Guide
20482: corner strategy for the Star Forge
Slide, merge, climb from 2 to the Star Core and beyond. The three forge modes, what undo and autosave do, and six habits that build bigger crystals.
20482 is a sliding number puzzle set in the Star Forge, a workshop floating among the constellations. Every tile is a crystal stone. Push two matching stones together and they fuse into a brighter one — 2 and 2 make 4, 4 and 4 make 8 — up to the 2048 Star Core and on through nebula, obsidian and prism stones to 65536. Play it in your browser or on Android.
The rules
- Swipe up, down, left or right (or use the arrow keys or WASD). Every stone slides as far as it can.
- Two stones with the same number that collide merge into one, and the new value is added to your score.
- After every move a new 2 or 4 appears in an empty cell.
- The run ends when the board is full and no merge is left.
Three forge modes
- Classic Forge — the familiar 4×4 board. Reach the 2048 crystal to win, then keep going.
- Grand Forge — a roomy 5×5 board with a goal of 4096, for long, thoughtful sessions.
- Blitz Forge — 4×4 against a three-minute timer, with no undo.
Classic and Grand give you three undo charges per run, and every run is saved automatically — leave mid-game and Continue brings back the same board, score and undo count.
Six habits of a good forge
- Pick a corner for your largest crystal and keep it there.
- Keep the row next to that corner full, so it rarely shifts.
- Avoid the one direction that pulls the big stone out of its corner. Use it only when there is no other move.
- Build chains like 64, 32, 16, 8 along that row so they merge in a cascade.
- Save undo for real mistakes, not for fishing for a better new tile.
- When the board is crowded, choose the move that opens the most empty cells.
In Blitz, speed matters more than perfection: keep the corner habit, but do not stop to plan every move.
The Star Chart
Finished scores can go to the online Star Chart, with separate charts for each mode, current season and all time. Choose a forge name of up to 15 characters — no account, email or sign-in. If you are offline, your score waits and is sent when the connection returns.
More on the 20482 page, or light the forge.
