Tiles that bump into each other combine, making a new tile with the sum of the previous two on it.
So, what do you have to do? In basic terms, you slide tiles around the screen in a 4x4 grid, making them bump into one another. Threes was a phenomenal success both critically and commercially and gave rise to legions of tile-based number games, of which 2048 was one. Threes was another very well-received math puzzler, which also used a sliding tile interface to combine the values on tiles to make certain numbers. Confusingly, there was a second, earlier puzzle game which was also called 2048, but that was quite different from the 2048 that Cirulli wrote and wasn’t something he based his own 2048 game on.ġ024, the game that the 2048 that we play was based on, was itself a free-to-play clone of the iOS game Threes. Copies of Copies of CopiesĬirulli based 2048 on another game called 1024, saying he’d essentially cloned the earlier game with only minor tweaks. Cirulli himself has embraced these copycat games and as an inevitable part of creating open-source software and has said that he’s happy as long as the new games bring something new and creative to the 2048 formula. This despite the fact that the game has gone on to become seriously addictive for millions around the world and has led to uncountable legions of spin-offs, themed versions and apps, some of which are even monetized. The Italian designer has also repeatedly stated that 2048 isn’t his concept and that it would therefore be wrong for him to try and profit from it. Unlike the creators of other small, viral hit games, Cirulli has refused to monetize 2048 as he never intended to use it to make money but simply to see if he could write an entire game from scratch. He published the game as open-source software on Github and was blown away when he realized that 2048 had attracted four million visitors in under a week.
Cirulli wrote 2048 alone over the course of a single weekend simply to challenge himself, not expecting anybody to pay it any attention.
While the name 2048 makes this game sound like it’s from the future, it was originally developed in 2014 by Gabriele Cirulli, a 19-year-old Italian designer. 2048 is a single-player, math-based, sliding tile puzzle game that tests your arithmetic abilities.