Developer: Veewo Studio
Publisher: Veewo Studio
Platform: Android, iOS

If you’re at all interested in smartphone games then you’ve likely played Threes! or one of the many, many copycats available for download. Although I now own Threes!, my first experience with the card pushing puzzler concept was 1024, hence this review is for it. As it turns out, the games are practically identical except 1024 is free.

1024 is a simple puzzle game that takes place on a 4 x 4 grid. You start with a couple rectangular pieces that have numbers on them such as 2 or 4. Your goal is to slide like tiles together, adding them together. For example, two 8 blocks become one 16 block. Skilled players can make increasingly massive blocks but it is tough!

The hard part is that every time you slide tiles up, down, left, or right it affects everything on the screen. Unless they can’t slide, everything moves in the chosen direction. Also, a new number block is laid after every turn, cluttering the screen further. Although it is possible to just randomly slide things around it is most satisfying to come up with strategies.

Right now 1024 is something I have to play at least once a day. The simplistic gameplay encourages a “one more game” mentality. Despite the possibility of being a strategic game, it can also just help relax your mind in between tasks. Pick it up to see if the gameplay is to your liking, and if so, consider purchasing the original game Threes! by Sirvo.