How to play Minesweeper: the rules and the logic of numbers
Minesweeper is a game many people met on an office computer, between two tasks. It looks like a game of luck at first, but it is really pure logic: the numbers almost always tell you where it is safe.
This guide explains the rules and a few patterns experienced players spot at a glance. Once you know them, classic Minesweeper becomes a calm and satisfying puzzle.
The rules
The board is a grid of closed cells, and some of them hide mines. A click opens a cell. If a mine is underneath, the game is over. If not, the cell shows a number from one to eight or stays blank.
A number tells you how many mines lie among the eight cells around it, diagonals included. A blank means zero, so the game opens all its neighbours for you. You win when you have opened every cell without a mine.
Flags
Mark a cell you are sure hides a mine with a flag. A flag protects you from a careless click and helps you count. It is not needed to win, but without flags mistakes come easily.
Place flags only when you are certain. A wrong flag leads to wrong conclusions all around it.
First pattern: a number and its closed neighbours
If a number has exactly as many closed neighbours as its value, all of them are mines. A one beside a single closed cell means the mine is right there.
The other way round, if a number already has as many flags as its value, every other closed neighbour is safe to open. These two rules solve a large part of any board.
Second pattern: one, two, one
Along a straight edge of the open area you will often see the numbers 1, 2, 1 side by side. The mines are then under the ones, and the cell under the two is safe. A similar pattern is 1, 2, 2, 1, with the mines under the two twos.
Patterns like these repeat in every game. Once you notice them, you will see them everywhere and play much faster.
When you have to guess
Sometimes logic truly runs out, usually right at the start or in a corner at the end. Then guess where the odds are best: a cell far from any numbers is usually safer than one next to a big number.
If guessing annoys you, start with a smaller board and fewer mines. There is more logic there and less luck.
Versions on Online igre
Besides classic Minesweeper, there is Minesweeper in the Arcade world. MineSweeper 2 Player turns the game into a race against an opponent, and Trump Sweeper swaps the mines for other hidden figures under the same rules.
Every number is a clue
Minesweeper rewards patience: slow down, read the numbers and mistakes all but vanish. Start with easier boards and practise the patterns in this guide.
Every version is free and runs in your browser. For more logic puzzles visit the Puzzles world or read the sudoku rules.