2048 ball: doubling numbers without a grid
If you have played 2048, you already know the rule at the heart of Squish Merge: two matching numbers join into one number twice as big. What changes is the board. There are no tiles and no grid; each number sits on a soft ball.
The 2048 ball: same doubling, different shape
In 2048 a number lives in a square, and the squares slide on a four by four board. In Squish Merge a number lives on a ball. You launch it into a jar, it lands wherever you aimed, and it rolls and settles against the other balls. Nothing snaps to a position. The only thing the two games share is the arithmetic: 1 and 1 make 2, 2 and 2 make 4, 4 and 4 make 8, and the chain keeps going.
Squish Merge is not a version of 2048. It is a separate game with its own rules for space, size and ending.
Number merge game rules in short
In this number merge game, the balls you can launch wait in a row above the jar. You press one, pull it down to aim and release to launch it. When two balls with the same number touch, they merge into one ball with double the number. Balls with different numbers do not merge, so they simply sit next to each other and take up room.
The balls that start a round are numbered 1 to 64. In the default mode you never receive a bigger ball than that; anything above 64 only appears because you made it by merging.
Doubling numbers, but only a little bigger
In 2048 every number takes one square, whatever its value. Here a bigger number means a bigger ball, but only slightly. Each number is only a little bigger than the one before. Over many steps this adds up: the ball for 64 is about twice as wide as the ball for 1.
Small and big balls share one jar: the bigger numbers are clearly bigger, but not enormous. Nothing in the game is placed on a grid. A ball lands where you aimed it and settles against its neighbours, and the pile shifts as new balls arrive.
How a ball merge game plays differently
Because balls are round and soft, a ball you launch can come to rest in a gap that a tile never could, and it can be pushed sideways later by the weight of the pile.
Space runs out through pressure, not through a full grid. A round ends when the pile has pushed the plates on both sides of the jar all the way down and held them there for 0.5 seconds each. There is no move counter and no countdown.
A skin that borrows the look of 2048
One of the game's skins is called 2048 and borrows its colours from the well-known 2048 game: cream and beige, with oranges, yellows and browns for the numbers. On a computer you can switch skins; on a touch screen the look is fixed, so you will not see the choice on a phone. The skin changes colours only; the balls are still soft and round.
Try the doubling yourself
The quickest way to see how the 2048 ball works is to play a round. Press Play below, launch a 1 at another 1, and watch the 2 appear. Aim for matching neighbours rather than for a tall pile, and keep the number of different sizes in the jar small.
Loads about 22 MB when you press Play. Nothing to install. Open it on its own page
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The home page has the game first and a short guide to the merge game under it.
- How soft balls squash, settle and merge: soft body merge game.
- Playing in a browser on a PC, Chromebook or phone: merge games online.
- Who makes the game: sobosuba online.
Questions about the 2048 ball
Is this a new version of 2048?
No. It is a separate game, Squish Merge. It shares the doubling idea with 2048, where matching numbers join into one that is twice as big, but it uses soft balls in a jar instead of tiles on a grid, and the rules for space and for ending a round are different.
What is the biggest number I can make?
Only balls numbered 1 to 64 are ever handed to you in the default mode, and every bigger number is one you made by merging. The game does not set a target number to reach; the aim is a high score and a pile you can keep under control.
Why do the balls only grow a little?
Each number is only slightly bigger than the one before it. Bigger numbers still look bigger, but a high number does not fill the jar.
Can I change the colours?
On a PC or laptop you can switch skins. Touch screens use one fixed soft look, so you can't change skins on a touch screen.
Is there a move limit or a timer?
No. A round ends only when both side plates have been pushed to the bottom and held there for 0.5 seconds each.