How to Play
- Tap the board or Start New Game to enter; this opening tap does not reveal a cell.
- Tap a cell to reveal it. On a new board, the first cell and its neighbours are safe; empty cells open their connected area automatically.
- Each revealed number shows how many of the 8 surrounding cells contain a mine.
- Right-click or long-press a closed cell to place a flag where you think a mine is hiding.
- Tap an open number cell whose adjacent flag count matches its number to reveal all remaining neighbours at once (chord click).
- Hint previews a proved flag or safe move. Apply spends one hint; Cancel spends none. A safe reveal is offered explicitly if no simple deduction is found.
- Reveal every safe cell without hitting a mine to clear the board and win.
- Exit returns to this page; Back to Game keeps your board. New Game starts a fresh board.
- After a mine, Try Again repeats the same layout. Safe first-click protection applies to new boards.
Read numbers, including diagonals
A number counts mines in up to eight touching cells, including diagonals. A corner has three neighbours; an edge has five. The goal is to open every safe cell. Flags help you reason, but placing every flag is not required to win.
Minesweeper Strategy
1. One unknown neighbour: find a mine
Here, the central 1 has exactly one closed neighbour and no flags. Its other neighbours are already open, so the closed cell must contain the one mine. Hold that cell to flag it.
It must be a mine.
2. A correct flag: find safe cells
Here, the central 1 already touches one correctly placed flag. Its mine is accounted for, so the remaining closed neighbour is safe. You can open it or tap the 1 to open unflagged neighbours together.
The unknown cell is safe.
The blank light cells in these examples are already open; their numbers are omitted. The ? marks a closed cell. Only use the second rule when your flag follows from a deduction: matching the flag count alone does not prove safety.
Compare overlapping clues
Suppose a 1 touches closed cells A and B, while a 2 touches A, B and C, with no other closed neighbours or flags. A and B contain one mine between them; the 2 needs one more, so C must be a mine. If there were two extra cells instead of C alone, you would know only that they contain one mine between them.
When the clues do not settle it
A closed cell is not safe just because it has no flag. Scan another part of the opening for a definite move. This version does not guarantee every board can be finished without guessing. Hint first looks for a simple deduction from visible numbers and previews the move. If none is found, it explicitly offers a safe reveal without a logic explanation.
Choose a board for your phone
Easy: 9×9, 10 mines. Medium: 12×12, 20. Hard: 16×16, 40. Expert: 20×20, 70. Difficulty cycles through these four profiles and starts a new board after confirmation if you have already begun. Start with Easy on a phone; Hard and Expert fit the screen but have much smaller tap targets.
The generator checks candidate fields with a limited solver. If its retry limit is reached, it uses a random field with the same safe opening. The difficulty names combine board size and mine count; they are not a rating of required solving techniques.
Time, flags and saved records
The timer starts when you first open a cell and pauses when you exit or the tab is hidden. Mines shows the total mine count minus your flags, down to zero; it does not confirm that your flags are correct. Best is your saved solve time for this difficulty, including games where you used hints.
FAQ
What is Minesweeper?
Minesweeper is a logic puzzle. Reveal every safe cell without opening a mine. Each number counts mines in neighbouring cells, including diagonals. You can win without flagging every mine.
Is this Minesweeper free and ad-free?
Yes. Play in your browser with no ads, account or download. Start with Easy for the largest cells on a phone.
Is the first click always safe?
On a new board, mines are placed after your first opening; that cell and its neighbours are kept safe. Try Again repeats the previous mine layout, so a different first cell on a retry can contain a mine.
Can every board be solved without guessing?
No guarantee. The generator tries fields with a limited logic solver, then can fall back to a random field. Later choices may require a guess even though a new board starts safely.
How do I flag or unflag a mine on mobile?
Hold a closed cell to place or remove a flag. A short tap on a flagged cell also removes the flag. A right-click works on a computer. Flags are your guesses, not verified mine positions.
What does Hint do?
After your first opening, Hint previews a simple deduction from visible numbers: flag a proved mine or reveal a safe cell. Apply spends one of three hints; Cancel spends none. User flags are not treated as proof. If no simple deduction is found, it explicitly offers a safe reveal without a logic explanation.
Why can tapping a number hit a mine?
Tapping an open number reveals its unflagged neighbours when the adjacent flag count matches that number. This is chording. The game counts flags but does not check whether they are correct; a misplaced flag can leave a mine to be opened.
What are the board sizes and mine counts?
Easy is 9×9 with 10 mines; Medium is 12×12 with 20; Hard is 16×16 with 40; Expert is 20×20 with 70. Larger boards have smaller cells on a phone. These are our game profiles, not standard tournament presets.
Does the game save my progress?
Your best time for each difficulty is saved in this browser. Exit and Back to Game preserve the current board while the page remains loaded; reloading does not restore an unfinished board.