How to Play Minesweeper: Rules, Numbers and Patterns
Minesweeper is a logic puzzle. A grid of covered squares hides a number of mines. Your goal is to uncover every safe square without clicking a mine.
The rules
- Tap a square to dig it up. Your first tap is always safe and usually opens a big area.
- A number tells you how many mines touch that square, counting all eight neighbors, including diagonals.
- An empty square has no mines around it, so its neighbors open automatically.
- Mark squares you know are mines with a 🚩 flag: use flag mode, right-click, or long-press on a phone.
- Tap an opened number whose mines are all flagged to open all its other neighbors at once.
- Uncover every safe square to win. Uncover a mine and it's game over.
Patterns to know
- Count and compare: if a 1 touches only one covered square, that square is a mine.
- Satisfied numbers: if a number already touches as many flags as its value, every other square around it is safe.
- The 1-1 pattern: two 1s side by side along an edge often mean the third square next to them is safe.
- The 1-2 pattern: a 2 next to a 1 along a wall usually means the far square beside the 2 is a mine.
- Start from the edges of open areas and work your way in. Guess only as a last resort.
A bit of history
Minesweeper became famous when Microsoft included it with Windows in the early 1990s, and it was installed on millions of computers for years. Part of the reason was that right-clicking to plant flags helped people practice using a mouse. It's still loved today because it's quick to learn and pure logic to master.
Levels and points
Easy is an 8×8 board with 10 mines, Medium 12×12 with 24 mines, and Hard 14×14 with 40 mines. Clearing a board earns 1, 2 or 3 points, and your best time is saved.
More: Minesweeper Patterns