Number Merge Puzzle · Free on iPhone & Android
Drop a number.
Set off a chain.
Climb to Orbit.
Five columns, nine rungs, and chain reactions you build yourself. Take on the free 50-drop Daily or find your next big merge.
Free to start on iPhone and Android · $4.99 one-time to own · No ads, ever.
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No ads, lives or paid boosts
A free Daily Climb
Five ways to play
How it plays
Drop a number. Set off a chain. Climb to Orbit.
Drop numbered tiles into five columns, let equal neighbours double, and watch gravity carry one merge into the next. Plan with two pieces ahead, keep room for the next drop, and climb from 2 Pebble to 512 Orbit in a starry Summit Night world.
- Drop-and-merge column climbing
- One shared 50-drop Daily Climb and its leaderboard
- No ads, ever, streaks, and Pro Daily history sync
Inside the app
Real screens from Upward.
The loop
Every run follows one honest loop.
- 01Choose a column
- 02Drop
- 03Chain matching tiles
- 04Make room
- 05Climb toward Orbit.
What is inside
Inside Upward.
Drop-and-merge column climbing
Drop rungs into columns, merge matching neighbours up the nine-rung ladder to Orbit, and keep the board alive as the pressure rises.
Daily seed and global leaderboard
Everyone starts with the same Daily seed and 50-drop rules. Later pieces respond to your climb, so every placement matters. Free and Pro play by the same rules.
Chain reactions pay the most
The merge your drop causes scores at 1×. Each merge gravity sets off after it scores more, rising from 1.5× up to 6×, so one deep cascade is worth far more than the same merges made a drop at a time. Reaching Orbit in fewer drops earns a bigger summit bonus.
Five ways to play
The Daily Climb and Classic are free. Pro adds Blitz, a two-minute climb with no take-backs; Chain Hunt, fifty drops with bonus points for deep cascades; and Rising Sky, where the safe board shrinks every 10 drops until you reach Orbit or the sky closes in.
Quick answers
Upward questions, answered
How do you play Upward?
Drop numbered tiles into five columns. Equal neighbours merge into the next rung, and gravity can carry one merge into the next as a chain reaction. Plan with two pieces ahead, keep room for the next drop, and climb from 2 Pebble to 512 Orbit.
Is Upward free?
Yes. Upward is free with no ads, lives or paid boosts. The free tier includes the ranked Daily Climb, 3 Classic runs a day and the Trailhead challenges. The Upward Full Game Unlock ($4.99 one-time) or the StackForge Play Pass adds unlimited Classic and the Blitz, Chain Hunt and Rising Sky modes.
Where can I download Upward?
Upward is a free download from the App Store for iPhone. Today’s Daily Climb is also playable free in your browser on the Upward play page.
What does the Upward unlock cost?
The Upward Full Game Unlock is $4.99 one-time. The StackForge Play Pass, $2.99 a month or $14.99 a year, unlocks Pro in every StackForge game.
Can I play Upward in a browser?
Yes. Today’s Daily Climb and Classic are playable free in your browser on the Upward play page, with no sign-up. Browser play is unranked practice; the ranked Daily Climb and its leaderboard live in the app.
Fair unlocks
Play free. Own the rest when it earns it.
Always free
Start playing today
- Ranked Daily Climb
- 3 Classic runs a day
- The Trailhead challenges
Free to start on iPhone and Android.
$4.99 one-time
Free to climb. Unlock the rest.
The full unlock adds unlimited Classic, the Blitz, Chain Hunt, and Rising Sky modes, 12 advanced Climb Path challenges, the Blitz leaderboard and friend challenges, a weekly Streak Saver, two years of Daily archive, 500-run history, Daily history sync, and board themes.
Play Pass
One pass, every StackForge game
$2.99 a month or $14.99 a year unlocks Pro in every StackForge game, plus One Good Thing.
Store prices appear in the app in your local currency.
Our promise, in every StackForge game
No ads. Ever.
- No banners
- No videos between levels
- No watching ads for rewards
- No advertising code in any app
Our games pay for themselves with optional unlocks, never with your attention.
We never sell your data.
Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to anyone.
We don’t track you.
Nothing in our apps follows you across other apps or websites.
No third-party analytics.
Our games carry no outside analytics, attribution or tracking code.
No cookies. Not even here.
This website sets no cookies at all, and never measures you as an individual.
No account needed.
Every game plays without signing up. An account is optional: it carries the Play Pass between games, and cloud saves in the games that have them.
Pay once, own it.
$4.99 unlocks a game for good. A subscription is only ever an option.
Ready when you are
Play Upward.
Free to start on iPhone and Android, with no ads, ever.