2048, the Sliding Tile Puzzle

2048 is a deceptively simple sliding puzzle that rewards planning. Every move shifts every tile in one direction, and any two adjacent tiles with the same number merge into one tile with double the value. After each move a new 2 or 4 appears in a random empty cell. Reach the 2048 tile to win the meta, or just see how high your score can climb before the board fills up. The trick is keeping your highest tile pinned to one corner; once it starts moving around, you lose the corner anchor and the rest of the board falls apart fast. The game becomes obvious in retrospect once a friend explains the corner-anchor heuristic, but the puzzle still has plenty of depth even after you know the trick, because every spawn is random and every chain decision compounds. This version runs locally; nothing is uploaded.

Arrow keys, WASD, or swipe to slide all tiles in that direction. Same-valued tiles next to each other merge when you slide them together. A new 2 or 4 spawns after every successful move. The game ends when no moves are possible: no empty cells and no adjacent matches. Score adds up the values of every merged tile, so chains of merges count more than isolated ones.