Sliding puzzle
2048
Swipe, merge, repeat. It is eleven years old, it costs nothing, and it is still the best thing to open when you have four minutes and one hand.
- Made by
- Gabriele Cirulli
- Released
- 2014, open source
- Shelf
- Platform · 2–5 minutes
- One session
- Runs of three to eight minutes
- Account
- No account
- Connection
- Loads once, then runs on your device
- Controls
- Arrow keys, or a swipe in any direction
- Pays its way with
- Nothing at all
- Last retested
- 24 September 2026
Opens the developer's own site in a new tab. The link is editorial: nobody paid for it, and we get nothing if you click it.
- To start
- £0, nothing to install
- Most it will sell you
- Nothing — there is no shop
- Paid random items
- None
Every price, with its source: what each cabinet really costs.
The first five minutes
Four arrows, two tiles, and the rule explains itself in one move: everything slides, equal numbers merge. Within a minute you have worked out that the corner matters; within five you are annoyed with yourself for breaking your own corner.
Why the original site matters
2048 was written by Gabriele Cirulli over a weekend in 2014 and released openly. That is why there are hundreds of copies of it, most of them wrapped in advertising, interstitials and newsletter prompts by people who did not write it.
The version we link to is his own, and it is clean: no adverts, no sign-up, no cookie theatre. If a 2048 site asks you to accept anything before you can move a tile, you are on somebody else's copy.
Built for a borrowed four minutes
It is the only cabinet here that genuinely survives an interruption. The board is kept in your browser, so closing the tab at your stop and opening it again at lunch puts you back on the same game. Nothing else on this floor does that.
Swipes work in any direction and there is nothing small to hit, which is what earns it the highest thumb mark on the site. It also runs entirely on your device once loaded, so a tunnel is irrelevant.
The honest limits
There is one board and one target, and once you have reached the 2048 tile the game invites you to keep going for bigger ones. Some people find that endless; others stop the moment they win and never return.
There is no leaderboard, no account and no way to compare yourself with anyone but your own best score, which is kept locally. Clear your browser data and it is gone.
What works
- The developer's own site: no adverts, no account, no consent banner
- Keeps your board between sessions — the cleanest stop on the floor
- Swipe controls make it the best cabinet here for one hand
- Runs on your device once loaded, so a dead spot changes nothing
What grates
- One board, one idea — the reason to return thins out after a fortnight
- Best score lives in your browser and disappears if you clear site data
- Search results are full of advert-heavy copies; check you are on the original
The verdict
Eleven years on it is still the model for a game that respects short, interrupted time: instant, one-handed, advert-free and patient enough to hold your board until you come back. Nothing here scores higher for the way most people actually play.
Questions we get asked
Which 2048 is the official one?
The one by Gabriele Cirulli at play2048.co. Most other copies are reskins carrying their own advertising.
Does 2048 save my game?
Yes, in your own browser. Close the tab and reopen it later and the board is where you left it.
Can I play it with one hand?
Yes. Swipes in any of the four directions are the whole control scheme, which is why it tops our thumb test.