Minesweeper Medium16×16, 40 mines
Minesweeper's Medium level, a good step up once you're used to Easy. It's the same 16×16 board with 40 mines as Intermediate on old PCs. Play in your browser with no sign-up. The first 100 stages are free.
Good forPlayers who can solve Easy and want a bit more to think about, or want to learn and use patterns like 1-2-1.
- Board16×16
- Mines40 (16%)
- Rough time1 to 2 minutes once you're used to it, about 5 to 15 minutes for first-timers
- Name in the gameMedium
The key to Medium: comparing neighboring numbers, as in 1-2-1
1What you need on Medium
Some spots no single number can settle. Compare two neighboring numbers with patterns like 1-2 and 1-2-1, and you can move on.
The rules and patterns (such as 1-2-1) are explained with pictures in How to play Minesweeper, with tips.
2How Easy, Medium, Hard, Oni and Extreme differ
Easy, Medium and Hard are the classic Beginner, Intermediate and Expert, with the same sizes and numbers of mines. Above them come Oni and Extreme. The higher the share of mines, the more often you have to read several numbers together.
| Difficulty | Board | Mines | Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| EasyClassic: Beginner | 9×9 | 10 | 12% |
| MediumClassic: Intermediate | 16×16 | 40 | 16% |
| HardClassic: Expert | 16×30 | 99 | 21% |
| OniBeyond the classic sizes | 20×30 | 130 | 22% |
| Extreme (hardest)Beyond the classic sizes | 24×30 | 170 | 24% |
3Puzzle Lounge's Minesweeper
- No luckEvery board can be solved to the end by reasoning alone. You never get a 50/50.
- Free, no appIt plays right in your browser on a phone, iPad or PC.
- 1000 stagesEach difficulty has stages that get harder little by little. The first 100 are free. From stage 101 on, you play with the Lounge Pass or tickets.
- Daily board and This week's boardEveryone races the same board, with rankings and replays to watch.
- Online co-op and racesSolve the same board with friends, or race them.
4Questions about Medium
How big is Medium, and how many mines does it have?
16×16: 256 cells with 40 mines. It matches Intermediate in classic Minesweeper.
What techniques does Medium call for?
Along with the spots one number settles, you use patterns that compare neighboring numbers (such as 1-1, 1-2 and 1-2-1). The how-to page shows them with pictures.
What if I get stuck?
Hint shows you, step by step, the next cell you can work out and the numbers that prove it. Nothing is left to luck, so there is a step of reasoning you've missed somewhere.