What is Minesweeper?
Minesweeper is the classic logic puzzle where you uncover squares on a grid while avoiding hidden mines. Use number clues to deduce safe squares, flag suspected mines, and clear the entire board to win.
Three presets match the original Windows builds: Beginner is 9x9 with 10 mines, Intermediate is 16x16 with 40 mines, and Expert is 16x30 with 99 mines. A fourth option lets you set custom rows, columns, and mine count for boards from 5x5 up to 30x30. Turn on No-guess mode for boards that are always solvable by logic alone, and use the small, medium, or large cell-size control to fit Expert on a laptop or enlarge any board for easier tapping. Personal bests are saved per preset, and a stats panel tracks your games played, win rate, and current and best win streaks. Your first click is always safe — the board is generated after that to guarantee an opening cluster. The timer starts on your first move and stops when you win or hit a mine.
How to use
- Left-click a square to reveal it — numbers show how many adjacent mines surround that cell.
- Right-click (or long-press on mobile) to flag a square you suspect contains a mine.
- Clear all non-mine squares to win — if you reveal a mine, the game ends and shows all mine locations.
When to use
- Five-minute mental break between focused work sessions, or while a build is running.
- Practicing pattern recognition: the 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 shapes are the foundation of efficient play.
- Solo concentration training, especially on Expert where flagging discipline really matters.
Result
A player starts on Intermediate difficulty (16×16, 40 mines) and uses the number clues to systematically flag mines and clear safe zones in under 3 minutes.
FAQ
- What does a number on a revealed cell actually mean?
- The number is the count of mines in the eight cells that touch it (including diagonals). A 2 means exactly two of the up to eight neighbours hide a mine; if you've already flagged two of them, the rest of that neighbourhood is provably safe.
- Why did I lose on my very first click?
- You shouldn't — the first click is guaranteed safe and opens up a small region. If you tap a flagged cell or use the wrong mouse button by accident, you can still set off a mine. Double-check that flag mode is off before clicking.
- What's chording (clicking a number with both buttons)?
- Chording reveals all unflagged neighbours of a numbered cell when the flag count around that cell already matches the number. It's the fastest way to clear Expert boards, but a misflagged neighbour will detonate the whole sweep.
- Is there always a logical solution, or do I sometimes need to guess?
- Normally yes — endgames on Intermediate and Expert can leave a 50/50 corner where logic runs out and you have to guess. Spreading your reveals across the board early reduces these. If you want to skip guessing entirely, flip on No-guess mode: it regenerates the board until every safe square can be worked out by pure deduction, so a careful player never has to flip a coin.
- Does the timer count milliseconds for personal-best tracking?
- It counts whole seconds, like the original Microsoft version. Competitive sites like Minesweeper.online use millisecond timers, so a 99-second board here might be 98.4 there — close, but not directly comparable.