Play the mines game online
Open every square without a mine: each number tells you how many mines touch it. Your first click is always safe; place flags with a right click or a long press.
How it is calculated
How to play
Some squares of the board hide mines. Your goal is to open every square without a mine. Open a mine and the game is over. You may know the idea from the classic Minesweeper that shipped with Windows from version 3.1.
- Pick a level and tap any square. The first click is always safe: mines are placed only afterwards and never on that square or its neighbours, so a whole area opens right away.
- Read the numbers: each number shows how many mines are in the up to eight touching squares – horizontally, vertically and diagonally. An empty square has no mine nearby, so its neighbours open automatically.
- Place flags where you know a mine is (right click, long press, the F key or flag mode). Flagged squares cannot be opened by accident.
- You win as soon as every mine-free square is open. Flags are optional.
The three levels
- Beginner: 9 × 9 squares, 10 mines – a little over 12 % of the squares.
- Intermediate: 16 × 16 squares, 40 mines – just under 16 %.
- Expert: 30 × 16 squares, 99 mines – over 20 %. On a phone you swipe the board sideways while the page stays put.
These sizes match the usual default levels of the original game.
Chording: open faster
If a number already has exactly as many flags around it as it shows, tap the number itself: all its other hidden neighbours open at once. If one of those flags is wrong, you will hit a mine – wrong flags are marked when the game ends.
Tips
- A 1 with one hidden neighbour: the mine must be in that square.
- Compare neighbouring numbers: they share squares. What one number already accounts for is missing from the other – that is how you find safe squares.
- The mine counter shows mines minus placed flags. If it goes negative, you have placed too many flags.
- Sometimes logic runs out and you have to guess. Guess where you are likely to gain the most new information.
Best times and privacy
The timer starts with your first click. Your best time per level, the chosen level and flag mode are saved in your browser's localStorage. Nothing is sent to a server. Mines are placed with your browser's cryptographic random number generator.
More puzzles: Sudoku, tic tac toe or hangman.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Minesweeper?
Open squares and avoid the mines. Each number tells you how many mines are in the up to eight neighbouring squares. Use the numbers to work out where mines are (flag them) and which squares are safe. Once every mine-free square is open, you win.
What do the numbers mean in Minesweeper?
A number on an opened square is the count of mines in the directly touching squares – horizontally, vertically and diagonally, so at most 8. An empty square means no mines around it.
Can you lose on the first click?
Not here. Mines are placed only after your first click, never on that square and never on its neighbours, so the first click always opens an area.
How do I place a flag on mobile?
Press and hold the square for about 0.4 seconds until the flag appears. Or switch on flag mode – every tap then places or removes a flag until you switch it off again.
What is chording?
Tap an opened number that already has the same number of flags around it, and all its other hidden neighbours open at once. It saves time, but only if your flags are right.
How many mines are there?
It depends on the level. As in the usual default levels: beginner 10 mines on 9 × 9, intermediate 40 mines on 16 × 16, expert 99 mines on 30 × 16. The counter shows how many are still unflagged.
Do you sometimes have to guess?
Yes, it can happen: not every position can be solved by logic alone. Then two or more squares remain that are equally likely to hide a mine based on all the numbers.
Are my best times saved?
Yes, per level and only in your browser (localStorage). They survive a page reload and are never sent to a server.
Sources and legal basis
As of:
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