I think it's worth noting that 2048 itself was a clone—or pretty much as close as you could get—of “Threes.” According to the developers, a year and a half was spent iterating on mechanics and design.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/28/5557840/threes-creators-exp...

No, it isn't. This has been hashed to death. More like an idea whose time had come. 2048's author didn't know about Threes.

That’s not true. Well, strictly speaking it is, but the 2048 did know about another Threes clone. I don’t think he meant much by it and I don’t really fault the original 2048 author … but these guys … that’s not ok.