Minesweeper: play the classic mine puzzle online free
Minesweeper is the classic logic puzzle: uncover a hidden field without digging up a mine, using only the numbers that count the mines around each tile. Play free online on the three standard fields, Beginner, Intermediate and Expert, or the Daily board that is the same for everyone. Boards are no-guess, so logic always wins, and the game has 6 themes, ripple reveals and chain explosions, hints, 3BV stats, 25 badges and free leaderboards. It works with a mouse, a keyboard or a touch screen.
How to play Minesweeper
- Choose a field: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert or the Daily board.
- Dig your first tile: it is always safe and opens an area.
- Read the numbers: each one shows how many mines touch that tile, diagonals included.
- Flag the tiles that must be mines with a right-click, a long-press or the ๐ฉ button.
- Click a number whose mines are all flagged to dig its other neighbours at once.
- Open every safe tile to clear the field and set a new best time.
Mouse: left-click to dig, right-click to flag, click a number (or middle-click) to chord. Touch: tap to dig, press and hold to flag, tap a number to chord, or switch the โ๏ธ button to ๐ฉ to flag with a tap. Keyboard: arrow keys move, Space digs, F flags, D chords, H gives a hint, N starts a new game, T switches dig and flag mode and P pauses.
The three classic fields
| Field | Size | Mines | Mine density | Good time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ฑ Beginner | 9 ร 9 (81 tiles) | 10 | 12% | under 30 s; experts under 10 s |
| ๐ฅ Intermediate | 16 ร 16 (256 tiles) | 40 | 16% | under 2 min; experts under 1 min |
| ๐ฃ Expert | 30 ร 16 (480 tiles) | 99 | 21% | under 5 min; experts under 2 min |
| โ๏ธ Daily | 16 ร 16 | 40 | 16% | the same board for everyone today |
Reading the numbers
Every open tile shows how many of its eight neighbours (up, down, left, right and the four diagonals) hide a mine. A blank tile has no mines around it, so the game opens all its neighbours for you; that is why one click can open a big area. The counter on the left shows how many mines are left to flag.
- A number with exactly as many hidden neighbours as its value: all of them are mines.
- A number that already has as many flags as its value: all its other hidden neighbours are safe (click it to chord).
- Two neighbouring numbers that share hidden tiles: compare them. If one needs one more mine than the other and has exactly one extra hidden tile, that tile is a mine.
Patterns every sweeper knows
| Pattern | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1-1 on a wall | Starting from the edge, the tile beyond the second 1 is safe. |
| 1-2 on a wall | The tile beyond the 2 (away from the 1) is a mine. |
| 1-2-1 | The mines are under the two 1s; the tile under the 2 is safe. |
| 1-2-2-1 | The mines are under the two 2s; the tiles under the 1s are safe. |
| A 1 in a corner of hidden tiles | If a 1 touches only one hidden tile, that tile is the mine; every other neighbour of a number already satisfied by it is safe. |
No-guess boards
Classic Minesweeper sometimes leaves you with a 50/50 that no amount of thinking can solve. Here the no-guess setting is on by default: after your first click the game checks every board with a logic solver and only deals boards that can be cleared by deduction alone. The Daily board is always no-guess. Prefer the old-school gamble? Switch it off in the settings.
Six themes
| Theme | Look |
|---|---|
| ๐ช Classic | The timeless grey bevelled tiles with the familiar number colours. |
| ๐ Neon | Glowing cyan tiles and bright neon numbers on a dark arcade grid. |
| ๐ฌ Candy | Glossy pink tiles, cream sugar, striped candy bombs. |
| ๐ Ocean | Waves on top, sand underneath and spiky sea mines. |
| ๐ด Jungle | Leafy tiles over warm earth and coconut bombs with lit fuses. |
| ๐ Space | Starry purple tiles and glowing asteroid mines. |
Every theme has ripple reveals that roll out from your click, numbers that pop in, flags that drop in and wave, a chain of explosions with a shockwave when you hit a mine and a sparkle wave with confetti when you clear the field.
The Daily board, challenges and leaderboards
The Daily board is one 16ร16 board with 40 mines that everyone plays, starting on the same glowing โ tile. Each field and the Daily board have free leaderboards for today, this week and all time, ranked by fastest time (each hint adds 30 seconds). After a win you can send a challenge link: your friend gets exactly the same board and sees the time to beat. Lost a game? Same board lets you replay it for practice.
Badges
There are 25 badges for your first wins, fast times on every field, win streaks, tiles dug, flags planted, huge openings, winning without flags or hints, efficiency, Daily boards and themes. Open the medal button in the game to see your progress.
| Badge | How to earn it |
|---|---|
| ๐ First Sweep | Win your first game. |
| ๐ฑ Sprout | Win a Beginner game. |
| โก Quick Feet | Win Beginner in under 30 seconds. |
| ๐ฅท Ninja Fingers | Win Beginner in under 10 seconds. |
| ๐งญ Field Scout | Win an Intermediate game. |
| โฑ๏ธ Swift Scout | Win Intermediate in under 2 minutes. |
| ๐ Speed Sweeper | Win Intermediate in under 1 minute. |
| ๐ฃ Bomb Squad | Win an Expert game. |
| ๐งจ Demolition Expert | Win Expert in under 5 minutes. |
| ๐ Expert Five | Win 5 Expert games. |
| ๐ Ten Clean Fields | Win 10 games. |
| ๐๏ธ Veteran Sweeper | Win 50 games. |
| ๐ Mine Master | Win 200 games. |
| ๐ฅ Hot Streak | Win 3 games in a row. |
| โ๏ธ Unstoppable | Win 10 games in a row. |
| โ๏ธ Digger | Dig 1,000 tiles. |
| ๐๏ธ Excavator | Dig 25,000 tiles. |
| ๐ฉ Flag Planter | Plant 500 flags. |
| ๐ Floodgate | Open 100 tiles or more with one click. |
| ๐ No Flags Needed | Win Intermediate or Expert without planting a flag. |
| ๐ง Pure Logic | Win Expert without using a hint. |
| ๐ฏ Sharpshooter | Win Intermediate or Expert with 100% efficiency or more. |
| ๐ Daily Sweeper | Play the Daily board. |
| ๐๏ธ Week of Mines | Play the Daily board on 7 days. |
| ๐จ Stylist | Win games in 4 different themes. |
Minesweeper tips
- Start in the open area. Work along the edges of the opening, where the numbers give the most information.
- Flag only what you need. Flags help you chord, but speed players often skip flags and just dig safe tiles.
- Learn the patterns. 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 appear on every board; spotting them saves seconds.
- Chord a lot. Clicking a satisfied number digs several tiles in one go and raises your efficiency.
- Use the mine counter. Near the end, the number of mines left can decide the last tiles.
- Keep moving. If one area stalls, look at another edge of the opening: no-guess boards always have a next move somewhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is Minesweeper free?
Yes. This Minesweeper is completely free to play online, with no sign-up, no download and no in-app purchases. It runs in your browser on computers, tablets and phones, and your statistics, best times and badges are saved on your device.
Is this the same as Microsoft Minesweeper?
It follows the same classic rules and the same three standard fields (Beginner 9ร9 with 10 mines, Intermediate 16ร16 with 40 mines and Expert 30ร16 with 99 mines), with its own art, sounds, themes and extras such as no-guess boards, a daily board and leaderboards. Microsoft Minesweeper is a trademark of Microsoft; this game is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
How do I play Minesweeper?
Dig tiles to uncover the field. A number shows how many of the eight surrounding tiles hide a mine. Use the numbers to work out where the mines are, flag them, and dig every other tile. You win when every safe tile is open; dig a mine and it is game over.
How do I flag a mine?
Right-click a tile on a computer. On a phone or tablet, press and hold the tile for a moment, or switch the โ๏ธ button to ๐ฉ so that every tap plants or removes a flag. On a keyboard, move with the arrow keys and press F.
What is chording?
When a number already has as many flags around it as its value, click or tap that number to dig all its other neighbours at once. It saves a lot of clicks. If the flags do not match the number, nothing is dug and the hidden neighbours flash.
What are no-guess boards?
With no-guess boards on (the default), the game only deals boards that a logic solver can clear from your first click without ever guessing. Every move can be worked out from the numbers, so you never lose to a 50/50. Switch it off in the settings for classic random boards.
Is the first click always safe?
Yes. The mines are placed after your first dig, never on that tile or its neighbours, so the first click always opens an area to start from. On the Daily board and challenge boards everyone starts on the same glowing โ tile.
What is the Daily board?
Every day there is one Intermediate-size board (16ร16, 40 mines) that is the same for everyone, starting from the same โ tile. Your first finished try of the day counts for the Daily leaderboard; later tries are practice.
How do hints work?
Each game has 3 hints. A hint uncovers a tile that logic proves is safe, or removes a wrong flag if you have planted one. Each hint adds 30 seconds to your time on the leaderboard.
What are 3BV and efficiency?
3BV is the smallest number of clicks that clears a board (each opening counts once, plus every number that is not next to an opening). 3BV per second measures your speed and efficiency is 3BV divided by the clicks you used; chording lets you go above 100%.
Can I play Minesweeper on a phone?
Yes. Tap to dig, press and hold to flag, and tap a number to chord. In portrait the wide Expert field is turned so it fits the screen, and you can pinch or use the + and โ buttons to zoom and drag to move around.
More logic and puzzle games: Sudoku, Solitaire, 2048 and Block Stack.