How to play Minesweeper
Minesweeper looks random the first time you play. It isn't. Every number on the board is a clue, and once you know how to read them, most cells can be solved with pure logic.
What is Minesweeper?
Minesweeper is a single-player logic puzzle on a grid of covered cells. Some cells hide mines. The rest are safe. You reveal cells by clicking them, and the game ends if you click a mine. Safe cells show a number that counts how many neighboring cells contain mines. A blank cell means none of its neighbors have mines.
Robert Donner and Curt Johnson created the game for Windows 3.1 in 1990. It shipped pre-installed on Windows PCs for about 20 years after that, which made it one of the most-played computer games in history. The rules are the same today.
Understanding the board
Every Minesweeper board starts fully covered. You can't tell what's underneath until you click. After your first click, some cells reveal numbers, some open up as blanks, and some stay hidden. The grid below shows what a partly-revealed board looks like.
What do the numbers mean?
Each number tells you exactly how many mines are in the 8 surrounding cells (or fewer on edges and corners). A "1" means one neighbor is a mine. A "3" means three neighbors are mines. If a cell has no number at all, none of its neighbors are mines.
In the grid below, the highlighted "2" has 8 neighbors. Two of them contain mines. The rest are safe.
Step-by-step guide
1. Click any cell
Your first click is always safe. The game generates the mine layout after you click, making sure your starting cell and its neighbors are mine-free. This guarantees an opening to work from.
2. Read the numbers
Look at the numbers around the edges of the revealed area. Each number counts how many of its 8 neighbors hide mines. Start with the corners and edges of the revealed section. Those cells have fewer unknown neighbors, so the numbers narrow things down more.
3. Flag confirmed mines
When you're sure a cell is a mine, right-click to flag it (or tap the Flag button on mobile). Flags prevent accidental clicks. You don't need to flag mines to win, but it helps you track your progress.
4. Use chord clicking
If a numbered cell has the correct number of flags around it, clicking that number reveals all unflagged neighbors at once. For example, if a "2" already has two flags next to it, clicking the 2 opens every other neighbor. This is the fastest way to clear large sections.
5. Work the edges
Move along the boundary between revealed and hidden cells. Each new number gives you more data. When multiple numbers overlap on the same hidden cell, you can combine their constraints to figure out whether it's safe or a mine.
6. Clear every safe cell
The game ends when every non-mine cell is revealed. If you click a mine at any point, you lose and the board shows where all the mines were. There's no penalty for using flags. Flag or not, the win condition is the same.
Chord clicking explained
Chord clicking is the move that separates beginners from fast players. When a numbered cell already has the right number of flags touching it, clicking that cell reveals all remaining neighbors at once. No need to click them individually.
Be careful, though. If a flag is in the wrong position, chord clicking will reveal a mine and end the game. Only chord when you're confident your flags are correct.
The "1" has one flag - chord-clicking reveals the safe neighbors
Common patterns
Once you recognize a few standard patterns, you stop counting and start seeing. These two show up in almost every game.
The 1-1 pattern
Two 1s side by side along a wall (where hidden cells are on one side). The mine is between the two 1s. The cells past each 1 are safe. This pattern appears constantly on board edges.
The 1-2-1 pattern
A 1, then a 2, then a 1 along a wall. The mines are on either side of the 2. The cells past the 1s are safe. The cell between the 2 and the wall can sometimes be resolved by checking other constraints nearby.
Board sizes
Three standard sizes. Each one roughly doubles the number of cells.
Beginner
9×9 - 10 mines
81 cells. Good for learning. Experienced players finish these in under 10 seconds.
Intermediate
16×16 - 40 mines
256 cells. The most popular size for casual play. Typical games run 30 to 90 seconds.
Expert
30×16 - 99 mines
480 cells. The competitive standard. World records sit under 30 seconds. A solid amateur time is 2 to 5 minutes.
Tips that actually help
- Start your first click near the center. Center clicks tend to open larger areas than corner clicks because there are more neighbors to cascade through.
- Look at edge and corner numbers first. A "1" in a corner only has 3 neighbors, so you know right away which one-third is a mine.
- Learn to chord fast. It saves more time than anything else. Once a number is satisfied by its flags, chord-click to pop open everything next to it.
- Don't flag every mine you find. Competitive players often skip flagging entirely (called NF, or no-flag). They chord only when it saves clicks and otherwise just click safe cells directly.
- When you're stuck, look at overlapping number constraints. Two adjacent numbers often share hidden cells, and the overlap eliminates possibilities.
FAQ
Is Minesweeper a game of luck?+
No, it's mostly logic. You use the numbers to figure out where mines are. A few board layouts have 50/50 spots where you have to guess, but most cells can be solved by reasoning alone.
What do the numbers mean in Minesweeper?+
Each number counts how many mines sit in the 8 surrounding cells. A "3" means three of those neighbors are mines. An empty cell means no neighbors are mines.
What is chord clicking in Minesweeper?+
When a numbered cell has the correct number of flagged neighbors, clicking it reveals every unflagged neighbor at once. If a "2" has two flags around it, clicking the 2 opens the remaining six neighbors in one move.
Is the first click always safe?+
On Minesweeper91, yes. The mine layout is generated after your first click. Mines are never placed on or near your first cell.
What are the standard Minesweeper board sizes?+
Beginner is 9×9 with 10 mines, Intermediate is 16×16 with 40 mines, and Expert is 30×16 with 99 mines. These sizes have been the standard since the original Windows version.
How do I get faster at Minesweeper?+
Learn chord clicking, memorize common patterns (1-1, 1-2-1), and practice reading numbers without pausing. Speed comes from pattern recognition. Most fast players rarely flag and use chords only when it saves time.
Ready to play?
Try what you've learned on a real board.
Play Minesweeper