About Minesweeper
Minesweeper is the classic logic puzzle. Every number tells you how many mines touch that square. Use those clues to work out where the mines are, flag them, and reveal every safe square to win.
Your first click is always safe. Play the three standard boards: Beginner (9×9, 10 mines), Intermediate (16×16, 40 mines) and Expert (30×16, 99 mines). Your fastest clear time is saved for each board.
How to play
- Click or tap a square to reveal it.
- Right-click, long-press or use Flag mode to mark a mine.
- Click a number whose mines are all flagged to open its other neighbors at once.
- Reveal every safe square to win. The lowest time is your record.
Minesweeper rules
Minesweeper hides a number of mines under a grid of squares. Reveal a square and it either shows a mine, which ends the game, or a number. The number tells you how many of the eight surrounding squares contain a mine. A blank square has no mines around it and opens its neighbours automatically. You win by revealing every square that is not a mine. In this version your first click is always safe and always opens an area to start from.
Patterns every player should know
- The obvious 1. A 1 touching only one hidden square means that square is a mine. Flag it.
- Satisfied numbers. When a number already touches as many flags as its value, all its other hidden neighbours are safe. Click the number to open them all at once (chording).
- 1-1 on a wall. Two 1s side by side along an edge share the same mine; the square beyond the second 1 is safe.
- 1-2-1. On a straight edge, the mines sit under the two 1s, and the square under the 2 is safe.
- 1-2-2-1. The mines sit under the two 2s, and the squares under the 1s are safe.
How to get faster
- Work outward from open areas instead of jumping around the board.
- Only flag mines you need for chording; unnecessary flags cost time.
- When you must guess, guess early and pick a corner or edge square, where the odds are usually better.
Difficulty levels
Beginner is a 9×9 field with 10 mines, Intermediate is 16×16 with 40 mines, and Expert is 30×16 with 99 mines, the same sizes made famous by the version that shipped with Windows in the early 1990s. Your record is your fastest time.
More logic games: Sudoku, Nonogram and Sea Battle.
Minesweeper FAQ
How do I flag a mine on a phone?
Long-press a square, or switch to Flag mode and tap.
Is every Minesweeper game solvable without guessing?
Not always. Some positions leave two equally likely squares; then a guess is unavoidable.
