To be fair, 2048 can be explained in a matter of minutes. The kind thing to do would be to demonstrate it.

It's a different problem. I play a lot of 2048. It's on my watch, fun thing to do while stuck in line or whatever. I haven't the first clue how to write an algorithm to beat it.

Here's how I'd do that: I'd get on the Googly-moogly and start reading up. Probably take me a couple days to get my bearings.

In a 45 minute interview process? Forget it. They think they're testing for someone who can solve this problem. They're actually testing for someone who has encountered it recently in some other guise.