The latest game to take Southern Lehigh by storm is 2048, a free online game that makes players want to rip their hair out.

Players move  tiles around with the arrow keys on computers or swipe across the screen on smartphones. They add number tiles together to work their way up to get higher numbers on the tiles until they reach 2048.

For example, the number two tile can only join with two tiles to achieve the number four tile. The pattern continues with the tile order of two, four, eight , then 16. Next is 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, and finally 2048.

“It was confusing at first, but it becomes smooth and you realize there is a special trick to beating the game,” freshman Andrew Kim said.

To win, players must reach the 2048 tile. Not many players are successful. Some can reach 1024, but lose before scoring 2048 and burst into outrage. After obtaining 2048, players are allowed to keep playing to get higher tiles such as 4096, but most players stop playing the game after achieving the original goal.

“It was fun at first, but got old quick,” freshman Garrison Piel said.

A basic strategy players can use is moving the highest tile to a corner. Next, have slightly smaller tiles beside the highest tile. The reason for this is to stack up tiles so when players get similar smaller tile, they can immediately come together to achieve 2048. To move the highest tile to a corner, only use three of the arrow keys when playing..

“It’s not that hard once you figure it out,” sophomore Michael Partington said.

The creator of 2048 is Gabriele Cirulli, a first time game developer. Cirulli created the game “as a fun project over the weekend.” The game is similar to “Three,” a game where you add the multiples of three together.

There are many parodies to the game including “Flappy Bird 2048” and “DOGE 2048.” One of the complex parodies is “9007199254740992.”