How to play Minesweeper
The goal is to open every tile that isn't a mine. Each number tells you how many mines touch that tile, and with a little logic those numbers tell you exactly where every mine is.
The rules
- Open a tile to see what's under it. Your first move is always safe and opens an area.
- A number counts the mines in the eight tiles around it: left, right, above, below and the four diagonals.
- An empty tile has no mines around it, so the game opens its neighbours for you.
- Flag a tile when you know it hides a mine. Flags are notes for you and stop you opening it by accident.
- You win when every safe tile is open. Opening a mine ends the game.
Controls in Live Sweeper
| Action | Desktop | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Open a tile | Left-click | Tap |
| Flag a tile | Right-click or Space | Long-press, or switch to flag mode |
| Open around a number | Click the number | Tap the number |
| Switch dig and flag mode | F | Mode switch, bottom right |
| Pause | Esc | Pause button |
| Zoom on big boards | – | Pinch, and drag to pan |
The two basic deductions
Almost every move comes from one of these, applied to a single number:
- All mines. If a number touches exactly as many unopened tiles as its value, every one of them is a mine. A 2 with only two unopened neighbours means both are mines.
- All safe. If a number already has that many flags around it, every other unopened tile next to it is safe.
Opening around a number
When a number has all of its mines flagged, click or tap the number itself to open all of its other neighbours at once. Experienced players call this chording. It's the biggest single speed-up, and it's only as safe as your flags, so flag carefully.
Patterns worth knowing
When one number isn't enough, look at two or three side by side. These two patterns appear along the edge of opened areas all the time. In the diagrams, the top row is unopened, ✱ is a mine and ✓ is safe.
1-2-1
In a straight line of 1-2-1, the mines are above the two 1s and the tile above the 2 is safe. If the tile above the 2 were a mine, it would be the only mine both 1s are allowed, and the 2 couldn't get its second.
1-2-2-1
In a straight line of 1-2-2-1, the mines are above the two 2s and the tiles above the 1s are safe.
Use the mine counter at the end
The counter shows how many mines are left. Near the end it often settles the last few tiles: if two unopened areas remain and one of them must hold all the remaining mines, the other is safe.
Do you ever have to guess?
On many Minesweeper boards, yes: sometimes two tiles look exactly alike and only one hides a mine. Live Sweeper checks its boards with a solver before you play, so there is always a move you can prove. How no-guess boards work.