four columns and a couple of small numbers: Merge Tiles starts quietly and becomes absorbing very fast. It is a sliding number puzzle on the Puzzles shelf of Games by Zaweba, where you push tiles round a 4 by 4 grid and merge matching pairs into bigger and bigger numbers.

How a move works

Every move slides all the tiles on the grid as far as they will go in one direction. Use the arrow keys or WASD, or drag across the board with the mouse. After every move a new tile appears in an empty space, either a 2 or a 4.

When two tiles with the same number meet, they merge into one tile with double the value, and you score that value. Two 2s make a 4, two 4s make an 8, and so on up. Build a tile of 2,048 to win, then keep going if you like, for a bigger score. The game ends when the grid is full and no two neighbouring tiles can merge.

The corner habit

The most reliable way to play is to keep your biggest tile in a corner and build towards it. Pick a corner, say bottom left, and make most of your moves in two directions that push tiles towards it, such as down and left. Use the third direction when you have to, and avoid the fourth unless there is no choice at all.

The reason is simple. If your biggest tile sits in the middle, every move shoves it about, and small tiles get trapped on both sides of it. In a corner, it stays put, and the row beside it becomes an orderly line of descending numbers that can merge one into the next.

Keeping the grid tidy

Try to keep one row or column full and in order, largest at the corner. When that row is full and steady, moves along it cannot disturb it. Small tiles then gather at the opposite side of the board, where you can merge them up and feed them in.

Watch where new tiles will appear before you move. A move that leaves a single gap in the wrong place can drop a 2 right next to your big corner tile, which blocks the line.

Using undo

Press Z to undo the last move. It is useful for learning: try a move, see where the new tile lands and how the board changes, and step back if it went wrong. It also saves a game from a single slip of the finger.

Beyond 2,048

Reaching 2,048 wins the game, but the score keeps counting. Every merge adds its value, so a long, steady game that goes past 2,048 can build a much bigger total than a quick win. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score, so there is always a target.

Merge Tiles sits on the Puzzles shelf of Games by Zaweba with Block Clear and Gem Swap, the other games where pieces combine or clear. It has no clock, so you can take each move as slowly as you like. Press Esc to pause, F11 for full screen and F1 if you want the rules explained again.