💣 How to Play Minesweeper
Left-click a cell to reveal it. Right-click a cell to plant a flag marking a suspected mine. The number inside a revealed cell tells you exactly how many of the 8 neighbouring cells contain mines. Use that information to deduce which hidden cells are safe and which are deadly. Reveal all non-mine cells to win. Hitting a mine ends the game.
Your first click is always safe — mines are placed only after you click, and a full 3×3 area around your first click is guaranteed mine-free. This gives you an open region to start deducing from. The mine counter at the top shows remaining mines minus flags planted. Three difficulty levels: Easy (8×8, 10 mines), Medium (12×12, 20 mines), Hard (16×16, 40 mines).
Tips & Strategies
- Start by clicking a corner or edge cell — these often open large safe areas.
- The 1-2-1 pattern: three cells in a row with counts 1, 2, 1 means the two outer cells are mines and the middle cell is safe.
- When stuck, count: if a cell shows “2” and only 2 unrevealed neighbours remain, both are mines.
- Flag mines as you find them to track the mine counter accurately.
- On Hard mode, some guesses are unavoidable — go with 50–50 odds on corner cells.
History & Background
Minesweeper was included with Windows 3.1 in 1992, originally to teach mouse control to new PC users. It became one of the most-played games ever, with professional competitive communities and speed-run records. This version uses the standard 3×3 safe-zone first-click rule to ensure every game is winnable from the start.