Why The 2048 Game Is So Addictive

Like Bejeweled, Candy Crush, and numerous other puzzle games before it, it has consumed hours, days, months of our lives. More than just transforming numbers into simple numbers. Every 2048 session is a scrappy battle for space--a Zen contemplation when you're playing by yourself, and an all-out war in the event of a war .

2048playing against others

However, we aren't able to stop. Judy Willis, a neurologist and adjunct faculty member at the Graduate School of Education at University of California, Santa Barbara She explains the neurology that drives the 2048 addiction we are currently experiencing.

It's all about Dopamine

Dopamine is perhaps the most well-known neurotransmitter. It transfers information through your nervous system on a daily basis. However, when it accumulates the brain goes into hyperdrive. "Dopamine is among the most intriguing neurochemicals, and also the most addictive drugs that we know of," Willis says.

Dopamine increases pleasure, perseverance, and decreases stress. Dopamine can be increased when you win a bet achieving success at work or by taking cocaine. The dopamine-driven mix of pleasure and perseverance is what makes athletes play more, it's also what draws addicts to drugs.

The same is true for 2048. Willis claims that 2048 is one of the most potent dopamine boosters.

1. The power of predictions: "The brain loves to make predictions," Willis says. "In 2048, every 2 or 4 you come up with is a prediction. It's hard to tell whether it's the right thing to do however, the game offers you an endless opportunity to make another prediction.

Willis cites James Paul Gee's research that predictors still produce dopamine in the form of a rush that has an 80 percent failure rate. That means, even when your 2048 scoreboard has been damaged eight times out of 10 times, your brain will still want to play.

The effects of dopamine ensure that even when you fail to reach 2048 game online it will be at peace. "Instead of being stressed out, the brain is so comfortable that it doesn't want to quit," Willis says.

2. An achievable test: If a game is too easy or too hard, dopamine levels stagnate. Willis states that a challenging video game should be achievable, however not impossible to obtain the highest level of stimulation. She says that "Achievable tasks" are the key words. This can give you the highest dopamine rush.

The people who (by sheer luck) reached 2048 are aware that the dream goal is both difficult and achievable. Which means that we can't do anything or rest until we win all over again. "It feels so good to be able to conquer a task that people keep playing," Willis says.

Your Everyday (or Hourly!) 2048 Fix

Addiction to video games is real, but there are vast distinctions between a diehard and an addict. "People who become addicted to games find their feelings so compelling that they cannot effectively do any of life's tasks," says Willis. It hasn't reached that point but, thankfully. Yet.

Office productivity has dropped by 20 percent from 2048. At least, according to Willis she believes it's natural. "The constant surge of dopamine that results when you combine 16s into 32 can lead to the urge to not work," she says. "Because it's impossible to know if you'll be better the next time."