About

Minesweeper is a logic puzzle that looks simple and hides extraordinary depth. A grid of covered squares conceals a set number of mines. Clicking a square reveals either a mine (instant loss) or a number indicating how many mines are in the 8 adjacent squares. From those numbers alone, you must deduce the location of every mine and flag them all — or at minimum, clear all safe squares.

Pure Minesweeper logic can solve most of any board without guessing. Learning to read number patterns — "this 1 is satisfied by that corner, so all its other neighbors are safe" — is deeply satisfying and genuinely develops logical reasoning.

On medium or hard settings, Minesweeper is an excellent focused-break puzzle. The tension of an uncertain square with clear adjacent mines is visceral; the relief of a correct deduction is immediate.

How to Play

• Left-click to reveal a square. If it's a mine, the game ends.
• Numbers show how many mines are among the 8 adjacent squares.
• Right-click to flag a square you believe contains a mine.
• Use numbers to deduce which covered squares are safe and which are mines.
• Win by revealing all safe squares (or flagging all mines, depending on the version).

Tips

• Corners and edges constrain mines to fewer squares — start deductions there.
• The 1-2 pattern along an edge is one of the most useful patterns to recognize.
• When logic runs out, click near revealed numbers rather than in open unrevealed areas.

History

Minesweeper first appeared on the Macintosh in 1989 as Mined-Out and was included with Windows 3.1 in 1992. Like Solitaire, it was bundled partly to teach mouse skills (right-clicking). It became one of the most-played computer games in history by sheer installation base. Competitive Minesweeper has an active global community with world records tracked on international leaderboards — the expert board (99 mines, 30×16) record is under 30 seconds.