A free mine-clearing logic game, in your browser

How Minefield works

Hidden mines are scattered across a grid. Reveal a square and it shows how many of its eight neighbours hold a mine. Use those numbers to work out where the mines are, flag them, and reveal every safe square to win. Touch a mine and it's over.

This version has three sizes: Beginner (9 by 9 with 10 mines), Intermediate (16 by 16 with 40) and Expert (30 by 16 with 99). Your first click is always safe, empty areas open up automatically, and there's a mines-left counter and a timer. Your best time for each size is saved on your device.

On a phone, use the flag toggle or press and hold a square to place a flag. On a desktop, right-click.

Reading the numbers

• A 1 touching one hidden square: that square is a mine.
• A number equal to its hidden neighbours: they are all mines.
• A number already satisfied by flags: every other neighbour is safe, so reveal them.
• The 1-2-1 pattern along an edge: the mines sit under the two ones' outer squares, and the square beside the 2 is safe.
• Guess last. When you must guess, pick the square least likely to be a mine, away from the numbers you've already solved.

The genre

Mine-clearing logic games became familiar to millions as a bundled desktop game, which is why people search for "Minesweeper" to this day. This one is our own take, written from a prompt, with its own look and no borrowed name.

From Beginner to Expert

Beginner boards can usually be cleared by pure deduction, and it's a good place to learn the patterns. Intermediate boards sometimes force a guess near the end. Expert boards, with ninety-nine mines in a 30 by 16 grid, usually need at least one guess, so the skill moves from deduction to probability: choosing the square with the lowest chance of a mine and keeping speed up.

The 50/50

Sometimes a corner pocket leaves two squares and one mine with no further clues. That's a true coin flip, and every player meets it. The practical advice is to do all your safe deductions first, leave the coin flip for last, and accept it. Every other square on the board will be easier.

Your first minute on a new board

Click anywhere: the first click is safe, and it usually opens a patch of empty squares with numbers around its edge. Start at that edge. Look for any number that already has the right amount of hidden neighbours, flag those, then reveal the squares that flag count makes safe. Work outwards from the opening instead of jumping across the board, and you'll almost always have another deduction waiting. Only when the numbers run dry should you reach for a guess.

Made from a prompt

The brief behind this game, including the "first click is always safe" rule, is on its game page.