Design the 2048 game
PremiumMachine codingMedium
- Grid simulation
- Tile merging
- Seeded random
Quick answer
This machine coding interview question asks you to design the 2048 game. Aim for a design that meets its requirements at the stated scale, then explain its main components, data flow and trade-offs. Interviewers want to see how you scope the problem, size it and defend each choice.
The problem
Build the engine for 2048, the sliding-tile puzzle where equal numbers merge into their sum. Each move slides every tile in one direction, merges equal neighbours once, adds to the score and spawns a new tile. The hard parts are merge rules that are easy to get subtly wrong, reusing one routine for four directions and testing a game with random spawns.
There is no UI. Tests and a small console driver call the engine directly and print the board.
What must the 2048 game do?
- Move: move(direction) slides all tiles up, down, left or right, merges equal neighbours and returns whether the board changed.
- Merge rules: A tile merges at most once per move, and merging starts from the side the tiles move toward, so a row 2 2 2 0 moved left becomes 4 2 0 0.
How well must it do it?
- One merge routine: The four directions share one line-merge function instead of four copies.
- Deterministic tests: The same seed and moves always give the same boards and score.
What scale should you design for?
Use these numbers in your estimates.
The scale numbers unlock with this questionUnlock
Key concepts
- Grid simulation
- Tile merging
- Seeded random
- Game state
- Board rotation
- Game over detection
How you’ll practise
- Requirements
- Entities and interfaces
- Core implementation
- Edge cases and tests
- Extensions
- Wrap-up
Lala, personalized to you, gives a hint when you ask and reviews your design when you are ready.
What do interviewers look for?
In any machine coding design round.
- Clarifies the requirements before drawing anything
- Uses a few numbers that actually change the design
- Draws a clear path from the client to storage
- Picks storage and caching with reasons, not by habit
- Explains what breaks first under load and how to fix it
- States trade-offs openly instead of claiming a perfect design
Questions people ask about this interview question
- Which design type is this question?
- It is a machine coding question. You design the 2048 game and explain your choices the way you would in an interview.
- Is this question asked at entry level?
- It is marked Medium. Entry-level engineers can practise it, but it expects you to reason about requirements and trade-offs, not only list components.
- What should I cover first?
- Start with the requirements: what the system must do, how well it must do it and which numbers change the design. Agree on scope with the interviewer before you design anything.
- Can I practise it for free?
- It is a premium question. Sign up and unlock it once for 10 credits; it then stays unlocked. When you finish, Lala, your personalized AI mentor, can review your design for 30 credits.
Related questions
Updated · Written by the SevyDevy team