Minesweeper
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Minesweeper Rules & Strategies
A minesweeper board consists of a grid of cells with randomly distributed mines. Each cell contains at most one mine. Win by revealing all safe cells; lose by clicking a mine.
Basic Rules
- The board is a grid of cells containing hidden mines placed randomly.
- Left-click a covered cell to reveal it. If it's a mine, you lose.
- Each revealed safe cell shows a number indicating how many of its 8 neighboring cells contain mines (fewer at edges and corners).
- If a revealed cell shows 0 (blank), all its neighbors are automatically revealed in a cascade called an 'opening'.
- Right-click a covered cell to cycle through: unmarked → flag (?) → question mark (?) → unmarked.
- Win condition: Reveal all cells that are not mines.
How to Play
- Choose your difficulty: Beginner (9×9, 10 mines), Intermediate (16×16, 40 mines), or Expert (16×30, 99 mines).
- Click any covered tile to make your first move. The first click is always safe — mines are placed after.
- Use numbers to logically deduce which adjacent cells are mines and which are safe.
- Flag cells you're confident contain mines by right-clicking them.
- Use chord (click a revealed number whose flags match its count) to speed up clearing.
- The counter in the top-left shows remaining mines (total minus flagged). The timer starts on your first click.
- Click the face button or press F2/Space to restart anytime.
Beginner Strategies
- Start from corners — they have the highest probability of creating large openings.
- When a number equals its remaining covered neighbors, all those neighbors are mines — flag them!
- When a number's flags equal the number itself, all other neighbors are safe — click them!
- Look for the '1-2-1' pattern along edges: the middle cell of the 1-2-1 is always safe next to the wall.
- If stuck, look for cells that must be either safe or a mine based on overlapping number constraints.
Advanced Concepts
- 3BV (Bechtel's Board Benchmark Value): The minimum number of left-clicks needed to solve a board. Higher 3BV generally means harder boards.
- Op (Opening): A connected region of zero-value cells plus their bordering numbers. Each Op counts as exactly one 3BV regardless of size.
- Is (Island): A connected group of numbered cells that each require individual clicks. Fewer islands = more efficient solving.
- No-Guessing (NG) mode: Some boards guarantee solvability without guessing if you start from a designated cell.
- No-Flags (NF) style: Solving using only left clicks (no flagging). Can be faster but requires more mental tracking.
- Efficiency metric: 3BV ÷ Time = average solving speed. Pro players achieve 3BV/s rates above 4-5 on expert.
Tips & Tricks
- The first click is always safe — mines are placed after your initial click, excluding the clicked cell and its neighbors.
- Corners have fewer neighbors (only 3), making them easier to analyze and more likely to be openings.
- Press F2 or Space at any time to restart the current board with new mine placement.
- On mobile, long-press a tile to flag it instead of right-clicking.
- The mine counter can go negative if you place more flags than there are actual mines.
- When you win, all unflagged mines are automatically marked. When you lose, the clicked mine highlights red, wrong flags highlight pink, and all mines are revealed.
- Take your time — accuracy matters more than speed when learning. Speed comes naturally with practice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Have another question? Let us know.
How do I win at Minesweeper?
You win by revealing every cell on the board that does NOT contain a mine. You do NOT need to flag all mines — just open all safe squares. The game auto-flags remaining mines when you win.
What do the numbers mean?
Each number tells you exactly how many of the 8 surrounding cells (or fewer at edges/corners) contain mines. For example, a '3' means 3 of its neighbors are mines and 5 are safe. A blank cell (showing nothing) means 0 — all neighbors are safe and get opened automatically.
How does flagging work?
Right-click (desktop) or long-press (mobile) a covered cell to place a flag. Right-click again to change it to a question mark, and once more to remove it. Flags help you track suspected mine positions. The top-left counter shows remaining mines (total mines minus flags placed).
What is chording (double-click)?
When a revealed number has exactly as many flags around it as the number shows, you can left-click that number to instantly reveal all its unflagged neighbors. This is called 'chording' and is a powerful speed technique. Be careful — if your flags are wrong, chording will hit a mine!
What's the best strategy for beginners?
Always start from a corner — they statistically produce larger openings. Look for obvious situations: if a '1' has only one uncovered neighbor, that neighbor must be a mine (flag it!). If a number already has enough flags around it, all other neighbors are safe to click. Practice recognizing common patterns like 1-2-1 along walls.
What are the difficulty differences?
Beginner: 9×9 grid with 10 mines — great for learning basics. Intermediate: 16×16 grid with 40 mines — a balanced challenge. Expert: 16×30 grid with 99 mines — the classic hardcore test. Larger boards mean more complex patterns and higher chances of needing to guess.
What is Minesweeper Plus style play?
This page keeps the complete classic rules and adds plus-style modes inspired by modern minesweeper games: boss battles with time pressure, a level-based adventure with lives, a daily challenge with streaks, a relaxed mode with sonar scans, custom boards, and skins. You switch modes on the start screen — the classic game is always one click away.
Can I play Minesweeper without guessing?
Yes. Turn on the No-Guess toggle before you start: every board is then verified by a built-in logic solver, which guarantees the whole board can be cleared by deduction alone from your first click — no forced 50/50 guesses. Relax, Daily and Adventure modes always use no-guess boards.
Why do I sometimes have to guess?
In standard minesweeper generation, some board configurations create situations where no purely logical deduction can determine safe cells. This is normal! When forced to guess, choose cells that minimize probability (e.g., corners tend to be safer). Some variants offer 'no-guessing' mode that guarantees logical solvability.
How is the timer scored?
The timer starts counting from 0:01 (one second) at your very first action (click or flag) on the board. It counts up in seconds and caps at 999. Your final time is shown in the victory modal. Competitive players use 3BV/s (board complexity divided by time) as a skill benchmark.
Can I play without flagging?
Yes! This is called 'No-Flags' (NF) style. Since the win condition is opening all safe cells, you can theoretically solve any board using only left clicks. NF can be faster because it saves the time spent flagging, but requires stronger mental tracking of mine positions. Most players use a hybrid approach.
