About the game
Minesweeper is a logic puzzle where you must open every safe cell while avoiding the hidden mines. Each revealed number tells you exactly how many mines sit in the eight cells that touch it. Those numbers are your clues: deduce where the mines are, flag them, and clear the rest. Its enduring appeal comes from the fact that it is solved with logic, not luck.
This version offers three difficulty levels: Easy (9x9, 10 mines), Medium (16x16, 40 mines) and Hard (30x16, 99 mines). Your first click is always safe by design, so you will never lose on the opening move. On desktop you flag with a right-click; on mobile you can long-press a cell or toggle flag mode, and your fastest clear time is recorded separately for each difficulty.
How to play
- Click (tap) a cell to open it.
- Right-click or long-press to place or remove a flag.
- Flag mode button: while enabled, ordinary taps place flags (recommended on mobile).
- Click a revealed number: if the adjacent flags match the number, all remaining neighbors open at once (chording).
Rules
- A number shows the total count of mines in the eight adjacent cells.
- Opening a cell with zero adjacent mines automatically reveals its neighbors in a cascade.
- Opening a mine ends the game instantly.
- You win by opening every cell that is not a mine; your time is recorded.
- No mines are ever placed on or around your first click.
Strategy & tips
Memorize the 1-2-1 pattern
When you see 1-2-1 in a row along a wall, the mines sit directly above (or below) the two 1s — not on the outer sides. Learning a handful of these standard patterns speeds up your deduction enormously.
Resolve the forced cells first
If the number of unopened neighbors equals the number itself, every one of them is a mine. Conversely, if the flags around a number already satisfy it, all its other neighbors are safe. Applying just these two rules mechanically solves most of the board.
Use chording to cut your time
Once your flags are placed correctly, click the number itself to open all remaining neighbors in one stroke. It is the key technique for fast times — but a wrong flag means instant detonation, so only chord when certain.
Know when a guess is truly forced
Late in a hard board you may face a genuine 50:50 that logic cannot resolve. Weigh the remaining mine count and what each candidate would open, and pick the better probability. Deferring the guess and solving another region first is often the wiser play.
FAQ
Can I hit a mine on the very first click?
No. This version places mines only after your first click, excluding that cell and its eight neighbors, so the opening click is always safe and usually opens a decent area.
How do I place flags on mobile?
Press and hold a cell for about half a second to flag it. Alternatively, enable the flag mode button at the top so that every ordinary tap places a flag — convenient for marking several cells in a row.
Do I need to flag every mine to win?
No. The win condition is opening all non-mine cells. Flags are purely an aid to your reasoning; you can clear a board without placing a single one.
Are records kept per difficulty?
Yes. Your fastest clear time for Easy, Medium and Hard is stored separately in your browser's local storage.
