GAME REVIEW

Platform: Android, iOS, Web-based
Price: Free
Released: May 2014

Before downloading this game, be prepared to give up your mind, body and soul to it… at least till you've reached the 2048 mark. 2048 is a simple sliding puzzle tile game with numbers. And no it's not Sudoku. Here's how it works.

The game starts with sixteen boxes and two tiles, each labeled 2. You need to bump these two 2's to make a tile labeled 4. Every time you make a move, another tile (either a 2 or a 4) is added to the game. You need to bump the 4 with another 4 to make an 8, two 8's together to produce 16, and so on till you reach 2048. Easy, right?

Wrong. The limited space of sixteen boxes means you need to think before you make your moves. It gets difficult as you approach the higher numbers. There are basically eleven levels: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024 and 2048. The game ends when you have no tiles to bump and all the boxes are filled up. If you wish, you can continue playing even after 2048 for personal glory, and of course you can flaunt your high scores by sharing on Facebook & Twitter.

The game was made over a weekend by Gabriele Cirulli, a 19 year-old Italian, who wanted to see whether or not he could make an app similar to Threes! and 1024. Despite being a clone, 2048 gained more popularity than the ones it was inspired from. And since it wasn't his original idea, Cirulli decided to make it free over all platforms.

The game is as addictive as it gets and you can't put it down till you've reached the 2048 target, unless you're a give-upper. Download and play 2048, or visit http://gabrielecirulli.github.io/2048/