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What Is Minesweeper?

Minesweeper is a logic game played on a grid of hidden cells. Some cells contain mines, the rest are safe. You click cells to reveal them. If a cell is safe, it shows a number telling you how many of its neighbors are mines. If you click a mine, you lose. The goal is to reveal every safe cell without triggering a mine.

The game was created by Robert Donner and Curt Johnson and shipped with Windows 3.1 in 1990. It became one of the most-played PC games ever, mostly because it came pre-installed on every Windows computer for about 20 years. The rules haven't changed since then.

How to Play Minesweeper

The rules are simple. Getting fast takes practice.

Click to reveal

Left-click any cell to reveal it. Your first click is always safe - the board is generated after you click so you never hit a mine on the first move. If the cell has no adjacent mines, the surrounding area opens up automatically.

Read the numbers

Each revealed cell shows a number from 1 to 8. That number tells you exactly how many of the 8 surrounding cells contain mines. An empty cell (no number) means zero of its neighbors are mines.

Flag mines

When you figure out where a mine is, right-click (or use Flag mode on mobile) to place a flag. Flagged cells can't be accidentally clicked. You don't have to flag mines to win, but it helps you keep track.

Chord clicking

If a numbered cell already has the right number of flags around it, clicking that cell reveals all remaining unflagged neighbors at once. This is called chord clicking. It's the main way experienced players speed up their games.

Win or lose

You win when every non-mine cell is revealed. You lose if you reveal a mine. On a loss, all mine locations are shown so you can see where they were.

Read the full guide for more detail. How to Play Minesweeper →

Minesweeper Tips & Strategy

Speed comes from pattern recognition, not guesswork. A few habits make a real difference.

Start at the edges

Corner and edge cells have fewer neighbors (3 or 5 instead of 8), so the numbers there constrain more. A 1 in a corner means one of only three cells is a mine. You get more information from fewer cells.

Learn the common patterns

The 1-1 pattern along a wall means alternating safe and mine cells. The 1-2-1 pattern means the mine is next to the 2. Once you know them, you stop counting and just see where the mines are.

Don't flag everything

Placing flags takes time. Competitive players often skip flagging entirely (a technique called NF, or no-flag). They chord-click when needed and otherwise just click safe cells directly. Try it once you're comfortable.

Use chord clicking aggressively

Chord clicking is how you clear large sections fast. As soon as you've flagged the right number of mines around a number, click it to open everything else. Chain several chord clicks together to sweep through the board quickly.

Board Sizes & Difficulty

Minesweeper has three standard board sizes. Each one roughly doubles the cell count from the last.

Beginner - 9×9, 10 mines

81 cells with 10 mines. Good for learning the rules. Most players can finish a beginner board in 5 to 15 seconds once they know the patterns.

Intermediate - 16×16, 40 mines

256 cells with 40 mines. The standard size for casual play. Expect 30 to 90 seconds for most games. The bigger board means more patterns to read and more chances for long chord-click chains.

Expert - 30×16, 99 mines

480 cells with 99 mines. The competitive standard. World records are under 30 seconds. For most players, a good expert time is 2 to 5 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Minesweeper luck or skill?
Mostly skill. You use the numbers to logically deduce where mines are. Some board layouts force a guess at one or two points, but a good player can solve most cells through logic alone.
What do the numbers mean in Minesweeper?
Each number tells you how many of the 8 adjacent cells contain mines. A 3 means exactly three of the surrounding cells are mines. If a cell has no number, none of its neighbors are mines.
What happens on the first click?
The first click is always safe. The board is generated after your first click, placing mines only in cells that aren't near where you clicked. This guarantees an opening to start with.
What is chord clicking?
When a numbered cell has exactly that many flags around it, clicking on it reveals all unflagged neighbors at once. For example, if a 2 has two flagged neighbors, clicking it opens the other six. Saves a lot of clicks.
Can I play Minesweeper online for free?
Yes. Minesweeper91 is free and works in any browser. No account, no download. Desktop and mobile both work.
What is the Minesweeper world record?
The expert world record is under 30 seconds. Records are tracked at minesweepergame.com and the World Minesweeper Rankings. Beginner records are around 0.5 seconds.
Do all Minesweeper boards have a solution without guessing?
Not all. Some board layouts have ambiguous positions where two solutions are possible and you have to pick one. Minesweeper91 uses first-click safety to give you a clean start, but later in the board you may occasionally need to guess.
How do I flag a cell?
On desktop, right-click a cell to flag it. On mobile, tap the Flag button in the control bar, then tap the cell. You can also long-press a cell to flag it regardless of the current mode.
What board size should a beginner start with?
Start with the 9×9 Beginner board (10 mines). Learn to read the numbers and practice flagging. Once you can win consistently, move up to Intermediate (16×16, 40 mines).
Looking for Google Minesweeper?
Google's version is a quick search-result game. Minesweeper91 gives you the same classic rules with three board sizes, keyboard shortcuts, chord clicking, and no ads. It works on any device - just bookmark it.