This sliding tile challenge was created in 2014 to test whether a game can be coded from scratch. Gabriele Cirulli woke up to a pleasant surprise that this pet project became an overnight success. It didn’t take long before several iterations of the game were made and were making rounds on various social media platforms. The ease of making a 2048-styled game caught up with many aspiring programmers. Soon, there have been several versions of the numbers game that plays with not just numerals but with shapes, emotes like in 2048 Emoji, or even zany iterations like Pizza 2048.

If you haven’t tried this before, you wonder what’s the big deal behind a game of moving tiles and making big numbers. It’s simple, and you will get the gist of how things are done by simply swiping at tiles. Soon, you’ll find yourself playing for longer hours than you should. This is one of those games that is simply easy to play but is hard to stay playing without repeating everything.

2048 takes inspiration from another grid-based tile-moving game: threes. Remove the multiples of 3 rule, and you get a game that is easier to work around and gets you a more fun time. This is significantly less frustrating than the predecessor, guaranteeing longer playing hours and a better feeling of getting somewhere in the game. You don’t have to worry about making a 3 out of 2’s and 1’s placed in inconvenient areas. A move in 2048 brings all tiles to the farthest end, while Threes lets you move numerals in a single tile grid per action. At least, you get to enjoy 2048 before the difficulty catches up with you starting with the middle of play.

There are plenty of grid-based number games available since 2048 was brought to gamers’ screens. One of the all-time favorites, Sudoku, gives you the no-repeat number challenge on a wide grid. 2048 has its own special conditions of random numbers appearing on the grid – even in those areas where you don’t want a new numeral popping up. While Sudoku challenges your memory in properly using digits and grid spaces, 2048 tests how well you control the random aspects by limiting where the new values will show up. All the math you need to worry about is how and where everything adds up nicely.

Think of 2048 puzzle game as a great starting point for even more challenging math puzzles. Why not start with a rather elementary operation through constant addition processes? The world of math puzzle games is larger than it is seen by most gamers. There are various titles with crazier mechanics and more challenging logic for you to uncover and exploit. Starting out with a more chill and relaxing math puzzle game like 2048 can help spark interest in more games. You get to grow into this puzzle game sub-genre while honing your logic and quick thinking.

In summary, 2048 makes a great starting point for the wide world of math puzzles. Whether it be the classic numerals, emoji, or even the uncommon Pizza 2048, there’s a game depending on your tastes.