Free Minesweeper
Play classic minesweeper online: beginner, intermediate, expert or a custom board, a safe first click, flags by right-click or long-press and best times.
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How to play minesweeper
Minesweeper hides mines under a grid of squares. Open a square and you either find a mine and lose, or a number telling you how many of its eight neighbours hide mines. Use the numbers to work out where the mines are, flag them, and open every safe square to win.
- Choose Beginner (9 by 9, 10 mines), Intermediate (16 by 16, 40 mines), Expert (30 by 16, 99 mines) or a Custom board.
- Click or tap any square to start. The first square, and the squares around it, never hide a mine.
- Right-click, long-press, or switch the tap mode to flag, to mark a square you are sure hides a mine.
- Click an open number whose flags are all placed to open its other neighbours at once. This is called chording.
- Open every safe square to win. Your best time for each board size is saved on this device.
Board sizes and mine density
The share of squares that hide mines decides how hard a board feels. Custom boards can have 5 to 30 rows and columns and as many mines as leave at least nine safe squares.
| Level | Board | Mines | Mine density |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 9×9 | 10 | About 12% |
| Intermediate | 16×16 | 40 | About 16% |
| Expert | 30×16 | 99 | About 21% |
How the first click and chording work
Mines are laid only after your first click, never on that square or its neighbours, so the first click always opens an empty area with numbers around it. Opening a square with no neighbouring mines opens all its neighbours automatically, spreading until numbers are reached.
Chording saves clicks: when an open number has exactly that many flags around it, clicking it opens all its other neighbours. If one of your flags is wrong, chording can open a mine, so flag carefully.
Useful tips and limitations
- A 1 touching only one unopened square means that square is a mine. Start from such spots and work outward.
- Learn the 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 patterns along a wall: they tell you exactly where the mines are without guessing.
- Use the tap mode switch on a phone if long-pressing is awkward: one tap then places a flag.
Common questions
Is the first click really safe?
Yes. Mines are placed only after your first click, never on that square or its eight neighbours, so the first click always opens an area.
Can I play minesweeper with a keyboard?
Yes. Move with the arrow keys or WASD, press Space or Enter to open a square, F to flag and N for a new game.
Do I ever have to guess in minesweeper?
Sometimes. A few positions cannot be worked out from the numbers alone, especially on expert boards, and need a guess.
How are best times saved?
Each board size and mine count has its own best time, saved in this browser on this device.
Every puzzle is made and played in your browser. Best times, scores and solved puzzles are saved only in this browser on this device; nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. Clearing site data removes them.