Minesweeper rules

What is minesweeper?

Minesweeper is a single-player logic game. You start with a grid of hidden cells. Some cells contain mines; the rest are safe. Clicking a safe cell reveals a number showing how many of its eight neighbors are mines. Your goal is to reveal every safe cell without clicking a mine.

The game shipped with Windows 3.1 in 1992 and became one of the most-played computer games ever. The logic underneath is pure deduction: read the numbers, figure out where mines must be, flag them, and reveal what is left.

Core rules

1. Click a cell to reveal it. If it is a mine, you lose. If it is safe, it shows a number (or is blank).
2. Numbers count adjacent mines. A cell showing "2" has exactly two mines among its eight neighbors. Blank cells have zero adjacent mines and auto-reveal their neighbors.
3. Flag cells you believe are mines. Right-click or long-press to place a flag. This prevents accidental clicks.
4. Win by revealing all safe cells. You do not need to flag every mine. The game ends when every non-mine cell is open.

Walking through a small board

Picture a 5×5 grid with 3 mines. You click the center cell and it reveals a 1. This tells you exactly one of its eight neighbors is a mine.

The auto-reveal opens a section of blank and numbered cells. Say the top row shows: blank, 1, 1, 1, blank. The two blank cells expand further. The three 1s form a line. Behind them (in row 2) there must be exactly one mine. If only one unrevealed cell remains behind the middle 1, that cell is the mine — flag it.

Now re-read the other 1s. The left 1 had one mine neighbor, and you just flagged it. That means all other neighbors of the left 1 are safe. Click them. Each new reveal gives you more numbers, more constraints, more certainty. The board unravels from there.

Patterns worth learning

• 1-1 on an edge: If two 1s are side by side along a wall with two unrevealed cells behind them, the mine is behind one of the two. But if one of those 1s already has a flagged neighbor, the other cell behind the adjacent 1 is safe.
• 1-2-1 on an edge: The mines are behind the two 1 cells; the cell behind the 2 is safe.
• 1-2-2-1 on an edge: The mines are behind the two 2 cells; the cells behind the 1s are safe.
• Satisfied numbers: When a number already has that many flags around it, all its remaining unrevealed neighbors are safe. This is the most common move in the mid-game.

Difficulty levels

Tips for beginners

• Start from the edges. Numbers on the border have fewer neighbors, so deductions are easier.
• Always flag before clicking. When you identify a mine, flag it immediately. This prevents misclicks and helps you read other numbers more easily.
• Look for "satisfied" numbers first. They are the fastest way to reveal safe cells without any risk.
• If you are stuck, look at the corners and edges. Constrained areas often have forced deductions that open up the rest of the board.

Frequently asked questions

Related puzzle rules

• Nonogram rules — Reveal a picture by filling cells based on number clues
• Light Up rules — Place lights so numbered cells show their exact count
• Sudoku rules — Fill a 9×9 grid so every row, column, and box has 1-9