The ellusive 8192 tile
Russell Ericksen is a marathoner who has lived in Singapore for just a little over two years. He achieved his best timing at the Beppu-Oita Marathon in Kyushu, Japan, earlier this year – running the 42km race in 2 hours, 30 minutes and 50 seconds.
But besides running, 30-year-old Russell – currently a researcher at A-Star in Singapore – also enjoys a game or two on his smartphone. Nowadays, some of his free time is spent playing the popular 2048 game – and he has even managed to get the elusive 8192 tile, which some other players are still dreaming about.
I picked this top marathoner’s brains for some tips on how to win the 8192 tile. Here is what Russell, who hails from the USA, said.
How many tries did you take, before you succeeded in getting the 8192 tile?
I’ve had the game for maybe a couple months. It’s hard to say how many specific tries I’ve had. Usually, I only play the game 5-10 minutes before going to bed. To get the 2048 tile, I took maybe two or three tries, then I got the 4096 and 8192 on the same try.
What was your strategy to get the 8192 tile?
It was basically “snaking” the numbers on the tiles highest to lowest. I got this idea from YouTube videos and you can see one of the videos at: http://youtu.be/YWDZqtNtdGk?t=6m5s
Russell Ericksen – deep in concentration
And what are some tactics that you can share with readers?
I just keep my highest number in the upper left hand corner, then fill up the first column. When this is full, I move on to fill the second column with big numbers, and use the two right hand columns to build smaller numbers.
How is getting the 8192 tile different from the 2048 one? Is there a difference in the strategy that you used?
The strategy is mostly the same.
But the difference is that for 2048, it is possible to do it while filling up one column with the highest numbers. However, for 4096 and 8192, it is more helpful to fill up two columns. So there are only two columns left to rack up smaller numbers. However, to get the 2048 tile, you have three columns left to build up the smaller numbers – and one column for the big ones.
Any other tips you would like to share?
I guess you should be patient and take time to think about every move, especially when getting to the higher numbers.
More Tips on How to Beat 2048
2048 Game Strategy with High Success Rate
How to Beat 2o48, By a Five Time Winner
How to Beat 2048, By a Player who has Successfully Done So
My friends I am 14 years old, and my best score yet is 140700, and I’m still in the game, and I have a 8192 AND a 4096 tile on there. I’m aiming for the 17824, and ill comment this comment if I get it. Comment if anyone else got anything above the 8192 tile!!!
My friends I am 14 years old, and my best score yet is 140700, and I’m still in the game, and I have a 8192 AND a 4096 tile on there. I’m aiming for the 17824, and ill comment this comment if I get it. Comment if anyone else got anything above the 8192 tile!
I like using the bottom left, It’s possible to get 8192, I’ve been one block away from getting it. But you’ll need a strategy, which one doesn’t matter.
So the pitfall that gets me is what I call “The Flat Swipe of Doom” — which is when (in your example) you end up with the three left-most columns filled, and the righttmost column empty, leaving no alternative but to swipe right-left to get unstuck – injecting a pesky ‘2’ or ‘4’ among your highest tiles, and putting a difficult-to-match high tile in your “builder” columns. This has prevented me from getting the 8,192 tile countless times — I’ve been tantalizingly close, and don’t play the UNDO version of the game. What are your strategies for preventing “The Flat Push of Doom”? Once it happens, I am only a few swipes away from losing.
Keep trying… You will succeed 🙂