Logic GamesLogic & pattern practice
Akari guide
Solve Light Up puzzles with wall clues and sight lines.
Puzzle practice guide
How to play Minesweeper
Read neighboring counts and compare overlapping clues.
Practice Minesweeper online by turning numbered cells into safe moves. Improve accuracy by distinguishing a proven mine from a tentative suspicion. Flags help record conclusions, while neighboring clues tell you which unopened cells are safe to reveal.
01 / The essentials
Minesweeper rules
- Reveal safe cells while avoiding hidden mines.
- A revealed number counts mines in the eight surrounding cells, including diagonals.
- Use flags to mark suspected mines. A flag is your annotation, not new evidence that a mine is present.
02 / Build the habit
Minesweeper strategy
Complete a satisfied clue
If a clue already has the correct number of proven mines around it, its other unopened neighbors are safe. Count diagonal neighbors as well as side neighbors.
Match mines to remaining cells
Subtract proven neighboring mines from the clue. If that remaining count equals the number of unopened, unflagged neighbors, every one of those cells is a mine.
Compare overlapping sets
Two clues may share most of their unknown neighbors. If one set is contained in the other, subtract both the shared cells and their required mine count. The difference can prove a mine or a safe cell.
03 / Worked example
Subtract a shared requirement
One clue requires exactly one mine among unknown cells A and B. Another requires exactly one mine among A, B, and C. A and B already account for that mine, so C is safe. If the second clue required two mines instead, C would be a mine.
04 / Put it into practice
A Minesweeper practice plan
- Solve a small board and explain every flag from a numbered clue.
- When stuck, write down the unknown neighbor sets of two adjacent clues and compare them.
- Review the move before a loss. Determine whether the mistake was a missed diagonal, an incorrect flag, or an unsupported guess.
A common mistake
Do not use an uncertain flag to justify clearing neighboring cells. One mistaken flag can turn an otherwise valid counting rule into a losing move.
Does a Minesweeper number include diagonal mines?
Yes. Each number counts mines in all adjacent cells, up to eight for an interior cell, five at an edge, and three at a corner.
Guide updated . Rules describe the version on Logic Games.