Minesweeper Rules
The objective of Minesweeper is to open every safe square. The mines are hidden at random, and the numbers are your only clues to where they are.
- Reveal
- Left-click to open a square. An empty square (0) opens all of its neighbors automatically.
- Count
- Numbers tell you how many mines touch the 8 surrounding squares.
- Flag
- Right-click (or long-press) to flag a mine so you never click it by accident.
- Win
- Open all non-mine squares. Mines can stay hidden or flagged. Click a mine and the game is lost.
What Do the Numbers Mean in Minesweeper?
A number shows how many mines touch that square, counting all eight neighbors including diagonals. A 1 means exactly one of its neighbors is a mine, a 3 means three are. A square with no mines around it shows no number, and the game opens its neighbors for you automatically.
The number counts only real mines, never your flags, and never the square itself. A square in the middle of the board has 8 neighbors, a square on an edge has 5, and a corner square has 3, so a 3 in a corner means all three of its neighbors are mines.
Each number has its own color, the same ones the classic Windows game used, so you can tell a 2 from a 3 without reading it. The colors are the same in the light and the dark theme.
| Number | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | 1 mine touching it | |
| Green | 2 mines touching it | |
| Red | 3 mines touching it | |
| Dark blue (navy) | 4 mines touching it | |
| Maroon | 5 mines touching it | |
| Teal | 6 mines touching it | |
| Black | 7 mines touching it | |
| Gray | 8 mines touching it |
Tip: If a number already has its mines flagged, every other adjacent hidden square is safe.
Low numbers next to open space usually leave safe squares around them. High numbers mark dense clusters of mines.
How to Flag a Mine
A flag marks a square you have worked out is a mine. Flagged squares cannot be opened by a normal click, and the mine counter at the top of the board goes down by one for every flag. To remove a flag, use the same action again.
- Mouse
- Right-click a hidden square to flag it. Right-click again to remove the flag.
- Phone or tablet
- Long-press a square to flag it. For many flags in a row, switch the Dig/Flag toggle below the board to Flag, then tap. Switch back to Dig to open squares.
- Keyboard
- Press Space to flag the square under the mouse pointer. On an open number, Space chords instead.
How to Chord
Chording means clicking a number that already has the right number of flags around it. The game then opens all of that number's other hidden neighbors at once. A middle-click does the same.
It is faster because one click replaces up to seven: instead of opening each safe neighbor of a satisfied number by hand, you open them all together. Speed players measure that economy with 3BV, the fewest clicks a board needs, and 3BV/s.
When chording does nothing, or loses
- If a number has fewer flags around it than its value, clicking it does nothing.
- It works only on open numbers, not on hidden squares.
- If one of the flags is wrong, chording opens a mine and you lose. Only chord around flags you have proved.
Is the First Click Safe?
Yes. On normal boards the mines are placed after your first click, and the clicked square and its eight neighbors are kept free of mines, so the first click always opens an area. In the daily challenge everyone gets the same layout, so only the clicked square itself is guaranteed safe.
A safe start does not mean the rest of the board can always be solved without guessing. Random boards sometimes end in a true 50/50, and on Expert most of them need at least one guess somewhere, as our Minesweeper odds and statistics show. If you would rather never guess, play no-guess Minesweeper, where every board is solvable by logic.
How to Find Mines: the Basic Deductions
Almost every move in Minesweeper comes from two rules. Check them on every number next to a hidden square before you take a guess.
- Rule 1: all hidden neighbors are mines
- If a number equals the count of hidden squares around it (flagged ones included), every one of those squares is a mine. Flag them.
- Rule 2: all other neighbors are safe
- If a number already has that many flags around it, every other hidden square around it is safe. Open them, or chord.
When neither rule applies to a single number, compare two numbers that share neighbors. That is where patterns come in: a pattern is a common arrangement of numbers that has only one solution. In a 1-2-1 along a straight edge, for example, the mines sit next to the two 1s and the square next to the 2 is safe. Learn a few and you will solve boards far faster.
The 1-2-1 is one of a family. The 1-1 against a wall, the 1-2, the 1-2-2-1, corner pockets and reduction (subtracting mines you have already flagged) are all laid out step by step, with the reason each one works, in the Minesweeper patterns guide: see all patterns.
Minesweeper Rules for Beginners: Common Mistakes
- Guessing too early
- A guess made while a safe move still exists is a needless risk. Check every number on the border of the open area against both rules first.
- Forgetting the diagonals
- A number counts all eight surrounding squares, including the four diagonal ones, not just the squares above, below and beside it.
- Trusting a flag you didn't prove
- The game never checks your flags. A wrong flag makes the numbers around it look satisfied, and chording next to it opens a mine.
- Starting on Expert
- With 99 mines on 480 squares, Expert punishes slow counting. Learn the numbers on the 9×9 Beginner board, the easiest place to practice first.
Ready to try the rules on a real board? Play Minesweeper online for free.