About Minesweeper
Minesweeper is pure deductive logic compressed into a grid. Your goal is to reveal every safe cell without triggering a hidden mine. Each uncovered number tells you precisely how many of its eight neighbours are mined — that single data point, chained across adjacent cells, is enough to calculate the exact location of every mine on the board. The elegance of the game is that no random guessing is ever required when you have enough revealed numbers to triangulate a mine's position.
This version offers three grid sizes: Beginner (9×9, 10 mines), Intermediate (16×16, 40 mines), and Expert (30×16, 99 mines). The first click is always guaranteed safe — the mine layout reshuffles after your opening move so you can never lose immediately. Right-clicking a cell plants a flag marker, which prevents accidental reveals and helps you track confirmed mine positions as you build your deduction chain outward from the opening.
Experienced players use a technique called chord-clicking: when a numbered cell has exactly as many adjacent flags as its number, middle-clicking (or double-clicking in some modes) automatically reveals all remaining neighbours simultaneously. On the Expert board this technique is essential — manually clicking each cell individually is far too slow to post competitive times. The world-record Expert time is under 33 seconds, achieved through a combination of chord-clicking, pattern recognition, and near-perfect mine reading.
How to Play
- Left click — Reveal a cell
- Right click — Place or remove a flag marker
- Middle click / Double-click a number — Chord-reveal all unflagged neighbours (when flag count matches the number)
- Click the smiley face — Start a new game
- Select grid size from the top menu before starting
Tips & Strategies
Start from corners and edges
Corner and edge cells have fewer neighbours, so any number revealed there constrains mine positions more tightly. Start in a corner and work inward to build early deduction chains.
Use the 1-2-1 pattern
A 1-2-1 row along an edge means the two mines are under the cells adjacent to each '1'. Memorising common patterns like 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 dramatically speeds up Expert boards.
Flag only when certain
New players over-flag. Plant a flag only when you are 100% certain a mine is there — flags that are wrong cause chord-click accidents that trigger mines and end runs.