Minesweeper

How to play Minesweeper

Minesweeper is a puzzle of careful reasoning. Mines are hidden under some of the squares, and your job is to uncover every square that isn't a mine. The numbers you uncover tell you where the mines are. Every board on our site can be cleared by logic alone: you never have to guess.

The numbers

Each game starts with an open area already uncovered for you. An uncovered square with a number shows how many mines touch it, counting all eight squares around it, including the diagonals. A blank square touches no mines at all, so the squares around it open up by themselves.

Uncovering and flagging

• To uncover a square, tap or click it. If it's a mine, the game stops, but Undo takes it back.
• To flag a mine, right-click the square on a computer, or hold your finger on it on a phone or tablet. You can also turn on Flag mode with the button at the top (or at the bottom on a phone), so every tap places or removes a flag. Flags simply mark the squares you're sure of; they also stop you uncovering those squares by accident.
• A shortcut: once a number has all its mines flagged, tap the number itself to uncover all of its other squares at once.
• You've won when every square without a mine is uncovered. You don't have to flag every mine, but it helps you keep track: the count above the board shows how many mines are left to flag.

Three levels

• Easy: 9 × 9 squares with 10 mines. A good place to learn, and big squares on any screen.
• Medium: 16 × 16 squares with 40 mines.
• Hard: 30 × 16 squares with 99 mines. On a phone, the wider boards scroll sideways so the squares stay big enough to tap.

Choose a level in Settings. The sizes are the same as the classic Beginner, Intermediate and Expert boards.

Tips

• Start at the edges of the open area. That's where the numbers meet covered squares and the answers are.
• Look for a 1 that touches only one covered square. That square must be the mine. Flag it, and the 1's other neighbors are safe.
• Compare neighboring numbers. A 1 next to a 2 along a wall tells you a lot: the 2 needs one more mine than the 1, so it has to be in a square the 1 doesn't touch.
• Use the count at the end. When only a few covered squares are left, the number of mines left to flag can settle them.
• Stuck? Ask for a hint. It outlines the numbers that matter in gold, highlights the squares, and explains the reasoning in plain words.

Questions

Will I ever have to guess?

No. In many versions of Minesweeper you sometimes reach a point where you can only guess. Before you see a board here, our computer solves it using only the kind of reasoning described above, and a board is used only if it can be cleared that way from the starting area. If a hint ever tells you a square is safe, it is.

Is there a timer?

No. There's no clock and no rush. Take as long as you like over each square, and your game saves itself, so you can stop and come back later on the same device.

What happens if I uncover a mine?

The game stops and shows the mine. Tap Undo to take back the move and carry on, as often as you like, or start a new board.

Where does Minesweeper come from?

Games like it appeared on home computers in the 1980s, but Minesweeper became famous when Microsoft included it with Windows 3.1 in 1992, alongside Solitaire. Many people first played it on a computer at work.

What is the board number?

Every board has a number, and the same number and level always give the same board. Share the link to play the same board as a friend, or try today's board, which is the same for everyone.