Talk:2048 (video game)

Highest possible tile
Is totally not 131,072. I am on a 8x8 board, and I currently have a 524,288. This is not a boast: it is more or less impossible to lose on an 8x8 board: I use it to concentrate on conference calls, and have had the same game running since 2018. Evidence here. ElectricRay (talk) 09:37, 31 January 2021 (UTC)


 * The maximum tile on the original 4x4 board is 131072. The 8x8 board doesn't count. Vector107 (talk) 22:39, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Contested deletion
I only created this article as a description of a game that has become highly popular on its own in the past few days (I am not Gabriele Cirulli). What can I do to make it less spammy and therefore unfit for deletion? --Starceus (talk) 16:32, 19 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I've added some independent references, which I hope will help. Qwfp (talk) 20:27, 19 March 2014 (UTC)
 * What establishes the encyclopedic relevance of this game? Although popular, primarily among Hacker News readers, there are also many other popular games that aren't relevant (e.g., online gangster / mafia web games, indie RPG games, etc). Is the game relevant for inclusion due to 15 minutes of fame? - Simeon (talk) 23:49, 19 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I think it's the fact that its fame has started to make its way into mainstream culture that makes it fit for an encyclopedia (e.g. it has its own XKCD comic). You know, come to think about that, maybe WP:15MOF (or WP:FMOF) should be a thing, since upon a simple search it seems to be referenced a lot in AfD pages. Starceus (talk) 01:56, 20 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I think that'd fall under WP:Notability is not temporary. Maybe a new redirect? Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 02:33, 20 March 2014 (UTC)
 * That would work. 99.255.146.223 (talk) 14:37, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Is there any say to a person who earns 268,436,684 points on 2048 and not tell the GWR about it. It seems everyone should get the word

Request for box art or logo
Is it even possible to get box art or a logo? There's no box to have art and the logo's just a written "2048" on GitHub. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 12:25, 25 March 2014 (UTC)


 * You're right, I've changed it to "n" as no logo or box art exists. - Simeon (talk) 11:10, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

A couple of comments
– Fuzzy – 19:45, 26 March 2014 (UTC)
 * 1) Apparently, Gabriele Cirulli version of the 2048 game is a clone of another '2048' game rather than '1024'. See here.
 * 2) It's possible to get higher tiles. Here's an example of a board with a 4096 tile. Practically it's possible to get to 8192. Theoretically, it's possible to get to 16384...


 * Fuzzy, you are right. Instead of getting higher tiles, this website offers to start with tiles lower than "2": (redacted) So reaching 2048 is much harder and it's like getting 8192 when you start from "2".217.132.222.68 (talk) 05:58, 27 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Please don't refer people to unofficial copies of the game. The surge in popularity may lead to versions of the game with malware and we can't check all of them. - Simeon (talk) 13:11, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

The sentence giving the highest theoretically possible total score seems incorrect to me. It gives high scores for all 2s appearing, and for all 4s appearing, but the highest possible score will occur when 2s always appear except when a 4 must appear in a sole vacant spot in order to combine with another 4, then 8, then 16, etc. --ScrabbleCurling (talk) 01:54, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

Gameplay video clip
I know we're supposed to use videos sparingly here, but I think that one would be beneficial to this page. It's one thing to say that the tiles move in a direction and combine if they're the same, it's another to see them go up to, say, the first 32 tile. Any thoughts? Anyone able to make one? Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 05:46, 28 March 2014 (UTC)
 * An animated gif would be visible to more people, see File:Threes_video_game_trailer.gif - Simeon (talk) 12:32, 28 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I thought about a GIF, but how would we loop it without being really abrupt about it? You just got a 32 tile! but now you're back to two 2's? The Threes trailer and File:Twitch plays pokemon animated.gif both are smooth transitions from end back to the beginning. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 13:30, 28 March 2014 (UTC)

Rules section
Given the large interest in making clones and AIs for this game, I have added a section more clearly specifying the rules. I haven't been able to find any exact descriptions of these other than the source code of the original game.

Maybe the section overlaps slightly with the Gameplay section. Thomasda (talk) 18:06, 5 April 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure this is encyclopedic content. The gameplay should be discussed but the exact rules can be read in the source code by those interested in making clones and AI - that audience doesn't need Wikipedia to enumerate the rules. - Simeon (talk) 23:00, 5 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Some rules are okay, and for a simple game like this, having all the rules isn't a bad thing, I wouldn't think. My concern, however is WP:OR: Does analyzing the source code count? I've really got no idea. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 19:12, 6 April 2014 (UTC)

Interesting missing facts
It would be interesting to include answers to the following questions:


 * What is the minimum score that a winning game of 2048 must have?
 * What is the minimum number of matches that a winning game of 2048 must have? The article mentions a lower bound but that bound could be higher due to space constraints.

The questions can be answered based on whether only 2 tiles or only 4 tiles are spawning (best / worst case scenario analysis).

Simeon (talk) 22:02, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

Finished board
User:Simeon said that the screenshot of the won game was a fake when he removed it. I'm not seeing anywhere on the source page that suggests it to be such, but either way, it's back now. Anyone know whether or not it's actually real? If it's fake, how do we label it that way? Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 21:38, 6 April 2014 (UTC)


 * See the source page: https://github.com/gabrielecirulli/2048 - the screenshot is fake. I'm also not sure it's possible to finish the game with a score that low. A screenshot of a finished game should have a high enough score. - Simeon (talk) 22:46, 6 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Oh, not the Commons source page, okay. I unfortunately can't change the description for a week or so due to the stupidity of the SurfControl here, can I ask you to specify that it's a fake screenshot on the Commons page? Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 23:36, 6 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Is this screenshot more plausible? Bob Amnertiopsis ∴ChatMe! 00:34, 7 April 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm not so sure plausibility is the issue here. I'm really not sure how many points you need to win (I've never made it past two 512's and 7000-some points), but it says right on the website that it was a faked screenshot. I'm not saying it's a bad picture, but we need to label as a fake. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 02:17, 7 April 2014 (UTC)


 * The faked screenshot would be fine if we didn't have a better free alternative, but the above-linked one seems to be a legitimately completed game and since the game is licensed the ExPat/MIT license, we're allowed to use it even though someone else created it. In pictures I've seen from friends who have completed the game, 20,000+ seems to be a reasonable winning score. How would you feel about placing the non-faked image in the article? Bob Amnertiopsis ∴ChatMe! 06:03, 7 April 2014 (UTC)


 * If we can use that screenshot (with regard to license) then that's better. The 20,000+ score is common in winning games so that's a more accurate screenshot of what a winning board looks like. - Simeon (talk) 09:34, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

Incorrect number of matches
First of all, this line smells like original research. Secondly, it's wrong -- the game randomly spawns 2s or 4s. If it spawn all 4s, one would only need 512 such tiles. Also, what a "join" is is not obvious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.7.84.130 (talk) 08:29, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Removed 2048planet.com
I've removed the link to that site for the same reason as why we don't link to any specific variety of the game: it's not the official game and people can find that themselves online. Aggregating all varieties of the game into one page doesn't mean we should link to that site as it doesn't add something to the encyclopedic discussion of the game 2048. - Simeon (talk) 11:04, 22 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Agreed, this looks like an arbitrary WP:FANSITE. The article already mentions notable spinoffs. --McGeddon (talk) 13:32, 22 April 2014 (UTC)

Touchscreen controls
A couple of editors have been saying that the game's got touchscreen controls, but I'm saying no, because the original is only on GitHub (no app) and some of the sources say that it was other people making all the others. I'd rather avoid an edit war, so I brought it here. Thoughts?  Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex  22:11, 3 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, other people wrote the code for the touchscreen controls, but it was incorporated into the "original" game that the article is about. the wub "?!"  09:11, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

Artifical Intelligence based Solver
On 4th April 2014, an algorithm submission contest to solve 2048 game was started in Matlab Central Exchange. On 2nd May 2014, the algorithms submitted by Oliver Woodford, Athi Narayanan and Viktor were declared as the winning algorithms. Both Oliver's and Athi's submissions were able to very successfully achieve 2048 and reach 4096 (in a 1000-run simulation experiment). The Matlab implementation of the Artificial intelligence based 2048 Game solver submitted by Athi is available online.


 * ✅: I added the last bit, but the rest is sourced through blogs, so they're not reliable sources. Thanks!  Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex  11:25, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 May 2014
Change "Therefore, the highest theoretically possible total score would be 1,835,012 if only 2s appear, and twice this value in the case of 4s only." to "Therefore, the highest theoretically possible total score would be 1,835,012 if only 2s appear, and HALF this value in the case of 4s only.", because as it is right now the sentence doesn't respect the formula shown above.

Thank you.

Bradipo9 (talk) 19:28, 6 May 2014 (UTC)


 * ✅, thanks for pointing that out!  Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex  23:57, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

High score not correct
The highest total score section is still not correct; it says "Therefore, the highest theoretically possible total score would be 1,835,012 if only 2s appear, and half this value in the case of 4s only." As the table shows, if you get a 131072 tile (from only 4s appearing), you could get a score as high as 1966080. In fact, you could build up the earlier tiles using 2s to score even higher.

Besides, someone should add in the code that the player gains 4 points if the tile generator would choose that tile so the player is not cheated for any points. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.202.189.96 (talk) 20:13, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. Mpozar (talk) 23:18, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

Analysis of highest possible score
The highest score possible is 3,932,100 and could be achieved as follows:

Only 2s appear until the board is filled with the following tiles:

{65536, 32768, 16384, 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 2, 2}

At this point, the 2 2s could be merged. If a 2 appears, the game is over - the board is full and no merges are possible. However if a 4 appears, the tiles would then be:

{65536, 32768, 16384, 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 4}

Merging could then continue, allow the user to get a 131072 tile. Assuming all subsequent new tiles were 2s, the user could end up filling the board with:

{131072, 32768, 16384, 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 2, 2}

At this point again the 2 2s could be merged, but the next tile would have to be a 4 or the game would be over. If a 4 appears, the tiles would then be:

{131072, 32768, 16384, 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 4}

Merging could then continue, allowing the user to get up to a 65536 tile (with the 131072 tile remaining).

Gameplay could continue in this fashion, where each time the board gets full, 2 2s can be merged, and the next tile must be a 4 to prevent the game from ending. Ultimately the user would end up with:

{131072, 65536, 32768, 16384, 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 4, 4}

After merging the 4s into an 8, either a 2 or a 4 would appear, and the game would end with the board:

{131072, 65536, 32768, 16384, 8192, 4096, 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, (2 or 4)}

Total score from merges that created each tile:

Total: 3,932,100

Mpozar (talk) 23:50, 9 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Both this and the whole "Mathematics" section that was in the article are original research and too in depth for a very minor facet of the game. I've removed the section. If there's a reliable source for the highest possible score, that may be acceptable, but we don't need to show all the working. the wub "?!"  09:17, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree entirely with the assessment of the section as original research. The calculations involved go far beyond WP:CALC, which is limited to "obvious, correct" calculations.  RJaguar3 &#124; u &#124; t 01:09, 11 May 2014 (UTC)
 * But these are correct, and obvious (provided you have a calculator – do I really have to get a calculator to prove it to you guys?) Epicgenius (talk) 22:52, 14 May 2014 (UTC)


 * I agree, but to quote WP:CALC: provided there is consensus among editors. Since we don't have that, the section can't stay until opposers can be swayed. However, does have a point about how it might be a little excessive.  Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex  01:33, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree with the wub; the section is entirely OR. -- Guerillero &#124;  My Talk  18:26, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: no consensus. Both the original and modified proposals appear to deviate from the guideline naming convention for video games. While guidelines are always open to exceptions, no compelling argument for the exception appears in the discussion below. Xoloz (talk) 16:15, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

2048 (video game) → 2048 (online game) – This is an online game, and is more accurate a title than the existing title, which suggests that this is played on a video game console. Epicgenius (talk) 15:37, 12 June 2014 (UTC)
 * It's interesting because what qualifies as an 'online game'? Do we count Runescape as an online game? OSE, I know. It's always online because you're connected to a database, but I don't believe that this label 'online game' applies to 2048 in itself because you can play it offline as well. Tutelary (talk) 15:46, 12 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Counterpropose 2048 (game) as per WP:CONCISE. No need to qualify it at all. Red Slash 23:55, 12 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Agree with what said, as an alternative to what I propose. (, aren't any web-based games, which you can cache in your browser, technically not online games? To be honest... :-) ) Epicgenius (talk) 02:52, 13 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Red Slash beat me to it. Move to 2048 (game). It redirects here already and is more concise.  Calidum  Talk To Me 03:05, 13 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Comment didn't CVGproj collapse all the different types of videogames into "video game", (as to why they eliminated "computer game", etc) -- 65.94.171.126 (talk) 04:38, 13 June 2014 (UTC)
 * It happened over seven years ago due to this discussion Categories for discussion/Log/2007 February 4 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.65.43.92 (talk) 22:45, 15 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Move to 2048 (game) - Concise, unambiguous with any other subject, uncontroversial (as opposed to deciding what makes a game "online" or not). ☺ ·  Salvidrim!   ·  &#9993;  16:31, 18 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Oppose per Naming conventions (video_games): "Using "(video game)" should be used instead of "(computer game)", "(arcade game)" or similar disambiguation. Using only "(game)" is discouraged." (2048 is also an offline app, incidentally.) --McGeddon (talk) 16:47, 18 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Despite the fact it's not recommended (discouraged =/= forbidden), I'm willing to agree that we should make an exception here if it avoids wasting time to debate what constitutes an "online game" vs. a "video game"; a simple, unorthodox solution is preferable to a "standard" but controversial one IMO. ☺ ·  Salvidrim!   ·  &#9993;  18:58, 18 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Oppose As per WP:VG Naming convention. I can't see any reason for this being a special exemption . It's a video game, it's no different to Minesweeper. - X201 (talk) 20:24, 18 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Oppose moving to 2048 (online game) - taken from video game, "A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device [...] it now implies any type of display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional images." Therefore 2048 is a video game; additionally the current title doesn't suggest that it's played on a console, all games played electronically are commonly referred to as video games. Satellizer   (´ ･ ω ･ `)  04:27, 19 June 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm Neutral with the suggestion of moving to 2048 (game), though. Satellizer   (´ ･ ω ･ `)  04:29, 19 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Comment The proposal to move to (game) isn't a no problem solution, video games are disambiguated as such because they are video games, this is to distinguish them from conventional board and table games. The disambiguation (game) wasn't used for video games in order to provide a clear distinction between the two types of game. Moving 2048 to the same disambiguation as the likes of Monopoly will just add confusion. - X201 (talk) 05:58, 19 June 2014 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Tile spawn algorithm
Anyone have a good reference on the tile spawn algorithm? It does not appear to be "random".--Nowa (talk) 01:38, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

It is random... just a random empty spot. 71.71.71.105 (talk) 01:52, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Strategy
Of course this is not a video game guide, but should there be a sentence or two on basic strategy, or links to high-quality further discussions of strategy?

Reassessment
Came here via the reassessment request in the talk page template. Leaving this as C-class, though even that's pushing it. Some ideas for improvement below:
 * The lead is meant to be a summary of the rest of the article; as such it should not have citations, because all of the information there should be expanded on and cited in the rest of the article. It's also generally cleaner to have the citations at the end of the sentence, not just sprinkled throughout.
 * There is no development section; all the development info seems to have been shoved in the lead instead
 * There is no reception section, just a "comparisons to Flappy Bird" section, which is bizarre, since the obvious comparison is Threes, or 1024. -- Pres N  18:09, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Author now sells ads and charges for removing them
The article repeatedly mentions that Gabriele Cirulli does not make money on the game, but this is no longer accurate.

His official iOS version of the 2048 game: > https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/2048-by-gabriele-cirulli/id868076805 now includes advertising, and users must pay $0.99 to remove the advertising.

His website does still allow people to play the game for free. Mkilby (talk) 12:03, 30 March 2016 (UTC)

Some different 2048 versions.
http://allthe2048.com/community-games/portal-1.html?usp_success=2&post_id=40199 http://allthe2048.com/community-games/portal-cores.html?usp_success=2&post_id=40203 http://allthe2048.com/community-games/pit-bull.html The website www.allthe2048.com has many different types of 2048 versions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.88.22.136 (talk) 00:20, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Edit conflict (sort of)
Hi, I saw that you're editing the page at the same time I am. I'm trying to get it to pass a GA this time around, and I'm following the suggestion left on the TP. I'm just following the suggestions left on the previous GA review (about six months ago). Are you also planning to do so? If so, then we could do a joint nomination or something if possible. One more thing the picture being that large just don't work on a laptop, it's too big and the text does some funky things, so I'm undoing those, hope you don't mind. Thanks, Thanoscar21talkcontributions 16:06, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Hello! About the picture: I removed the forced image size, and (roughly) mimicked it with a scale factor; but really it shouldn't be either, as that's the MOS standard. I've just been fixing some of the obvious stuff that's wrong with that page—which is a lot—but I think I'm done with my pass, so have at it. Dgpop (talk) 16:40, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
 * All right, I've renominated it, do feel free to add your name in as well, you did do a lot. Thanoscar21talkcontributions 16:51, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

"177147 (video game)" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect 177147 (video game). The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 February 2 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Hog Farm Talk 05:54, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

"2048 Galaxy Edition (video game)" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect 2048 Galaxy Edition (video game). The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 February 2 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Hog Farm Talk 05:56, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Elgoog
The site elgoog.im has a version of 2048. Should this be included? Mariobros12345 (talk) 19:27, 29 May 2021 (UTC)
 * WP:ELNO — Smuckola(talk) 19:40, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

Strategy and AI
The "Strategy and AI" section that I added (see this revision) was removed by Dgpop. I feel strongly that its content is important. The most remarkable part about the game that a casual player is not likely to know (or believe) is the achievability of larger tiles, including that with over 80% probability, one can achieve a 32768 tile. The strategic depth has both spawned a loose community of expert human players, and made the game of interest to AI researchers. And the featured article nomination was declined largely due to absence of discussion of scholarly works related to 2048 strategy and AI. However, I will let other editors re-add the section, perhaps partially or in a revised form.

Note: Click 'show' to see the section. The first paragraph in the section was adapted from before. I uncommented the "source reliability note" as this is a discussion page. Dmytro (talk) 18:31, 31 August 2022 (UTC)


 * Update: I restored a shorter revised AI section, which should be noncontroversial. The page should say more about strategy and achievement of large tiles by humans, but as noted above, I will leave that to others.Dmytro (talk) 06:58, 1 September 2022 (UTC)