How to play Merge Numbers

What a merge numbers puzzle is

A merge numbers puzzle is built on doubling. Every block shows a power of two, such as 2, 4, 8 or 16, and two blocks with the same number join into one block worth twice as much. In the drop version, blocks fall into columns like counters, and you only choose the column. Nothing slides sideways, so each drop is one small decision, and a good one can set off a chain that clears half the board. The puzzle ends when the board fills and the next block has nowhere to go.

Playing Merge on AllFun

AllFun Merge has a board of five columns and seven rows. A block waits at the top and you can see the one after it. Tap a column, or click it on a computer, and the block falls to the lowest free square. Tap Play for the endless game, or choose Goals: 30 levels, each with a set number of drops and a target, from making a 32 to making a 2K.

Two helpers are free in every game and level: the Hammer smashes any block, and Swap trades your block for the next one. Merge never costs coins. Find more number and logic games on our puzzle games page.

The rules

Dropping

The waiting block falls straight down the column you choose and stops on the block below, or on the floor. A full column still takes a block that matches the one on top, because the two merge.

Merging

A block merges with every equal neighbour that touches it: below, left, right or above. One equal neighbour doubles it. Two at once make it four times as big, and three make it eight times. The new block stays where the dropped block landed.

Chains

When blocks merge, a gap can open, and the blocks above fall into it. Every block that grew or moved checks its neighbours again, so one drop can trigger a run of merges. On AllFun each merge scores the value of the new block, multiplied by its place in the chain: the second merge scores double, the third triple.

Big numbers

Values double every merge: after 512 comes 1K, which stands for 1,024, then 2K, 4K and on into the millions, written M. As you climb, you are dealt bigger blocks; on AllFun, once you make a 4K, the smallest numbers stop coming.

The end

The game ends when the waiting block fits in no column. In the endless game, Keep going clears the top rows so you can carry on.

Six tips for bigger blocks

1. Build in a corner. Keep your biggest block at the bottom of an outside column and line the next ones up beside it, largest first.
2. Read the next block. Choose a column where the next block will also merge. Two merges from two drops keep the board low.
3. Do not bury small numbers. A 2 under a stack of 64s may never meet another 2. Drop small blocks where they can still reach their twins.
4. Keep one column low. A short column is a safe place for a block that fits nowhere else.
5. Set up chains. Put a block one step below a bigger neighbour: when it doubles, it joins that neighbour at once, and the chain multiplies the points.
6. Save Swap for emergencies. Swap the block when the current one would block your best column, not just to get a better merge.

Merge numbers FAQ