Minesweeper is a logic puzzle: open the safe cells and avoid the hidden mines. The numbers are your clues. You do not need quick reactions to understand a board; you need to ask what each number tells you about the cells touching it.
Open a cell. Read its number. Count its neighbouring hidden cells and any mines you have proved. Mark certain mines, then open cells that the numbers prove safe.
What is the goal of Minesweeper?
In classic Minesweeper, you finish a board by opening every cell that does not contain a mine. You do not need to open the mines. Flags help you keep track of them, but a flag is a note you place, not proof that you are correct.
Some versions add different goals or extra chances. In Sweep, each level has a goal shown on screen and three hearts. Hitting a mine costs one heart. Later levels may ask for resources or points rather than a completely cleared board. The number clues still follow the same neighbouring-cell rule.
What do the numbers mean?
A number is the count of mines in the cells immediately touching it. That includes the cells above, below, left and right, plus the four diagonals. A cell in the middle of a board has up to eight neighbours; an edge cell has fewer.
A 1 means exactly one touching cell contains a mine. A 2 means exactly two. The number does not tell you which direction to look, and it does not describe mines farther across the board.
An empty cell has no touching mines. Many Minesweeper games automatically open a connected area of empty cells and the numbers at its boundary. Those boundary numbers are where you can start reasoning again.
The two rules behind your first safe move
- All remaining hidden neighbours are mines when the number of mines still needed equals the number of hidden neighbours.
- All remaining hidden neighbours are safe when the clue’s mines have already been accounted for by mines you have proved.
Start with a small example. In the diagram below, the marked mine is already known to be a mine. The opened 1 touches it and two hidden cells.
The 1 needs one mine. It already has that mine on its right, so neither cell below can be a mine. Both are safe to open. The diagonal counts just as much as the cell directly below.
Try this exact idea in the two-tap practice puzzle on the Sweep homepage. Then learn the wider version in our guide to Minesweeper numbers.
How do you use flags?
Place a flag only after a clue proves that a hidden cell contains a mine. On desktop, many versions use a secondary click. Mobile controls vary; check the game’s instructions rather than assuming a long press always does the same thing.
In Sweep, the FLAG button becomes available from level 3. It puts your next tap into flag mode. Keep an uncertain cell unmarked while you look for another clue. A misplaced flag can make a neighbouring number appear satisfied when it is not.
What should you do when you get stuck?
Look around the boundary between opened and hidden cells. Choose one number and list every cell touching it, including diagonals. Check whether either of the two rules applies. If it does not, try a neighbouring number; two clues may tell you more together than one does alone.
A number touching several hidden cells is not automatically a reason to guess. It may need a second clue. Our pattern guide explains how to combine clues, and the Sweep guide explains the hint bulb and level goals.
A useful habit for your first level
Before opening a cell, say why it is safe: “This 1 already touches its one proved mine, so this other neighbour is safe.” If you can name the clue and the reason, you are learning the game rather than relying on a feeling. Speed can come later.
Put a little logic into play.
Read the numbers, clear levels, and build a planet in Sweep.
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