GET TO KNOW THE GAME
How to play Minesweeper
Minesweeper is a deduction game with hidden mines beneath a grid. Each revealed number tells you how many mines touch that square, counting its horizontal, vertical and diagonal neighbors. Use overlapping clues to identify safe squares and flag suspected mines.
The rules
- Reveal a square to start. The first square and its neighboring area are kept clear of mines.
- Read the revealed numbers and switch to flag mode when you want to mark a suspected mine.
- Uncover every safe square to win. Revealing a mine ends the round.
Controls
Click or tap a covered square to reveal it. Turn on the flag toggle before selecting a square you want to mark, then switch back to reveal mode to continue opening safe squares.
How scoring works
Your result is the number of active seconds taken to reveal every safe square; fewer is better. The timer starts when you press Play and pauses when the game is paused or the tab is hidden. Hitting a mine lets you review the board, but does not record a personal best.
Tips for your next round
- If a number already has the right number of flagged neighbors, its other covered neighbors can be safe if those flags are correct.
- Compare clues that share covered squares. A single number may be ambiguous even when the surrounding clues narrow the possibilities.
- Your unfinished round is saved in this browser. Return to the same game, mode, and difficulty to continue. A daily challenge uses the UTC date; clearing browser data removes saved rounds.
Can the first click hit a mine?
No. The first selected square and its neighboring area are protected when the mines are placed. This does not guarantee that every later position can be solved without a guess.
Do I need to flag every mine to win?
Flags help you track suspected mines. The objective is to reveal every safe square; a flag on its own does not prove that a square contains a mine.