Minesweepergrid, flags, timer

Goal of the game

Uncover every cell that does not hold a mine. You do not need to flag the mines to win — only to reveal everything else.

Each revealed cell shows a number: how many mines lie among its eight neighbours, diagonals included. An empty cell means zero mines around it, and automatically opens its whole neighbourhood.

The first click

• The first click never explodes: the grid is generated after it, around it.
• Click in the middle rather than in a corner. A central cell has eight neighbours, so a much better chance of opening a large empty area in one go.
• A big opening at the start means free ground and, above all, many numbers to work with.

Reading the numbers

• The count matches. If a number equals the number of unknown cells around it, all those cells are mines. Flag them.
• The count is complete. If a number equals the number of flags already placed around it, all its other neighbours are safe. Open them.
• Those two rules, applied again and again along the whole frontier, solve the vast majority of a grid. The rest requires comparing two neighbouring numbers.

The patterns to recognise

• 1-2-1 — three numbers in a row along the edge of an unknown area, with three cells in front of them. The mines are under the two 1s, and the middle cell is safe. Always.
• 1-2-2-1 — four numbers in a row, four cells in front. The mines are under the two 2s. Both ends are safe.
• 1-1 along a wall — two 1s side by side looking at three cells: the cell furthest from the second 1 is safe.
• Once you have seen these patterns two or three times you read them instantly, and they save most of the time on large grids.

Subtraction, when patterns are not enough

• Take two neighbouring numbers whose unknown areas partly overlap.
• If a 2 and a 1 share two cells, and the 2 sees a third cell the 1 does not, then that third cell is a mine: the 1 accounts for a single mine in the shared area, which leaves one for the isolated cell.
• It is the most powerful reasoning in the game, and the only one that really requires you to stop and think.

When only a guess is left

• Sometimes no deduction is possible. That is a property of the game, not a flaw in the grid.
• In that case, compare the remaining mines with the remaining cells, and guess where the probability is lowest.
• Guess early rather than late: a mistake at the start costs a few seconds, a mistake on the last cell costs the whole grid.
• Corners and edges have fewer neighbours, so their odds often differ from the rest: check them before clicking at random in the middle.

The mistakes that cost the most

• Flagging everything. Flags help you reason, not win. Too many flags slow you down and make you lose the thread.
• Forgetting the diagonals. A number counts eight neighbours, not four. It is the first source of mistakes for beginners.
• Clicking fast at the end. The last cells are where a mistake costs the most.
• Not looking back. After each opening, numbers you already read change meaning: read the whole frontier again.

Controls

Keyboard and mouse

• Left click to reveal a cell, right click to place or remove a flag.
• Click a number whose flags are all placed: it opens all its remaining neighbours at once.
• Space switches between revealing and flagging if you prefer playing one-handed.

Touch screen

• Tap to reveal, long-press to place a flag.
• A double tap on a completed number opens its neighbourhood.
• Pinch to zoom on large grids.

Frequently asked questions

Can the first click land on a mine?

No. The grid is built after your first click, leaving out that cell and often its neighbours. The first opening is always safe.

Do you need to flag every mine to win?

No. You win when every cell without a mine is revealed. Flags are a reasoning tool, not a requirement.

Is Minesweeper a game of chance?

Mostly not: most grids can be solved entirely by deduction. Some situations remain where two layouts are indistinguishable, and only then do you have to guess.

What does an empty cell mean?

That none of its eight neighbours holds a mine. That is why it automatically opens its whole neighbourhood, in a cascade.

How do you get faster?

By learning the 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 patterns, and by clicking completed numbers to open several cells in one gesture. Speed comes from recognising shapes, not from clicking fast.

More classics, free as well

• Dominoes — twenty-eight tiles, the line to extend
• FreeCell — eight columns, four free cells, almost always winnable
• Gin Rummy — ten cards, melds, knock at the right moment