Minesweeper

How to Play Minesweeper

Minesweeper hides mines under a grid of covered squares - 10 on the Beginner board, 40 on Intermediate, and 99 on the huge Expert field. Left-click a square to reveal it. A revealed number tells you exactly how many of its eight neighbors hide a mine; a blank square has no adjacent mines and automatically clears its whole neighborhood. Right-click (or long-press on touch screens) to plant a flag on a square you believe is mined. Your first click is always safe, so dig in anywhere.

You win by revealing every square that isn't a mine - flags are just bookkeeping. Click a number whose flags are already accounted for and the game "chords", instantly revealing all its remaining neighbors. The counter on the left tracks mines minus flags, and the timer on the right records your solve. Win, and your time lands on the fastest-times leaderboard.

Strategy Tips

• A satisfied number is free real estate - if a "1" already touches one flag, every other covered square around it is safe. Chord it (click the number) to open them all at once.
• Learn the 1-2-1 pattern - three numbers reading 1-2-1 along a wall mean the mines sit under the squares beside the 1s, never under the middle. The 1-2-2-1 cousin puts mines under both middle squares.
• Count what a number can see - when a "2" touches exactly two covered squares, both are mines; flag them immediately. Matching a number to its remaining unknowns is 90% of the game.
• Work the edges of your opening - big blank cascades leave a clean border of numbers. Solve along that border instead of poking at isolated squares in unexplored territory.
• Chase time on chords, not clicks - fast players flag only when it enables a chord. Every chord replaces up to eight individual clicks, which is where leaderboard seconds are actually saved.