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The 2048 game board
Screenshot by Twinfinite

How To Beat 2048: Strategy To Win Every Time

Impress your friends with strategic genius!

There exists all sorts of brain-busters that exist to solely challenge our minds, and the numbers-and-tiles of 2048 is definitely one of them. Not only is it addicting, 2048 is one of those board games that’s easy to learn but hard to master. Though randomness is involved, there’s still a strategy to winning. if you’re having trouble reaching the goal, here’s how to beat 2048 with a strategy that helps you win every time, so long as you continue to practice.

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The Best Strategy For Winning 2048

  1. Start by picking a corner.

    It doesn’t matter which corner you pick, so long as you stick to it. Were you to just run around the board with no rhyme or reason, you risk mixing one too many tiles with different values. By sticking to a corner, all of your most valuable tiles stay in one place.

  2. Build up points around and in the corner.

    Now that you’ve secured a spot, consider it your anchor. It’s there, in that corner, that you’ll be pushing tiles into and slowly, but surely, build your score. You don’t have to necessarily focus on building a single tile, in fact, you want to continuously build 2s and 4s into 8s and 16s.Beating 2048 board game

  3. Don’t rush; take your time.

    The last thing you want to do is rush. This isn’t a race, it’s a marathon. It’s highly possible that, if you take a second to look ahead, you’ll be able to merge more than one tile in a single move. Planning ahead also helps prevent low value tiles getting sandwiched between two high value tiles.

  4. Lastly, stick to only two directions.

    After you’ve picked a corner and gathered a few tiles, you’ll notice that you’re really only going in two directions. It’s important to keep that momentum up. If you spend too many turns moving in a circle, you risk filling the board with 2s and 4s in odd places. For example, if your highest tile is in the bottom-left, then move down and left as much as possible.

It’s these four steps that are the foundation of the strategy for beating 2048 almost every time. Of course, sometimes you get horrendous RNG and there’s really no way to play around that. With that said, practice does make perfect and is essential for winning, even if you are bombarded with badly placed 2s and 4s.

There you have it: how to beat 2048 with a strategy that helps you to win every time, provided you take your take and practice. For more guides on classic games, learn how to always win at Tic Tac Toe, but if you prefer some more interactive, check out the latest on the Last of Us board game set to release soon.


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Author
Image of Brady Klinger-Meyers
Brady Klinger-Meyers
Brady is a Freelance Writer at Twinfinite. Though he's been at the site for only a year, Brady has been covering video games, and the industry itself, for the past three years. He focuses on new releases, Diablo 4, Roblox, and every RPG he can get his hands on. When Brady isn't focused on gaming, he's toiling away on another short story.
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