Minesweeper Rules: Reveal, Numbers and Flags
Minesweeper hides mines under a grid of cells. Open every cell that isn't a mine and you win; open a mine and you lose. This lesson is played on the game's own board with the mines fixed in place, so a wrong click here costs you nothing. Rows count from the top and columns from the left.
Step 1 of 6
The first click
Click a cell to reveal it. Your first click in Playboard is always safe: the mines are laid after it, never on that cell or the eight around it. So the first cell always opens as a blank, and a blank opens the cells around it for you. Watch one click open the middle of this board.
What the numbers mean
An open cell shows how many mines touch it: the eight cells around it, diagonals included. The 2 in row 2, column 2 touches four hidden cells, starred here, and two of those four are mines. On its own it can't say which two. A blank cell is a 0: no mine touches it at all.
Why did one click open so much?
The first click landed on a blank in the middle of the board. Why did so many other cells open with it?
Flag a mine
The 1 in row 1, column 3 touches only one hidden cell, the one on its left. Its one mine must be there. The 1 in row 1, column 6 is the same, with its hidden cell on its right. Mark a mine with a flag: right-click the cell, long-press it on a touch screen, or switch on Flag mode above the board and click it.
Your move
Flag both starred cells.
Open the safe cells
The 1 in row 2, column 7 touches the flag above it, and that flag is its one mine. So the three hidden cells on its right are safe. Turn Flag mode off and click a cell to open it.
Your move
Open the three starred cells.
When have you won?
On this board every safe cell is open. The six mines are still hidden, and not one of them has a flag.
What you learned
- Click a cell to reveal it. In Playboard the first click is always safe and always opens an area.
- A number counts the mines in the eight cells around it. A blank is a 0, and it opens its neighbours for you.
- Flag a mine with a right-click, a long press or Flag mode.
- You win when every safe cell is open. Flags are optional.
In this course
Unit 1The rules
- Minesweeper Rules: Reveal, Numbers and Flags
- Chording in Minesweeper: Open Cells With a Double-Click
Take it to the table.
Put what you just read into practice. No sign-up needed.