Powers of 2

Slide the tiles; two equal tiles merge into their sum. Each move is graded against the best one, and after a loss the computer shows the last move it could still have won from.

How to play Powers of 2

Powers of 2 is the sliding number puzzle with the 2048 tile as its goal: a 4 by 4 board where every move slides all the tiles one way, and two equal tiles that meet merge into their sum. After each move the computer grades it and says in one sentence why.

The goal

Make a tile of 2048. Each move adds a new 2 or 4 on an empty square, and the game ends when the board is full and no move merges anything. The score grows by the value of every merged tile.

Controls

  • Swipe up, down, left or right on the board. On a computer, the arrow keys do the same.
  • Undo takes back your last move, as often as you like.
  • Hint marks the edge the best move sends the tiles to and says why. The next move, Undo or a new game clears it.
  • New starts a new board; it asks Sure? first while a game is under way.
Powers of 2 in its Stones look at move 29: a 4 by 4 board on green baize with cut stones of 2, 4, 8 and 32, the score and best at 168, and a paper tape under the board listing the last moves. Undo, Hint, Menu and New are in the bar at the foot.

The grades

The paper tape under the board (beside it in a wide, short window) lists your last moves. The newest carries its grade, weighed against another move the computer looked at, and the reason read off the board: a corner given up, tiles out of size order, a merge missed, room lost.

MarkMeans
!!The only good move here
!The best move
?Another move was better
??A move far below the best

Grades after each move, in Settings, turns the tape's grades off.

When the board fills

The computer replays your last moves with the same tiles. When one of them could still reach 2048, it names the move where the game turned and offers Back to that move; otherwise it says none could. Reaching 2048 asks whether to keep going on the same board.

Menu

Menu shows a row of every tile you have made, your best score, your best tile, the games you have played and your 2048 tiles. Continue picks up your game at its move and score; New game starts another.

Looks

Settings holds five looks for the tiles: Stickers, the first, which is free; Tubes, Stones and Flaps for 40 coins each; and Clay for 60. A look changes nothing in play.

Coins

A game that reaches the 2048 tile pays 10 coins. A game played to its end after at least 5 of your moves pays 3. Each game pays once.

Your game in progress, your best score and your look are kept on your device.