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The logic classic from the corner of every '90s screen: reveal every safe cell without stepping on a mine. Free in your browser, no ads, no sign-up — and here, your first click is always safe.

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Rules: how does Minesweeper work?

Mines hide beneath the grid — ten on the easy board, ninety-nine on the hard one. Your goal is not to find the mines but to reveal every cell that doesn’t hold one. Your only source of information is the numbers: each revealed cell shows how many of its up to eight neighbours contain a mine. A 1 at the edge of an open area means exactly one of its hidden neighbours is dangerous — and every other one is safe.

How to play, step by step

1. Tap anywhere. Here the first click is guaranteed safe and always opens a connected free area — mines are placed only afterwards, at a distance from your starting cell.
2. Read the numbers along the border. Every number is a statement about its neighbours. Wherever a number is already “satisfied”, its remaining neighbours are safe.
3. Mark certain deductions with flags. A flag means: definitely a mine. Flagged cells can’t be revealed by accident.
4. Work from certain to uncertain until every mine-free cell is open. That wins the game — you never need to flag the mines themselves.

What flags do — and what a chord is

Flags are your memory on the board, and here they have a second job: when a revealed number has exactly as many flags around it as it shows, tapping that number reveals all its remaining neighbours at once — the chord. It makes clean play dramatically faster. Careful, though: if one of your flags is wrong, the chord uncovers the real mine. That’s not a bug — the chord trusts your flags, as it should.

Strategy: from logic to probability

Read numbers as statements. Each number is a small equation about its hidden neighbours. The two base patterns: if a number has exactly as many hidden neighbours as it still needs mines, all of them are mines — flag them. If a number is already satisfied by flags, every remaining neighbour is safe — reveal or chord.

The 1-2-1 pattern. Three numbers in a row along a wall of hidden cells: with 1-2-1, the mines sit opposite the two 1s, and the cell opposite the 2 is free. The related 1-2-2-1 puts the mines opposite the two middle cells. Internalise these once and whole sections of the board fall on their own.

Think edges and corners first. Border cells have fewer neighbours, so their numbers make stronger statements. A corner 1 with a single hidden neighbour is a gift.

When logic runs out: count, don’t hope. Sometimes only uncertain cells remain. Then count honestly: which interpretation forces how many mines, and how many are left on the counter? One option is often clearly likelier — take it without resentment if it goes wrong. Minesweeper without occasional residual risk doesn’t exist (see the FAQ).

Difficulty levels

Easy is 9×9 with 10 mines — for learning the patterns, usually done in minutes. Medium is 16×16 with 40 mines — the classic daily board, with room for real chains of deduction. Hard is 480 cells and 99 mines (16×30 in landscape; on narrow screens the board turns upright automatically and keeps a tappable minimum cell size, panning inside its frame instead — though honestly, Hard is most comfortable on a bigger screen). Hard is also where genuine dilemmas appear, where even perfect logic must gamble. Switch levels any time right at the board.

A short history

Grid-based mine-hunting games existed on home computers in the 1980s, but Minesweeper became a world phenomenon at Microsoft in 1990 — bundled with every PC from Windows 3.1 in 1992, it taught millions precise mouse work, right-click included. Our version keeps faith with the classic but drops the stress: no timer, no high-score list — and the first click never goes wrong.