How to Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - wikiHow (2024)

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1Learning Minesweeper Mechanics

2Downloading Minesweeper

3Playing Minesweeper

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Written byJack Lloyd

Last Updated: May 1, 2024Fact Checked

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This wikiHow teaches you how to play Minesweeper on a Windows computer. Although Minesweeper no longer comes pre-installed on Windows computers, you can download the remastered version from the Windows 10 Store for free.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Learning Minesweeper Mechanics

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  1. 1

    Understand the principles behind Minesweeper. Each Minesweeper game starts out with a grid of unmarked squares. After clicking one of these squares, some of the squares will disappear, some will remain blank, and some will have numbers on them. It's your job to use the numbers to figure out which of the blank squares have mines and which are safe to click.[1]

    • Minesweeper is similar to a Sudoku puzzle in that your success is largely contingent on being able to eliminate possible answers until only one answer remains.
  2. 2

    Use the mouse's left and right buttons. The mouse is the only tool that you'll need to play Minesweeper. The left mouse button is used to click squares that don't contain mines, while the right mouse button is used to flag squares that contain mines.

    • On higher difficulties, you'll need to mark squares that you suspect contain mines until you can verify that they do contain mines.

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  3. 3

    Don't worry about your first click. The first square that you click will never have a mine beneath it; clicking a square will clear off some of the board while numbering other squares.[2]

  4. 4

    Know what the numbers mean. A number on a square refers to the number of mines that are currently touching that square. For example, if there are two squares touching each other and one of the squares has "1" on it, you know that the square next to it has a mine beneath it.[3]

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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Downloading Minesweeper

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  1. 1

    Open Start

    . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

  2. 2

    Type store into Start. Doing so will search your computer for the Store app.

  3. 3

    Open the

    Microsoft Store. Click the Microsoft Store search result near the top of the Start window.

  4. 4

    Click the "Search" bar. It's in the top-right corner of the Microsoft Store window.

  5. 5

    Search for Minesweeper. Type microsoft minesweeper into the "Search" bar, then wait for a drop-down menu to appear below the bar.[4]

  6. 6

    Click Microsoft Minesweeper. It should be below the search bar in the drop-down menu.

  7. 7

    Click Get. It's a blue button below the "Microsoft Minesweeper" title. Doing so will install Minesweeper on your computer.

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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Playing Minesweeper

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  1. 1

    Open Minesweeper. Click Launch when prompted after Minesweeper finishes installing, or open Start

    , type in minesweeper, and click the green Microsoft Minesweeper app.

  2. 2

    Select a difficulty level. In the upper-left side of the window, launch your first game by clicking one of the following difficulty settings:[5]

    • Easy 9x9 - A nine-by-nine grid with 10 mines.
    • Medium 16x16 - A sixteen-by-sixteen grid with 40 mines.
    • Expert 30x16 - A thirty-by-sixteen grid with 99 mines.
    • Custom - Set your own game parameters, including the grid size, number of mines, and so on.
  3. 3

    Navigate the tutorial if you like. If this is your first game in Microsoft Minesweeper, you'll be prompted to start a tutorial that will help you practice the Minesweeper basics.

    • If you don't want to play through the tutorial, click Skip at the top of the window instead.
  4. 4

    Click any square on the grid. Doing so will start the Minesweeper game.

  5. 5

    Review the numbers. Any number on the board refers to the number of mines currently touching that number's square.

  6. 6

    Right-click any squares that you think contain mines. This will put a flag on the square. It's best to start with squares that absolutely have to contain mines (e.g., a solitary square next to a "1" on the board) to help with the process of elimination later.

    • Make sure that you don't flag more squares than the number of mines on the board.
  7. 7

    Double-right-click any squares that are uncertain. Doing so will place a question mark over the square, indicating that you want to leave the square alone until you've ruled out other squares.

    • This is a safe strategy for boards on which you've found all but two or three of the mines.
  8. 8

    Click any squares that don't contain mines. This will clear the squares in question.

  9. 9

    Clear the board. To win a round of Minesweeper, you must click on the board every square that doesn't have a mine under it. Once you've done so, the game will be over.

    • If you accidentally click a square that has a mine beneath it, the game will be over. You'll have the option of starting a new game or redoing the one you just played.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question

    How do I place a flag on a touchscreen device?

    How to Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - wikiHow (28)

    Community Answer

    In most mobile games, press and hold a square to flag it. Flags are only to show where you think a mine is.

    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission.Support wikiHow

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    Not Helpful 35Helpful 106

  • Question

    What does the smiley face mean in the old versions of Minesweeper?

    How to Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - wikiHow (29)

    Community Answer

    It is the reset button for when you lose. After you lose from a mine, click on the smiley face to clear the game and restart.

    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission.Support wikiHow

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  • Question

    How do I play the same game again?

    How to Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - wikiHow (30)

    Community Answer

    You cannot do this with traditional Minesweeper. However, the Windows 10 Store edition has a "Play Same Board" option which will let you do just that.

    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission.Support wikiHow

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      Tips

      • If you see a pattern "121" along a straight line, then place a flag on the ones, and step on the number 2.

        Thanks

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      • The more you play Minesweeper, the more you will learn to recognize patterns that indicate a mine (or a lack of one).

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      Warnings

      • On Windows 7 or Vista, you'll need to open Minesweeper from Start instead of downloading it from the Store.

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      About This Article

      How to Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - wikiHow (46)

      Written by:

      Jack Lloyd

      wikiHow Technology Writer

      This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 2,866,782 times.

      How helpful is this?

      Co-authors: 126

      Updated: May 1, 2024

      Views:2,866,782

      Categories: PC Games | Software

      Article SummaryX

      Minesweeper is a fun single player computer game. The goal of the game is clear the minefield by clicking safe squares and flagging the mines. To play, start by clicking on a random tile. If you don’t accidentally hit a bomb on your first move, a bunch of blank tiles and numbers will appear. Each number on a tile refers to the number of mines in an adjacent tile (corners are included). For example, if a 2 appears on a tile and it’s touching 3 tiles, it means that 2 of those 3 tiles have mines on them. If you know a tile has a mine on it, you can right click it to place one of your flags on the square. If you aren’t sure if there’s a mine on a square, you can right click it twice to place a question mark. Continue clicking on squares you know are safe and flagging squares you know are mines until you’ve cleared all of the safe squares and marked off all of the mines. If you accidentally click a mine, you lose. If you're able to flag all of the mines without clicking on one of them, you win! If you want to learn how to increase or decrease the difficulty of Minesweeper, keep reading the article!

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      How to Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - wikiHow (2024)

      FAQs

      What is the trick to winning Minesweeper? ›

      A common strategy for starting games is to randomly click until you get a big opening with lots of numbers. If you flag all of the mines touching a number, chording on the number opens the remaining squares. Chording is when you press both mouse buttons at the same time. This can save you a lot of work!

      How to master Minesweeper? ›

      You should play slower until you notice the number of mistakes you make go down. Improve your mouse control by breathing out slowly while moving. Only move to the edge of the square you have to click, not its center. Avoid back-and-forth movements by organizing 3 or 4 clicks into a line.

      What is the trick to Google Minesweeper? ›

      - Clicking both the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously over a number that already has it's mine(s) found, will open all the blocks around it. This can save time. So, once you find all the mines around that number, click the right and left mouse buttons simultaneously.

      How to play Minesweeper step by step? ›

      Each Minesweeper game starts out with a grid of unmarked squares. After clicking one of these squares, some of the squares will disappear, some will remain blank, and some will have numbers on them. It's your job to use the numbers to figure out which of the blank squares have mines and which are safe to click.

      Is there a cheat for Minesweeper? ›

      Reveal Mines

      With your cursor inside the minesweeper window type "XYZZY" then press Shift-Enter and Enter. A white dot should appear in the upper-left corner of the screen. If it turns black, your cursor is resting on a mine.

      How do people beat minesweepers so fast? ›

      Fewer clicks means less time. The first rule is to never flag a mine unless you are going to chord on it to open more squares. The second rule is to chord efficiently. New players flag and then chord multiple times on all nearby numbers, hoping to open more squares.

      Is there a pattern to Minesweeper? ›

      Minesweeper Patterns

      Learning patterns is important because thinking wastes time. The two most famous patterns are 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1. You should memorise these immediately.

      What is the best opening strategy in Minesweeper? ›

      Where is the best place to make the first click in Minesweeper? You need an opening and some numbers to start playing. Most players begin games with random clicks to find an opening. Clicking in the middle produces bigger openings so you get more numbers and an easier start to the game.

      What is the strategy behind Minesweeper? ›

      Usually, a good starting strategy would be to choose a corner square. Each number on the board represents the maximum possible number of mines or bombs adjacent to the square with the number on it. Choosing an empty square, the game automatically unlocked all the squares with numbers around the empty ones.

      How do you start Minesweeper without guessing? ›

      No. You start the game without any information, so your first move could be lethal. If you survive the firs move, there is some amount of logic that can be used to reduce the amount of guessing, but typically there will still be a bit of guesswork involved. At best, you can make safer moves.

      Can Google Minesweeper be solved without guessing? ›

      If there are 1 or 3 mines no guessing is needed. You cannot deduce the mines. The third strategy forgets about mines and opens the safe pink squares. If each pink square is a 1 the blue squares can also be opened.

      What is the logic behind Minesweeper? ›

      a number on the board represents how many mines are surrounding it in a 3x3 ring. you can work out where the mines are by finding numbers that have that number of floating cells surrounding them. you can work out that a tile is safe if a number already has that number of mines surrounding it.

      What are the rules of Minesweeper puzzle? ›

      The puzzle contains numbered squares and empty squares in the grid. The numbers indicate how many mines are located in adjacent empty squares, including diagonally-touching squares. You must locate the position of every one of these mines in the grid and mark them accordingly.

      What does 2 mean in Minesweeper? ›

      Each 1 means there is one mine touching that particular square. By the same idea, you can see that the number "2" tells you there are two mines touching that particular square, so there is clearly a mine in the bottom right square as well. This is the basics of the game.

      What is the best first click in Minesweeper? ›

      Where is the best place to make the first click in Minesweeper? You need an opening and some numbers to start playing. Most players begin games with random clicks to find an opening. Clicking in the middle produces bigger openings so you get more numbers and an easier start to the game.

      How do you guess right in Minesweeper? ›

      Minesweeper Strategy - Guessing
      1. This 50:50 guess is unavoidable. The best strategy is to guess quickly. ...
      2. Avoid unecessary guesses. Instead of opening three squares in a row open the yellow squares first so you have time to react if the middle square is a mine. ...
      3. Three local 50:50 guesses. Three local 66:33 guesses.

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