The 2048 puzzle game is the latest craze, your goal is to get a number as high as possible. In this complete guide optimal walkthrough, we will go over winning strategies and 2048 techniques that will most likely to keep you winning and winning. Once you understand the strategy, the only thing left is to be patient while you are cycling through the winning rotation patterns while keeping up the victory setup. If you are asking about how to beat 2048, you have come to the right place with tons of extra strategy and tricks.

We will go over the key 2048 variations and important key stages to help you keep track and win. By following our tips step by step, you will almost never lose. Hoping to get lucky is not the way to win, you need to go into the game with a definitive strategy in mind. Please check out the rest of our mobile game guides for other walkthroughs for the games that you play!

The 2048 Technique for Puzzle Winning Strategy Guide

The main theory behind the 2048 game is that you want to keep higher numbers from interfering with the lower set of numbers, or implement the so called The Corner Strategy. You typically require the extra spaces so that the smaller numbers can feed into the bigger ones. This means that putting the highest number at a corner, and all the numbers under that to the side.

Step 1: Keep The Highest Number With a Given Corner.
Step 2: Fill up supporting column with descending number tiles.
Step 3: Setup the Floating Second Corner
Step 4: Connect the Number Tiles
Step 5: Avoid Small Numbers Between Your Large Numbers
Step 6: Variables that can throw you off and Additional 2048 Technique

One Picture To Help You Get 2048 Easily
Below is a quick picture summary of all the tips provided with this optimal 2048 strategy guide. We hope that you can obtain the final number easily and will head for the higher number 4096 or even 8192 challenges with our 2048 guide.

Step 1: Keep The Highest Number With One Given Corner.

When you first start the game, it is relatively easy to combine the numbers. Your goal is to keep the highest number by one of the corner, and continue to feed lower numbers into it. You may think that it may be easier said then done. You want to have a definite corner setup by the number 64. Once you go past 64, you will have harder time to move them into the corner.

Once the numbers stays at the corner, you will have to do everything you can to keep it at the corner. When you lose that corner, you will quickly lose the 2048 game. Based on our experience, if you lose the corner once you get to 256 or 512 range, you will almost always lose the game within the next 20 swipes.

Thus, we find it most easily to simply restart the game early once to save yourself the headache of losing and time. So that you will have better chance at winning a more “clean” round.

When you play 2048 or 4096, you generally want to practice with a particular corner so that you get used to the winning and handling patterns. After a few rounds you should begin to see the strategy through your own trial and errors.

For the purpose of this 2048 winner’s walkthrough guide, we will use the upper left corner as our future 2048 tile.

Actual Playing Technique
With the highest number tile set at upper left corner. Left swipe or upper swipe is your best friend. You will keep on using it over and over until you run out of moves. When that happens, the game board will form a nice pyramid looking form with half of the board filled.

You should never do counter swipes if unless you have the highest number row filled, and no other numbers in that row can combine.

Step 2: Create Descending Number Chains Along One of the Wall Connecting to the High Number Corner (Support)

The second step to win the 2048 game is to create a supporting column or row with numbers below your biggest. For the purpose of this guide, we have chosen the left column as our support. For example, if your highest number is 1024 in the corner, you want to have 512, 256, and 128 in the other three tiles while you feed more numbers.

You generally want to keep the numbers in descending order. This is the easiest and optimal method so that your upper and left swipes and earn more potential combines off the bottom left corner swipes.

You do not want to keep two rows and columns with higher numbers, always feed the high numbers into that supporting row and eventually feed into the future 2048 tile. Remember that the more high numbers lingering around on your board, the more likely that you will lose.

Step 3: Setup the Floating Second Corner

The second corner setup is your secondary holding spots while collecting all the smaller numbers. This second corner has to stay in the second row of column for you to continue your game. If you lose this second floating corner into the third positions, you may lose the game if you get some unlucky number spawns between your bigger numbers.

This secondary corner strategy needs to floats next to the supporting row. The swiping rotation is as followed:

You generally want to keep the second corner floating around the tile second from the top. This way you can have more upper spaces to feed in lower numbers. Do not let it stay at the third or fourth position for too long. The main reason behind this strategy is that you supportive column has descending numbers, by keeping the secondary corner near the top, you can feed that into the supportive column whenever necessary.

Actual Game play technique
While keeping the highest upper left number corner and left supporting column:
Swipe up or down to boost the secondary corner.
Left Swipe to feed the numbers into the secondary corner or supportive column.
Up Swipe to “upgrade” your 2048 upper left tile.

Step 4: Connect the Number Tiles

While playing, you need to chain up your numbers. It means that keep your numbers always next to each in terms of upgrade. For example, 256 should next to 128 and 128 should be next to 64. This is especially necessary when you start getting to higher number tiles past 1024 stages. At this stage you have less rooms to move around. So by making them “connect” in the first place, you can chain them up easily without too much manipulation.

If you do not connect the numbers through careful planning, you would rely on luck that you receive nice randomly spawned numbers. Relying on luck in this game can cut your session short and you may never reach 2048.

Actual Game play technique
The result from this 2048 game theory is that you need to avoid having large number gaps between your products, with the exception of your highest number tile corner and the supporting column. This technique is especially important toward the end game stage. If the numbers gap are too big, you will not be able to clear out the lower numbers if they spawn between them, causing you to lose the entire game.

Step 5: Clear Small Numbers Between Your Large Numbers Fast

Your game usually get killed whenever you cannot clear out the small numbers between your big tiles. In general, you should not run into this situation much if you follow the recommended swiping pattern. However, at times you may have unlucky number tile spawns. Your goal is to quickly manipulate your board to clear out those tiles fast without compromising your basic strategy.

Step 6: Variables that can throw you off and Additional 2048 Technique

These are a couple of useful techniques to help you hold the biggest number tile at the corner.

Keep Number Tiles Movable in Third and Fourth Column, to avoid out of move scenarios.
Out of Moves Scenario occurs when you run out of moves other than moving out of the corner. This happens when you have filled up all the columns (for our setup), and you have no up or down swipes. The only move that you have is right which destroys your immutable supporting column setup.

To prevent this scenario, always keep the fourth row open with at least one number tile. So that you will always have up or down swipes available.

Prioritize Swipe Towards Your Supporting Column Over Up. This focus on filling Up the Supporting Column At All Times
The supporting column is one of the most important factor to help you win. With the supporting column filled, you can do down swipes without losing your corner. Fill up the supporting column with descending number tiles at all times. This can double your potential moves and prevent you from losing the corner after opposing corner swipe.

Pay Attention to See Potential Combines Along Your Support Column
Avoid this common error at all cost. This error works against you when you have two like numbers in your supporting column, and you swipe away from your corner by mistake. When you swipe down while there is a possible combine, you lose the corner and a randomly spawn number may destroy your position.

To counter this common mistake, always prioritize up swipes over down at all times. In fact, swipe toward your corner all the time before doing down swipe. Make this into a habit especially towards the end game stage where any mistake is deadly.

Supporting Column and Row Switch
At times, you may need to switch the supporting row and column. It usually happens when you make a mistake or run out of potential moves. The switching manipulation can be hard but you want to return to the optimal position as soon as you can. We would recommend playing a few sessions with either row or column as your support, so this way you get used to the different patterns and can react when disaster happens.

However, if you are new to the game, we would recommend to restart if you ever lose your supporting columns.

Final Recap

With these key pointers, you will beat the game and achieve 2048, get 4096, or even obtain 8192 in no time!

Main Strategy:
1. Keep highest number at a corner.
2. Fill up supporting column with descending number tiles.
3. Float the secondary corner next to support column.
4. Connect the number tiles
5. Clear Small numbers between your large numbers fast

6. Sub Strategy Summary And Reason

Swipe Prioritization:
Swipe toward support column > Up towards corner > down only when support is filled.

1. Keep number tiles movable in third and fourth Column, to avoid out of move scenarios.
2. Prioritize swipe towards your supporting column Over Up. This focus on filling Up the supporting column at all times
3. Pay attention to see potential combines along your support column
4. When needed, switch supporting columns and rows.