Move over Flappy Bird: The latest gaming craze is 2048

By Salvador Rodriguez

March 24, 2014 12:14 PM PT

The (Flappy) Bird is no longer the word -- the latest craze is all about a puzzle game called 2048.

The game, which can be played through the Web, requires that users pair tiles containing similar numbers together to create tiles with larger figures.

The ultimate goal is to add up enough tiles to get one worth a total of 2,048, but the user must do so without filling up the playing field and locking him or herself up from making anymore moves.

The game was created by Italian developer Gabriele Cirulli. His version is playable on computers as well as smartphones and tablets, and it was inspired by two other games that were released earlier this year: 1024 and Threes.

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However, Cirulli’s version has gone viral. 2048 has Twitter users buzzing about the puzzle game while Google Play and the Apple App Store have both begun to get inundated with clone versions of the game. Currently, the top free game in the Apple App Store is one called “2048” that was not created by Cirulli.

2048 is very fun and very addictive, and it seems to have filled the void left by Flappy Bird, a game that had risen to the top of the Apple App Store and Google Play before its developer suddenly yanked it from the digital stores last month.

Since Flappy Bird was removed, numerous clone versions of that game have been released in both digital stores, but their popularity seems to have finally begun to die down and be replaced by clones of 2048.

Users should start playing 2048 only if they’re OK with the possibility of it taking over their day. Else, they might end up like some of these Twitter users: