Why is the 2048 Game So Addictive? (2024)

Like Bejeweled, Candy Crush, and countless puzzle games before it, 2048 has eaten up hours, days, weeks of our lives. It's not just about sliding numbered blocks into simple sums. Each 2048 session is a scrappy battle for space—a Zen meditation when clicking solo, and an all-out war when playing against others.

But why can't we stop? Judy Willis, a neurologist and adjunct faculty member at the Graduate School of Education at University of California, Santa Barbara, explains the neuroscience behind our 2048 addiction.

It's All About the Dopamine

As far as neurotransmitters go, dopamine is one of the most famous. It ferries information throughout your nervous system every day. But when it builds up, the brain goes into hyperdrive. "Dopamine is the one of the most compelling neurochemicals—and the most addictive drugs—that we know of," Willis says.

Dopamine boosts pleasure and perseverance while decreasing stress. Winning a bet, succeeding at work, and even snorting cocaine can send your dopamine levels soaring. While that dopamine-driven mixture of pleasure and perseverance is what makes athletes play harder, it's also what pulls drug users into addiction.

The same goes for 2048. "Games like 2048 offer players two of the biggest dopamine boosters," Willis says, which are:

1. The power of prediction: "The brain loves to make predictions," Willis says. "In 2048, every 2 or 4 that you move is a prediction—you're not sure it's the best thing to do—and the game offers limitless chances to make another prediction."

Willis points to studies conducted by James Paul Gee, which have shown that predictions still result in a dopamine boost at an 80 percent fail rate—that is, even if you botch your 2048 scoreboard eight times out of 10, your brain will still demand that you keep on playing.

The effects of dopamine ensure that even when you fail to reach 2048, you'll remain relatively calm. "Instead of being stressed out, the brain is so comfortable that it doesn't want to quit," Willis says.

2. An achievable challenge: If a game is too easy or too hard, dopamine levels stagnate. For the optimal boost, Willis says, a game needs to be challenging but beatable. "'Achievable challenge' are the key words," she says. "That's what will give you the biggest dopamine boost."

Those of us who (by sheer luck) have attained 2048 know that the coveted goal is both challenging and possible. Which means that we can't work or sleep until we win all over again. "It feels so good to achieve a challenge that they keep on playing," Willis says.

Your Daily (or Hourly) 2048 Fix

Video-game addiction is a real thing, but there are vast differences between a diehard and an addict. "People who become dependent on the game find those feelings so compelling that they cannot successfully do the rest of the things in life," says Willis. Fortunately, it hasn't gotten to quite that point in our case. Yet.

2048 has definitely caused an overall drop in our office productivity. At least, according to Willis, it's only natural. "The frequent rush of dopamine from combining 16s into a 32 results in the temptation to avoid work," she says. "Because you never know—you could get better next time."