How to play Minesweeper
Classic Minesweeper is a single-player logic puzzle played on a hidden minefield. Reveal every safe square without opening a mine. Each number tells you exactly how many mines touch that square, including diagonally.
Minefield, squares, and objective
Covered squares may hide a mine or a safe clue. The first reveal is always safe in this version. Empty areas open automatically, while numbered squares describe the eight neighboring positions. Win by revealing every non-mine square; opening a mine ends the game.
Controls
- Reveal: left-click, tap, or focus a square and press Space.
- Flag: right-click, press F, or switch on Flag mode for touch.
- Clear around a number: double-click it once the right number of flags surrounds it.
Classic difficulty levels
- Beginner: 9 × 9 with 10 mines.
- Intermediate: 16 × 16 with 40 mines.
- Expert: 30 × 16 with 99 mines.
- Custom: choose your own supported board dimensions and mine count.
Number clues, flags, and chording
A flag marks a suspected mine but does not reveal it. When the number of adjacent flags equals a revealed clue, chord that clue to open every other covered neighbor at once. An incorrect flag can make a chord hit a mine, so confirm the surrounding pattern first.
Timer, mine counter, winning, and losing
The timer starts with the first reveal. The mine counter shows the selected board's mine total minus placed flags. A win stops the timer after every safe square is open; a loss reveals the minefield and offers a fresh game on the same difficulty.
A useful first strategy
Start with the certain moves. If a 1 touches exactly one covered square, that square must contain a mine. When a numbered square already touches the required number of flags, every other covered neighbor is safe to open.