The deduction drill
Classic Minesweeper presents a rectangular grid of covered cells. Clicking a cell either reveals a mine (game over) or a number indicating how many mines are in the eight surrounding cells. From these numeric hints — 1, 2, 3 — you deduce where mines are and flag them. Clear every safe cell to win.
What makes Minesweeper enduring is its purity. There's no theme, no story, no scoring system beyond the timer. Just a logic puzzle on a grid, with stakes: one mistake and you start over.
The guess problem
In some boards, you reach a configuration where logic alone can't resolve the next move — you have to guess. This was the original game's biggest weakness. Modern variants (and the modern mode below) attempt to fix this, but Classic Minesweeper remains a logical puzzle with occasional forced guesses. Skilled players minimise the guess surface by clearing cells in an order that maximises the chance of leaving resolvable configurations.
How to play
- Left-click a cell to reveal it. A mine = game over.
- A revealed number tells you how many mines are in the 8 surrounding cells.
- Right-click (or long-press) to flag a cell you believe is a mine.
- Use the numbers to deduce which covered cells are safe.
- Reveal every non-mine cell to win.
- The first click is always safe — start near the centre.
Strategy tips
- If a number equals its flagged neighbours, every other neighbour is safe. Click them.
- If a number equals its covered neighbours, every covered neighbour is a mine. Flag them.
- The 1-2-1 pattern along a wall always means mines under the 1s; the middle 2's cell is safe.
- Open with a corner click on small boards, or a centre click on large boards, to maximise the chance of a big opening cascade.
- Don't guess unless forced. Most boards can be solved to within one or two forced guesses.
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InteractivePrefer to read first? Scroll up for the rules and strategy tips.