How to play Minesweeper

2One number

Read one printed number. A 0 has no mine beside it, so every open neighbour is safe. A number whose open neighbours are exactly the mines it still needs takes a mine in each of them. A number that already has its mines marks the other open neighbours safe.

A count of 0 Easy

A 0 has no mine beside it. Every blank around it is safe, including a diagonal. The neighbours are the idea. The button writes all of them in one press. On this figure the 0 is the corner at row 1, column 6. It has three neighbours, row 1 column 5, row 2 column 5, and row 2 column 6. The press marks all three safe. The sentence is singular. The press is the whole set. The 0 was not teal before the press, because those three cells were still open. This press draws the 0 as the hint chip. After the marks are written, that 0 is the done chip.

A 0 with more neighbours writes all of them. The largest press of this sentence is eight safes, around the 0 at row 5, column 2 on another 6×6 easy grid. That grid is not drawn. A later 0 on this board writes five, then three, then five, then three. The same press scales with the open neighbours. A lower-index 0 is taken before a later number that is already full. That is why this corner runs before the 3 in the next section, even though the three mines on this board come first among the full counts, and another 0 comes after them. The button does not first collect every 0 on the board.

Light Up already teaches a 0 that clears its neighbours. Light Up uses four sides and a bulb. Here a 0 can touch up to eight cells, diagonals included, and the mark is a mine or a safe dot.

Every open cell Easy

Count the blanks still open around one number. If that count equals the mines the number still needs, every one of those blanks is a mine. The open blanks are the idea. The button writes all of them in one press. On this figure the 3 at row 2, column 2 has three blanks left, at row 1 column 1, row 1 column 2, and row 2 column 1. The other five neighbours are already safe dots. The press puts a mine in each of the three. The 3 is in the watch. It is not done yet, because those three cells are still open until the press is applied.

This is not the first press on this board. Four zeros run first, because they sit earlier in the grid. The article teaches the zero first and this count here. On another 6×6 easy grid the first press is this sentence: a 1 in the corner with one blank beside it. That grid is not drawn. A full count can be the opening press when no earlier 0 is still open. A later press of this same sentence can be one cell. On this board a later press puts two mines beside the 2 at row 4, column 4, and the press after that puts the single mine beside the 1 at row 6, column 2. Neither press is drawn. The largest press of this sentence writes six mines. That grid is not drawn.

Already enough Easy

Once the mines a number needs are already marked, every other blank beside it is safe. This is the count, not a fresh 0. On this figure the 1 at row 2, column 1 already has its mine at row 3, column 1. The three blanks still open beside that 1 are row 1 column 1, row 1 column 2, and row 2 column 2. The press marks all three safe. The known mine stays an ordinary ink mine. It is not in the watch. The 1 is in the watch. It is not the done chip yet, because those three blanks are still open.

The last press on the rules grid is this same sentence, one cell, and that press finishes the grid, so the live button skips the toast and opens Solved. That press is not the figure. This figure is an earlier press on another easy grid. Twelve presses finish that grid. This picture is the fourth, so the toast shows. The largest press of this sentence writes seven cells. That grid is not drawn.

That is the end of the three easy sentences. Every easy grid here says all three, and easy grids finish with these three alone. The next sections are the sentences medium and hard grids add. The button does not hide those sentences behind the difficulty label. A blank easy grid simply never needs them.

3Two numbers

When one number's open cells all sit inside a nearby number's open cells, the extra cells are settled together. Medium grids use these two. The extras are mines when the larger number needs that many more. The extras are safe when both numbers need the same count.

The extra cells are mines Medium

Look at two nearby numbers. If every open cell of the smaller one is also an open cell of the larger one, the cells that belong only to the larger number are the difference. When the larger number needs exactly that many more mines, those extra cells are mines. The shared cells stay blank. The button writes the extra cells and lights the two numbers. It does not light the shared cells. The two numbers have to sit within two steps of each other, counting a diagonal as one step. On this figure they are two columns apart, which is as far as the button looks.

The 1 at row 1, column 4 needs one mine and is open only on row 1 column 5 and row 2 column 5. The 2 at row 1, column 6 needs two mines and is open on those two plus row 2 column 6. The extra cell is the mine. The two shared cells wait. From a blank copy of this grid the first presses are zeros and one full count. This pair comes after those. Easy grids in this set finish without this sentence. A medium grid needs it because the one-number sentences stop. An easy label does not turn the hint off. The figure keeps the medium label, and the same step is still the next one if the label says easy.

A later press on this same board writes two extra mines at once, at row 4 column 6 and row 5 column 6, from the 3 at row 4 column 4 and the 4 at row 4 column 5. That press is not drawn. The largest press of this sentence is four cells. That one is not drawn either.

The extra cells are safe Medium

The same two numbers can agree on the count. Then the extra cells cannot be mines, because the smaller number already accounts for every mine the larger number needs. The extra cells are safe. The shared cells stay blank. On this figure both numbers are 1s. The 1 at row 3, column 6 is open on row 2 column 5 and row 3 column 5. The 1 at row 2, column 6 is open on those two plus row 1 column 6. The press marks row 1 column 6 safe. The smaller number is the lower one, even though it comes later on the board. Hint names that lower 1 first.

Another 6×6 medium grid has no printed 0, and one press of this sentence marks three extra cells safe. That grid is not drawn. The button writes every extra cell in the same press. The largest press of this sentence writes six cells. That grid is not drawn either.

Not every medium grid says both of these sentences. Every medium grid here says at least one of them. Easy never says either. The next sentence is the hard try.

4What if one cell

A hard grid can still have one blank where you try both marks. The mark that cannot be finished is dropped. Hint writes the other mark and lights only that cell.

The safe mark fails Hard

The sentences above write a cell because a number, or a pair of numbers, already forces it. A hard grid can still have one blank where both marks have to be tried. Put a safe dot on this cell, and the counts cannot be finished. The failure shows up as a 1 that would already have two mines. A mine here does not start that chain. The cell is a mine. Hint writes that one cell and lights only that cell. It does not light a number. It does not ask you to keep a second guess.

On this figure the cell is row 2, column 2, and the grid is still blank. There is no printed 0. One number and the pairs find nothing, so the first press is the try. Easier sentences still run later, once this mine gives them something to hold. The chain that breaks is one sentence: a 1 that would already have two mines.

The mine fails Hard

The other direction is the same try. Put a mine on this cell, and the counts cannot be finished. The break is the same kind of 1, already holding two mines. A safe dot here does not start that chain. The cell is safe. Hint writes the one dot and lights only that cell. The mine from the previous section stays where it is.

On this figure the cell is row 1, column 1, the second press. The article follows this board's order: the safe mark fails, then the mine fails. One number and the pairs still run before either trial. On the blank grid those two found nothing. After the first mine, they still find nothing at row 1, column 1, so the second press is the other trial.

Some hard grids meet this sentence later, after zeros and pairs have already run. On one of them the kept safe mark lets the earlier sentences finish the rest of the grid, while the rejected mine does not break a count on the first look. That grid is not drawn. Hint still writes one cell, and the mark that cannot be finished is the one you drop.

Not every hard grid says both tries. Every hard grid here says at least one. Easy and medium never say either. If Hint has nothing and the grid is not finished, Check or Undo is the next move. The toast is "No forced cell from here. A mine or a safe mark may be in the wrong place, so try Check or Undo."

5A small group

A handful of blanks that all touch the same numbers can be listed out. A cell that is a mine in every way to finish that handful is a mine. A cell that is safe in every way is safe. The toasts are "Every way to finish this small group puts a mine here." and "Every way to finish this small group leaves this cell safe."

This sentence is in the solver and in the how-to. It was not the next press on the grids here, from a blank grid or from a grid filled in solution order. There is no made-up grid for it. The hard grids here finish with the one-cell try, and with the earlier sentences once that try has placed a mark.

6Common mistakes

Check marks a number red when the mines beside it are already too many, or when every blank beside it is marked and the count is still short. The red cells are that number and the mines in the conflict. A safe dot is not painted red. A number that can still reach its count is not a mistake yet, even when you have marked so many cells safe that the count can no longer be reached. One safe dot on a cell that should be a mine, with other blanks still open, is unfinished. Check says "No mistakes so far. Keep going!"

A mine beside a 0 is too many. The 0 and the mine go red. A finished 1 that has no mine beside it goes red, and the dots beside it stay ordinary dots. A neighbouring 0 that really does match can be teal on the same picture. An extra mine that also touches a second number turns both numbers red. That double is not drawn. Four mines that make the 3 too high can also turn a neighbouring 0 red, because one of those mines touches the 0 as well. That stack is not drawn.

7What to play next

6×6 through 10×10 come in easy, medium, and hard. A 6×6 easy grid uses a count of 0, a number whose open cells are all mines, and a number that already has its mines. Medium grids add two numbers that share their open cells. Hard grids add one cell where you try both marks. "A small group" is a real sentence and was not needed on these grids. The one-cell try is a real hint and was needed on hard grids, not on easy or medium. A grid does not have to use every sentence. The boards above are teaching boards.

1. Easy6×6The short grid. A count of 0, a number whose open cells are all mines, and a number that already has its mines. Every easy grid here says all three.Play 6×6 →
2. Easy7×7The daily size. The same three sentences.Play 7×7 →Today's daily →
3. Easy8×8The same sentences, with more neighbours in the middle.Play 8×8 →
4. Easy9×9The same.Play 9×9 →
5. Easy10×10The same, on the longest playable grid.Play 10×10 →
6. Medium6×6The three easy sentences, then two numbers that share their open cells. The extras are mines, or they are safe. Not every medium grid says both. None of these grids needs the one-cell try.Play 6×6 →
7. Medium7×7The same.Play 7×7 →
8. Medium8×8The same.Play 8×8 →
9. Medium9×9The same.Play 9×9 →
10. Medium10×10The same.Play 10×10 →
11. Hard6×6The earlier sentences, plus one cell where you try both marks. Every hard grid here needs at least one of the two tries. Not every hard grid needs both, and not every hard grid needs the pair.Play 6×6 →
12. Hard7×7The same.Play 7×7 →
13. Hard8×8The same.Play 8×8 →
14. Hard9×9The same.Play 9×9 →
15. Hard10×10The same sentences, on the long grid.Play 10×10 →

The daily puzzle is a 7×7 easy grid: today's Minesweeper and 7×7 easy. A new player can start on the daily, or on any 6×6 easy grid.

Print a Minesweeper pack. A single pack has eight puzzles. The starter pack has eighteen, one of every size and difficulty, including a print-only 12×12. Four 6×6 or 7×7 grids share a sheet. Two 8×8, 9×9, or 10×10 grids share a sheet. A 12×12 has the sheet to itself. Large print is one grid. The pages are black and white. Numbers print in ink. Answer pages add a filled circle on each mine and leave the safe cells blank. Amber, red, teal, safe dots, and the spiked mine do not print.

• GuideLight UpA 0 clearing its neighbours is the familiar part. Light Up uses four sides and a bulb.
• GuideSudokuEach digit once in every row, column and box.
• GuideHashiCount bridges, never cross, connect every island.
• GuideBinairoEvery cell is one of two marks.
• GuideKakurasuShade cells so each row and column hits its sum.
• GuideStar BattleOne or two stars in every row, column and region. They never touch.
• GuideSlitherlinkDraw one loop. Start from the 0s and the 3s.
• GuideNonogramsOverlap long clues, cross the gaps, and read the crossing line.
• GuideHitoriShade repeats, never side by side, keep white connected.
• GuideNurikabeGrow each island to its number and keep one sea.
• GuideKakuroOne-way sums first, then short runs.
• GuideKiller SudokuCage sums, then the rest of the line.
• GuideJigsaw SudokuFollow the thick walls. Each region has its own shape.
• GuideFutoshikiLess-than and greater-than signs between neighbours.
• GuideRenzokuDots between cells. An empty gap means not one apart.
• GuideSkyscrapersEach clue counts the heights it can see.
• GuideCalcudokuOne-way cages first, then the rest of the line.
• GuideShikakuEach number is an area. Start with the ones that fit one way.
• GuideTentsPlace one tent beside every tree and match the counts.
• GuideMasyuTurn on black pearls, go straight through white ones.
• GuideThermometersFill each tube from the bulb so a plain count matches.