Mines left: 10 ·
Desktop: right-click to flag. Mobile: toggle flag mode, then tap.
This is a fully playable Minesweeper — the classic 9×9 board with 10 hidden mines. Reveal every safe square without detonating a mine. Right-click to plant flags on desktop; on mobile, toggle Flag mode and tap. Numbers tell you exactly how many mines touch that square — the whole game is deduction, not luck (well, mostly).
How to play, properly
- Tap any square to start — the first reveal opens up a region.
- A number means that many mines sit in the 8 surrounding squares. A blank square has zero neighbors and auto-clears its area.
- When a number already touches that many flags, every other neighbor is safe — this is the core logic loop.
- Flag confirmed mines so you don’t misclick them later. Clear all 71 safe squares to win.
The one pattern that unlocks the game
Learn 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1. A 1-2-1 along a wall means the mines sit under the two 1s’ outer neighbors — the square under the 2 is safe. A 1-2-2-1 puts mines under the middle two. These two patterns alone solve most mid-game stalls that beginners blame on “guessing”.
Where Minesweeper came from
Descended from 1960s mainframe games, Minesweeper became world-famous when Microsoft bundled it with Windows 3.1 in 1992 — officially to teach people right-clicking and mouse precision. It succeeded a little too well: it’s one of the most-played computer games in history, and Google now shows a playable version when you search for it.
Keep the streak going: Pacman, Tic-Tac-Toe vs the computer, Solitaire.
How do I flag mines on a phone?
Tap the “Flag mode” button to switch modes — then every tap plants or removes a flag. Tap it again to go back to revealing.
Can the first click hit a mine?
In our version mines are placed before the first click, so it’s possible but rare (10 in 81). Classic Windows versions moved the mine on a first-click hit.
Is Minesweeper luck or skill?
Overwhelmingly skill — almost every board state is solvable by counting. True 50/50 guesses exist but are rare on a 9×9 board.
What do the numbers mean?
Each number counts the mines in the 8 squares touching it. A 1 with only one unrevealed neighbor means that neighbor is certainly a mine.