This past year has been one of many fad games, with even the best of us falling prey to at least one of them. Candy Crush kept people up for hours at night trying to reach the next levels, and Flappy Bird inspired simultaneous rage and exultation in its players. The latest addiction that has come to destroy us, however, is 2048.

“I can’t stop playing it,” senior Adhurim Behluli said. “I keep losing just when I’m doing good, and it’s annoying but also makes me play again.”

2048 is a number game, which is surprising considering both the number of people who dislike math and how popular the game has become. You start with tiles labeled with 2s, which gradually combine into larger and larger exponents. Only like tiles can combine together, such as 2 and 2 or 64 and 64, and every swipe of the finger moves not only the intended tile, but all other tiles that may fit into the open spaces in the direction of the swipe. New tiles appear in unexpected spaces on the 4×4 board, which requires quick thinking and quick reflexes when planning ahead. The object of the game is to combine tiles together in such a way to create the 2048 tile.

The game app was created by 19-year old Italian web developer Gabriele Cirulli, and in the month or so since it has been released, it has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times by smartphone users around the world. Many spin-offs of 2048 have been created, featuring themes such as Tetris or even Doctor Who. The original version, however, remains the most popular.

“It’s fun because you need strategy, but everything also happens fast,” senior Minjung Joo said. “It’s so hard to win, but once in a while you get so close that you have to keep playing.”

2048 can be found in the Apple app store or Google Play store, as well as online at http://gabrielecirulli.github.io/2048/