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Learn Minesweeper: Free Interactive Lessons and Patterns

Every lesson here is played on the same board you play Minesweeper on, with the mines fixed in place so a wrong click costs nothing. You read a few lines, make the move, and the board tells you whether the numbers really proved it. Start with the rules if you have never played. If you already know them, go straight to the patterns: they are what turns guessing into solving.

  • 7 lessons
  • 25 min
  • Free, no sign-up
Start the first lesson
Lessons for every game

Unit 1

The rules

Revealing cells, what the numbers mean, flagging mines, winning, and the double-click that opens a number's cells all at once.

  1. Minesweeper Rules: Reveal, Numbers and Flags

    Learn the rules of Minesweeper on a real board. How the first click works, what the numbers mean, how to flag a mine and when the game is won.5 min

  2. Chording in Minesweeper: Open Cells With a Double-Click

    Chording opens every hidden cell around a number whose flags are all in place. Learn when the double-click in Minesweeper is safe and when it ends a game.4 min

Unit 2

Patterns

The two rules behind most moves, then the four patterns experienced players see at a glance along the edge of an opened area: 1-1, 1-2, 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1.

  1. Minesweeper Strategy: Two Rules for Mines and Safe Cells

    Learn the two basic Minesweeper deductions. When a number's hidden cells must all be mines, and when they must all be safe. Practise both on a real board.4 min

  2. The 1-1 Pattern in Minesweeper

    Two 1s side by side against a wall prove a safe cell. Learn the 1-1 pattern in Minesweeper, then spot it when a flag turns a 2 into a 1.3 min

  3. The 1-2 Pattern in Minesweeper

    A 1 beside a 2 along a straight edge puts a mine past the 2. Learn the 1-2 pattern in Minesweeper, against a wall and in the open, in either direction.3 min

  4. The 1-2-1 Pattern in Minesweeper

    In a 1-2-1 along a straight edge, the mines are above the two 1s and the cell above the 2 is safe. Learn why, then find one hidden behind a flag.3 min

  5. The 1-2-2-1 Pattern in Minesweeper

    In a 1-2-2-1 along a straight edge, the mines are above the two 2s. Learn why it is two 1-2 patterns back to back, then find one behind a flag.3 min