Puzzle Lounge βΊ Minesweeper guide βΊ How to play
How to play Minesweeper, with tips
Minesweeper is a puzzle where you work out where the mines are from the numbers. This page explains it with pictures, from the rules and controls to common patterns (such as 1-2-1), how to tell a 50/50 that leaves you to luck, and tips for solving faster. Puzzle Lounge's Minesweeper never gives you a 50/50, so the ideas on this page are all you need to clear every board.
1What is Minesweeper?
Minesweeper is a puzzle for one player: mines are hidden in a grid, and you avoid them by reasoning from the numbers in the cells you open. Around 1990 it came preinstalled on PCs and spread around the world, and people still play it in browsers and on phones. The fun is in solving it by reading the numbers more than by luck.
Puzzle Lounge's Minesweeper is a free online version that plays in your browser. There is no app to download and no sign-up. You can also solve the same board together with friends, or race them.
2The rules
- Mines are hidden somewhere on the board. Open every cell without a mine to clear it.
- A number in an open cell is how many mines are in the eight cells around it (up, down, left, right and diagonal).
- A cell with no number has no mines at all around it. Then the cells around it open by themselves.
- Flag a cell you know is a mine, so you don't open it by mistake.
- In classic Minesweeper, stepping on a mine ends the game. At Puzzle Lounge you can choose to carry on or start over (the mines you stepped on are recorded).
3New to it? How a game goes
- Choose a difficulty. If it's your first time, start with Easy (9Γ9).
- Read the numbers. The game makes the first opening for you. A number in an open cell is how many mines are in the eight cells around it.
- Flag the mines. When you know a cell is a mine, right-click it (on a phone, press and hold) to place a flag.
- Open the safe cells. Open the cells you know have no mine. Once a number has as many flags around it as it says, press that number to open the rest of the cells around it at once.
- Open them all to clear. Your time is recorded, with the mines you stepped on and the hints you used.
When in doubt, repeat these three steps
- Find a 1. Look at a 1 on the edge between open and closed cells.
- Count the closed cells around it. If only one cell around that 1 is closed, that cell is the mine. Flag it.
- Open next to the flag. The mine around that 1 has been found: it is under the flag. So the rest of the cells around the 1 have no mine. Go ahead and open them.
It works the same way with 2s and 3s (pictures in The basics). When you get stuck, press Hint: the next cell you can work out lights up, with the numbers that prove it. Start by practicing on Easy.
4Controls (PC and phone)
| Open | Flag or unflag | Open around | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | Left-click | Right-click | Click a number whose flags are all placed |
| Phone, iPad | Tap | Press and hold (or switch the bottom control to Flag and tap) | Tap a number whose flags are all placed |
With a keyboard: the arrow keys move, Space or Enter opens, F flags and H gives a hint.
5The first click
At Puzzle Lounge, the game makes the first opening for you. It opens a cell near the middle of the board with no mines in the eight cells around it either, so you can't step on a mine. Every game, you start reasoning from a wide-open area.
Choosing the first click in classic Minesweeper
Most versions make sure the first cell you open is never a mine. But whether it opens a wide area is luck. These are the places most likely to open wide:
- A corner: it has only three cells around it, so it is likely to be a cell with no number (one that opens everything around it).
- The middle: less likely than a corner to have no number, but when it opens it tends to spread and gives you many clues.
- When you only got a single number: a cell a little away from it is more likely to open wide than the one right next to it.
6The basics
In the pictures, β is certainly a mine and β is certainly safe.
1. Closed cells = the number: all mines
If a number has exactly as many closed cells around it as it says, all of them are mines. Flag them.
2. Flags = the number: the rest are safe
If a number already has as many flags around it as it says, its other closed cells are safe. Click (tap) that number to open them all at once.
Nearly all Minesweeper reasoning is a mix of these two. When unsure, count the closed cells and the flags around a number.
7Common patterns: 1-1, 1-2, 1-2-1, 1-2-2-1
Where these two alone settle nothing, comparing neighboring numbers often does. Learn the common patterns and you'll get much faster.
| Pattern | What it settles |
|---|---|
| 1-1 by a wall | The first 1's mine is in the two cells it touches, so the next 1's far cell is safe |
| 1-2 | The cell past the 2 is a mine, and the cell past the 1 is safe |
| 1-2-1 | Right above the two 1s are mines, right above the 2 is safe |
| 1-2-2-1 | Right above the two 2s are mines, right above the 1s are safe |
Real boards with pictures and the full reasoning are in How to solve Minesweeper.
850/50s, and cells no number settles
Classic Minesweeper can leave a 50/50 no reading will settle. How to tell a real one, and what to do when you truly must guess, are in How to solve Minesweeper.
Puzzle Lounge's Minesweeper never gives you a 50/50. Each board is checked as it is made to be solvable by reasoning alone (the one exception is Custom, where you set the size yourself, with a great many mines).
9Getting better
- Start with what's certain. Deal with every cell you can settle before you think about the next area, and you'll miss less.
- Flag often at first. Once the flags match a number you can open the rest at once, so you make fewer mistakes.
- Look at the edge. The clues only ever lie on the edge between open and closed cells.
10Solving faster
Ways to cut your time on the classic Expert size (Hard here: 16Γ30, 99 mines).
Open around a number
In the old Minesweeper, you clicked a number whose flags were all placed with both buttons at once (a chord) to open everything around it. At Puzzle Lounge, an ordinary click (tap) on that number opens around it. A wheel click does the same.
Only the flags you need
Fast players don't flag every mine. A flag costs a click too, so they leave the mines they won't need for opening around a number unmarked, and move on.
Measure your speed in 3BV/s
3BV is the fewest clicks a board needs (each spread of cells with no number counts as one, and each number outside a spread as one). 3BV differs from board to board, so the 3BV/s on the clear screen (3BV per second) lets you compare your speed across different boards. Efficiency shows how few clicks you wasted.
Know more patterns at a glance
Learn 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 well enough to know them by shape, without counting. It also helps to look for the next place to read while cells are opening.
Oni and Extreme need numbers read together
Oni and Extreme boards are made so that at least once, you meet a spot settled only by reading the edge's numbers together and thinking through every way the mines could lie. They are tough, but there is still never a 50/50.
In the rankings of the Daily board and This week's board, each hint adds 30 seconds to your time and each mine you step on adds 60 seconds.
11The tips in short
- Count the closed cells and the flags (The basics)
- Learn patterns like 1-2-1, and take away the flags (Common patterns)
- If it looks like a 50/50, solve elsewhere first (50/50s)
- Open around numbers, and flag only what you need (Solving faster)
12Difficulty and board sizes
Classic Minesweeper has three difficulties: Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. Puzzle Lounge's Easy, Medium and Hard are the same sizes, with the same numbers of mines. Above them come two harder grades of our own, Oni and Extreme.
| Difficulty | Classic name | Board | Mines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | Beginner | 9Γ9 | 10 |
| Medium | Intermediate | 16Γ16 | 40 |
| Hard | Expert | 16Γ30 (30Γ16 on a wide screen) | 99 |
| Oni | β | 20Γ30 | 130 |
| Extreme | β | 24Γ30 | 170 |
A page for each difficulty: Easy Β· Medium Β· Hard Β· Oni Β· Extreme
Every difficulty has 1,000 stages, and the first 100 are free. From stage 101 on, you play with the Lounge Pass or tickets. To race the clock, try the Daily board and This week's board: everyone gets the same board, and competes in the rankings.
13Questions
How do I flag on a phone?
Press and hold a cell to place a flag. Switch the control at the bottom of the screen to Flag, and a tap places one. Press and hold (or tap) again to take it off.
Why can't I place flags on an iPad or tablet?
Press a little longer: a press that is too short opens the cell instead. If it is still hard, switch the bottom control to Flag, and you can flag with a tap. Also check that Hold to flag is not turned off in the settings.
Is it ever down to luck?
No. Every board is made so it can be solved to the end by reasoning alone, and you never get a 50/50 where you can only guess. When you're stuck, Hint shows you the next cell you can work out, and why.
Where should I click first? Can I hit a mine?
No need to think about it. The game makes the first opening for you, always on a cell with no mines in the eight cells around it either, so you can't hit a mine. You always start from a wide-open area. (In classic Minesweeper, many players start in a corner, where it is more likely to open wide.)
I don't get the rules. Where do I start?
Start by finding a 1. A number only tells you how many mines are in the eight cells around it. If only one cell around a 1 is closed, that is the mine. Once you have flagged it, the rest of the cells around that 1 are safe. Repeating just these two steps is enough to clear Easy. If you get stuck, press Hint to see the next cell you can work out, and why.
What should I do at a 50/50?
First, solve the other areas. You may get more clues, or the number of mines left may settle it at the end. Guess only when nothing else does. Puzzle Lounge's Minesweeper never gives you a 50/50, though, so if you see one, there is a step of reasoning you've missed somewhere.
How do I solve the Expert size (16Γ30, 99 mines) faster?
Three tips. Click a number whose flags are all placed to open everything around it. Don't place flags you won't use for that. And know the common patterns at a glance. You can compare your speed by the 3BV/s on the clear screen.
Can I play online with friends?
Yes. Make a room from Play together and send the invite link: you can solve the same board together, or race each other to clear it. Up to four can play.
Do I need to download or install anything?
No. It plays right in your browser, with no sign-up, on phones and PCs alike. In every difficulty, the first 100 stages are free.
Which are Beginner, Intermediate and Expert?
Easy is the Beginner size (9Γ9, 10 mines), Medium the Intermediate size (16Γ16, 40 mines) and Hard the Expert size (16Γ30, 99 mines). Above them come our own Oni and Extreme.