Games like2048

14 games like 2048 for players who think in powers of two

Updated October 22, 2026 · 14 games, each checked on its maker's site · 13 min read

2048 is the sliding-number puzzle the Italian developer Gabriele Cirulli wrote over a weekend and put online for free on 9 March 2014, with its code open under the MIT License; it drew more than 4 million visitors in less than a week. Every swipe pushes all the tiles on a 4×4 board as far as they will go, two equal numbers that collide fuse into their sum, and each move that changes the board drops a fresh tile into an empty cell: a 2 nine times in ten, otherwise a 4. Build a 2048 tile and you have won, though you can carry on; the game stops when the grid is packed and no neighbours match. It is still free at play2048.co, where the Standard mode adds a few undos and a Swap Two Tiles powerup and Classic mode keeps the original with no undo, and the official phone apps come from Solebon LLC.

The list runs from close to far. It opens with the game 2048 grew out of and the puzzles that still deal in doubling numbers, moves on to merge games built from fruit, towns and dice, then to the calm grid puzzles that share 2048's real opponent, a board slowly running out of room, and ends with a few number puzzles for people who enjoy the arithmetic as much as the sliding. Every entry spells out what it shares with 2048, where it parts ways and what it costs.

How we picked

A good 2048 game asks you to think a move or two ahead, combine equal things into bigger ones and guard your empty space, with no clock pushing you along. We judged every candidate by how much of that it keeps, and we favoured games from named studios and designers that have been around long enough to rely on.

On October 22, 2026 each pick was opened on its maker's site or its official store listing. There we confirmed that it is still available, who publishes it, how a game works, what is free and what is sold, and which devices it runs on. Prices are the US prices shown that day.

We left out apps that put 2048's name on a copy of it, such as Ketchapp's unofficial 2048 from 2014, and the many sites that put copies of Suika Game under its name. We also skipped games that are gone or frozen: Saming's 2048, which Cirulli built on, now points to an unrelated article, Veewo Studio's 1024! has not been updated since April 2014, and Drop7 is no longer in the App Store. Our ratings, out of 5, balance how close a game comes to the feel of a 2048 run against its quality, its price and how heavy the ads are.

3 of the 14 are games we make, marked Made by us · Gamefinity. They are rated on the same scale as the rest and placed where they honestly fit.

Threes!

Sliding number-card puzzle · by Sirvo LLC (Asher Vollmer, Greg Wohlwend, Jimmy Hinson)

Price
Paid
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
4.5 / 5
What it costs
$5.99 once on iOS and Steam, no ads; Threes! Freeplay is free with ads; Threes!+ comes with Apple Arcade; the web version is free
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android, Steam, Browser
Best for
Players ready for 2048's older, harder sibling

What it is

Asher Vollmer designed it, Greg Wohlwend drew it and Jimmy Hinson wrote the music, and it reached the iPhone on 6 February 2014, a month before 2048. It went on to win Apple's iPhone Game of the Year for 2014 and an Apple Design Award. Numbered cards share a 4×4 board: a 1 and a 2 add up to a 3, and from 3 upward only matching cards join, doubling each time. Today it is on iOS, Android, Steam and Apple Arcade, with a free browser version as well.

Why it's like 2048

This is where the family starts. 2048 was modelled on 1024, which was modelled on Threes!, and the original 2048 page itself calls the two conceptually similar. You get the same four-by-four board, the same four swipes and the same slow climb from small numbers to big ones until the grid jams.

What's different

A swipe nudges the cards one step instead of all the way to the wall, a preview shows the colour of the next card, and 1s and 2s only pair with each other. Points come from how rare your top cards are. Its designers tried full slides and dropped them because they made the game too easy, so the climb is slower and tougher than in 2048. The browser version opens only over plain http.

Play Threes!Checked Oct 22, 2026

Merge 2048

Made by us · GamefinityClassic 2048 with a ×2 tile

Merge 2048 cover art (a game we make)
Price
Free
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
4.0 / 5
What it costs
Free in the browser, no download or sign-up
Platforms
Browser, phone and computer
Best for
2048's own rules in a browser, with a scoring twist

What it is

Our version of the sliding puzzle, set on the face of a big brass clock. The grid is four by four, you swipe or use the arrow keys, equal tiles fuse, and a 2 or the odd 4 lands after each move. Every 40 moves a gold ×2 tile drops in and doubles whichever number tile it touches first, and building each tile from 64 upward for the first time earns a bonus. The best scores reach a leaderboard once the whole game has been replayed on our servers to check it.

Why it's like 2048

Underneath, it is the 2048 you already know: the same board size, the same rule that a tile can only merge once in a swipe, no timer, and a game that lasts until nothing can move. The corner and chain strategy work exactly as they do on play2048.co, so nothing you have learned is wasted.

What's different

The ×2 tile and the milestone bonuses change how you score, and the game pushes back as you improve: once your best tile passes 512 the gold tile turns up less often, and larger tiles bring more 4s. Purists who want the original's fixed nine-in-ten 2s will see that as a drawback. There is no undo and no app; it runs in the browser only.

Play Merge 2048 on GamefinityOur game: rated as strictly as the rest

2248 - Number Puzzle Game

Connect-the-numbers merge puzzle · by Inspired Square FZE

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
4.0 / 5
What it costs
Free with ads; Ad Free is $9.99 on iOS, and diamond packs for boosters cost $0.99 to $49.99
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
Doubling numbers without the dread of a locked board

What it is

A phone puzzle from Inspired Square, on iOS since December 2019 and past 50 million downloads on Google Play. Instead of pushing the whole grid, you drag a line through touching tiles that carry the same number, diagonals included, and the chain collapses into one higher power of two. New tiles fall in from above to fill the holes.

Why it's like 2048

The numbers are 2048's own, doubling from 2 upward, and the pleasure is the same one: watching a board of small values slowly turn into a single big one, with no end point except the highest tile you can manage.

What's different

You trace chains in eight directions rather than sliding everything at once, so there is no corner to guard and much less risk of the board seizing up. It is gentler, and more about spotting long chains than planning several moves ahead. Ads run between games, and boosters cost diamonds.

Play 2248 - Number Puzzle GameChecked Oct 22, 2026

X2 Blocks

Drop-and-merge number blocks · by Inspired Square FZE

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free with ads; AdFree Forever is $9.99 on iOS, with diamond packs from $0.99 to $24.99 and a $3.49 monthly option
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
A quicker, arcade-style take on doubling

What it is

A second doubling-number game from Inspired Square, on iOS since November 2019 and with more than 50 million Android downloads. You hold a numbered block over a column and fire it onto the stack; if it meets a block showing the same number, the pair becomes the doubled value, and that new block can set off another merge beside it. A column that overflows ends the game.

Why it's like 2048

It counts in powers of two well past 2048, and it rewards the habit 2048 drills into you: keep equal numbers side by side so that one merge leads straight into the next.

What's different

You place one block at a time into columns rather than moving the whole board, and a single drop can trigger merges in several directions, which feels closer to an arcade game than a slow think. Expect ads between games and a shop of diamonds and power-ups.

Play X2 BlocksChecked Oct 22, 2026

Suika Game

Fruit-dropping merge puzzle · by Aladdin X

Price
Paid
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
4.0 / 5
What it costs
$2.99 on Switch and iOS, $1.99 on Google Play on Oct 22, 2026; themes and skins cost extra; online play needs Nintendo Switch Online
Platforms
Nintendo Switch, iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
Merging with a dash of physics and luck

What it is

A Japanese puzzle first made for Aladdin X's projectors in 2021. It reached players worldwide on the Nintendo Switch in October 2023, spread fast through streamers and passed 11 million downloads by October 2024. You slide a cloud along the top of a box and let fruit fall; two identical fruits that touch become the next fruit up an eleven-step ladder that runs from cherry to watermelon.

Why it's like 2048

Pairs of the same thing combine into the next size, the box never grows, and the whole game is about leaving room for the merge after next. 2048's corner habit carries over well: big fruit gathered on one side, small fruit kept together.

What's different

The fruit rolls and bounces, so nothing settles exactly where you aimed and luck counts for more than in 2048. You drop pieces from above instead of sliding a grid, and a game ends the moment fruit spills over the top line. It costs a few dollars, and the many sites using its name are not the real game.

Play Suika GameChecked Oct 22, 2026

Triple Town

Match-three town-building puzzle · by Spry Fox

Price
Free, extras paid
Time per game
15–40 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
$9.99 on Steam; free on phones with a move counter that refills, ads, coin packs and a $3.99 unlimited-turns unlock on iOS
Platforms
Steam, iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
Slow, strategic merging with a long payoff

What it is

Spry Fox's puzzle from 2010, which began on Kindle and Facebook and reached Steam, iOS and Android in 2012. You are handed one piece at a time, mostly grass, and decide where it goes on a 6×6 board. Three or more matching pieces that touch become one piece of the next tier, so grass grows into bushes, trees, huts, houses and eventually cathedrals and castles, while bears roam about taking up space until you trap them.

Why it's like 2048

It runs on the same engine as 2048: equal things combine into something bigger, space is what you are really spending, and the game is over once the board fills. Keeping the big buildings clear of the small merges is the same discipline as keeping your largest tile in its corner.

What's different

You place pieces rather than sliding everything, merges take three of a kind, and the bears are a moving obstacle 2048 never had. A full town takes far longer than a game of 2048. The phone versions have not been updated in years (iOS since 2016), and their free play is rationed by a move counter.

Play Triple TownChecked Oct 22, 2026

Dice Merge

Dice-placing merge puzzle · by Staple Games, LLC

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–10 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free with ads; Remove Ads is a one-time $7.99 on iOS
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
Short merge sessions on a small board

What it is

A small puzzle app from Staple Games, a US studio that makes card and puzzle apps, on iOS since January 2023 and installed more than a million times on Android. You set dice blocks on a little board; when enough dice showing the same number touch, they merge into a higher one, and one merge can chain into another.

Why it's like 2048

Equal numbers combine into larger ones on a cramped board, and you stay alive by deciding where the next merge will happen before you commit. Its aim of keeping the board as bare as possible is pure 2048.

What's different

You place pieces instead of sliding them, and the numbers climb through dice faces rather than doubling toward one giant tile, so the fun is in combos. Ads appear unless you pay to remove them.

Play Dice MergeChecked Oct 22, 2026

1010!

10×10 block-placement puzzle · by Gram Games (part of Zynga)

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–10 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
4.0 / 5
What it costs
Free with ads; Remove Ads is $1.99 on iOS, and Blox packs from $0.99 to $24.99 buy themes and extras
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
Calm space planning without the numbers

What it is

Gram Games released this block puzzle in September 2014, the same year as 2048, and it is still being updated, with more than 10 million Google Play installs. Three shapes at a time are yours to put anywhere on a 10×10 grid; completing a whole row or column wipes it clean, and the game is over when none of the shapes in hand will fit.

Why it's like 2048

What makes 2048 tense is less the numbers than the shrinking space, and 1010! is built on exactly that: every placement uses room you may want later, and good players hold an open area ready for whatever arrives next. There is no clock, so you can think for as long as you like.

What's different

No numbers and no merging: you fit shapes and clear lines, like Tetris without the falling. Ads run between games, and Gram Games' own website now shows a domain-for-sale page, so the app stores are the place to get it.

Play 1010!Checked Oct 22, 2026

Block Fit

Made by us · GamefinityEndless 10×10 block puzzle

Block Fit cover art (a game we make)
Price
Free
Time per game
A few minutes to 10+
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free in the browser, no download or sign-up
Platforms
Browser, phone and computer
Best for
A 1010!-style board in the browser

What it is

Our block puzzle on a wooden 10×10 board. Three pieces wait in a tray, you drag one onto the grid, and any row or column you complete breaks apart. Clearing a line through one of the gem blocks scattered on the grid earns extra points. Now and then a bomb shows up that clears a 3×3 patch wherever you drop it, and a save pocket holds one awkward piece for later. The level rises every 8,000 points and brings bigger pieces.

Why it's like 2048

It shares 2048's best quality: the main mode has no clock, so every move can be thought through, and a run only ends once you have boxed yourself in. Leaving an open area for the next big piece is the same instinct as keeping cells free on a 2048 board.

What's different

There is no merging at all; it is a line-clearing game, and pieces cannot be rotated. The gems, bombs, combo multiplier and fiery callouts make it busier and louder than 1010! or 2048, which not everyone will want. It runs only in the browser, and it also has a two-minute Timed mode.

Play Block Fit on GamefinityOur game: rated as strictly as the rest

Woodoku

Sudoku-grid block puzzle · by Tripledot Studios Limited

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
Daily, plus unlimited
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free with ads; iOS packages cost from $0.99 to $18.99
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
Block puzzles with a daily challenge

What it is

Tripledot Studios' wood-themed block puzzle, on phones since March 2020 and downloaded more than 100 million times on Google Play. You drag the pieces on offer onto a 9×9 board laid out like a Sudoku, and filling any row, any column or one of the nine 3×3 boxes clears it for points.

Why it's like 2048

Like 2048, it is unhurried and all about space: you lose when nothing fits, and the only real goal is a single endless high score that you keep coming back to beat.

What's different

Shapes and cleared lines replace merging numbers, and the 3×3 boxes give it a third way to clear that 1010! does not have. There are daily challenges as well as endless play. woodoku.com only points to the apps; there is no version to play on the web.

Play WoodokuChecked Oct 22, 2026

Number Match

Pair-and-clear number puzzle · by Easybrain

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–15 min
How often
Daily, plus unlimited
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free with ads; on iOS No Ads is $14.99, Premium Access $3.99 and VIP access for a single event $4.99
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
A quiet number puzzle with the opposite goal

What it is

Easybrain, the studio behind Sudoku.com, turned the old pen-and-paper game often called Take Ten or Numberama into this app, now past 50 million Google Play installs. You cross out pairs that match or add up to 10 when they sit next to each other across, down, diagonally or from the end of one row to the start of the next, and when no pairs are left you can copy the remaining numbers onto the bottom of the grid.

Why it's like 2048

It is untimed, built from numbers and quietly strategic, and like 2048 it punishes greed: a careless pair taken early can strand numbers that never find a partner later on.

What's different

You remove numbers instead of building bigger ones, and a game is won by emptying the board, not by reaching a target tile. Getting rid of the ads costs $14.99 on iOS, which is steep for a casual game.

Play Number MatchChecked Oct 22, 2026

Tetris

Falling-block puzzle · by The Tetris Company; app by PLAYSTUDIOS

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
5–20 min
How often
As many as you like
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free in the browser and the app, with ads; the iOS app sells 30 ad-free days for $2.99 and coin packs from $1.99
Platforms
Browser, iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
A free official classic in the browser

What it is

The official free browser version of Alexey Pajitnov's 1985 puzzle, from The Tetris Company, with an official app by PLAYSTUDIOS on iOS and Android. Seven kinds of piece fall one at a time; you shift and turn them to complete horizontal lines, which vanish, and the fall speeds up as you clear more until the stack reaches the top.

Why it's like 2048

It is the other great grid game about keeping a board tidy: you leave space for the piece you are hoping for, avoid gaps you cannot fill and lose when the clutter wins, the same worries that decide a game of 2048.

What's different

Pieces fall on their own and keep getting faster, so you are always racing the game in a way 2048 never asks of you. You clear lines rather than merging numbers. Ads run on the web page and in the app.

Play TetrisChecked Oct 22, 2026

Exactly

Made by us · GamefinityDaily numbers-round puzzle

Exactly cover art (a game we make)
Price
Free
Time per game
About 2 min
How often
One a day
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free in the browser, no download or sign-up
Platforms
Browser, phone and computer
Best for
A daily arithmetic puzzle between 2048 runs

What it is

Our daily maths game in the style of a TV numbers round: six cards, some small and some large, one target and the four signs. Pick a card, a sign and a second card, and the two are swapped for one new card holding the result, which you can combine again. Everyone gets the same three targets each day, rising from easy to hard, and each one has a minute on the clock.

Why it's like 2048

Its central move is a merge: two numbers go in, one comes out, and you keep combining the results until you reach a goal. Players who enjoy the arithmetic side of 2048 as much as the sliding will feel at home with it.

What's different

It is timed, with a minute per target, and you get one go a day rather than endless games. You can use any of the four operations, not just addition, and there is a fixed answer to find instead of an open-ended climb, so it is a side dish for 2048 fans rather than a replacement.

Play Exactly on GamefinityOur game: rated as strictly as the rest

KenKen

Arithmetic logic puzzle · by KenKen Puzzle LLC

Price
Free, with ads
Time per game
1–20 min
How often
One a day
Our rating
3.5 / 5
What it costs
Free daily puzzles with ads; a premium membership removes the ads; the KenKen Classic iOS app sells packs from $1.99
Platforms
Browser, iPhone and iPad, Android
Best for
2048 players who like the maths side

What it is

The official home of the arithmetic logic puzzle invented by the Japanese teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto, with free daily puzzles in seven sizes, from 3×3 to 9×9, refreshed at midnight Eastern. Every row and column holds each number once, as in Sudoku, and outlined groups of cells must make a target number using the sign shown beside it.

Why it's like 2048

It asks for the same calm, step-by-step thinking as 2048 and uses simple arithmetic all the way through, so it suits players who enjoy numbers for their own sake.

What's different

Each puzzle is a fixed logic problem with exactly one answer, not an endless game with random tiles, and there is nothing to slide. The free site shows ads, which a premium membership removes.

Play KenKenChecked Oct 22, 2026

All 14 side by side

#GameTypeHow oftenTimePricePlatformsRating
01Threes!Sliding number-card puzzleAs many as you like5–15 minPaidiPhone and iPad, Android, Steam, Browser4.5 / 5
02Merge 2048 OursClassic 2048 with a ×2 tileAs many as you like5–15 minFreeBrowser, phone and computer4.0 / 5
032248 - Number Puzzle GameConnect-the-numbers merge puzzleAs many as you like5–15 minFree, with adsiPhone and iPad, Android4.0 / 5
04X2 BlocksDrop-and-merge number blocksAs many as you like5–15 minFree, with adsiPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5
05Suika GameFruit-dropping merge puzzleAs many as you like5–15 minPaidNintendo Switch, iPhone and iPad, Android4.0 / 5
06Triple TownMatch-three town-building puzzleAs many as you like15–40 minFree, extras paidSteam, iPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5
07Dice MergeDice-placing merge puzzleAs many as you like5–10 minFree, with adsiPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5
081010!10×10 block-placement puzzleAs many as you like5–10 minFree, with adsiPhone and iPad, Android4.0 / 5
09Block Fit OursEndless 10×10 block puzzleAs many as you likeA few minutes to 10+FreeBrowser, phone and computer3.5 / 5
10WoodokuSudoku-grid block puzzleDaily, plus unlimited5–15 minFree, with adsiPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5
11Number MatchPair-and-clear number puzzleDaily, plus unlimited5–15 minFree, with adsiPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5
12TetrisFalling-block puzzleAs many as you like5–20 minFree, with adsBrowser, iPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5
13Exactly OursDaily numbers-round puzzleOne a dayAbout 2 minFreeBrowser, phone and computer3.5 / 5
14KenKenArithmetic logic puzzleOne a day1–20 minFree, with adsBrowser, iPhone and iPad, Android3.5 / 5

Where to start

For the nearest thing to 2048 with something new to learn, start with Threes!, and expect it to be harder. For 2048's own rules with a twist in the scoring, open our Merge 2048. If what you love is managing space, 1010! is the next stop, and if the numbers matter more to you than the board, KenKen and our Exactly make a good daily habit.

Questions people ask

What is the game most like 2048?

Threes!, the 4×4 card puzzle that came out a month before 2048 and that 2048 descends from by way of 1024. It is slower and harder, because cards move only one step per swipe. If you want 2048's exact rules instead, our Merge 2048 keeps them and adds a gold ×2 tile.

Who made 2048, and who runs it now?

Gabriele Cirulli, an Italian developer, wrote it over a weekend and released it on 9 March 2014. He still runs play2048.co: in October 2024 he wrote that he had left his job to work on 2048 full time and had spent a year rebuilding the site. The official iOS and Android apps are published by Solebon LLC.

Is 2048 free?

Yes. play2048.co is free in the browser and shows ads, and so are the official apps; on iOS, removing the ads is a $9.99 in-app purchase. Classic mode and the 2014 original at classic.play2048.co are free as well.

Can you keep playing after you reach 2048?

Yes. The game marks the win and lets you continue, and in theory the board can hold a tile as large as 131,072. Our 2048 tips explain the corner strategy that carries you past 2048 and how far the strongest computer players have gone.

Did 2048 copy Threes!?

Indirectly. Cirulli's own notes call 2048 a clone of 1024 by Veewo Studio, based on an earlier 2048 by Saming and only indirectly inspired by Threes!, and his original page credits Threes! as conceptually similar. Our page on 2048 variants traces that family tree and the versions that followed.

Does 2048 have an undo button?

On play2048.co the Standard mode gives you a limited number of undos and a Swap Two Tiles powerup, which its built-in tutorial explains. Classic mode is the original game with no undo at all. The official apps from Solebon LLC include undo too.

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