Minesweeper strategy
Core principles
Minesweeper is a logic puzzle: most moves can be worked out from the numbers already on the board. Some boards do force a guess, but skilled players keep the risk low by recognizing patterns, working out probabilities and solving efficiently. If you need a refresher on the basics, see the Minesweeper rules.
Essential patterns
These patterns turn up along any straight line of covered squares where everything on the other side of the numbers is already open. In the diagrams a flag marks a square that must be a mine, “Safe” a square you can dig, and a question mark a square the pattern can’t decide.
The 1-1 pattern
Two 1s side by side, where the first touches only two covered squares, because it sits against the edge of the board or next to opened squares. The second 1 touches the same two squares plus a third. The one mine is in the shared pair, so the third square is safe. Which of the two holds the mine needs more information: check the numbers around them.
The 1-2-1 pattern
Three numbers in a row, 1, 2, 1. The 2 needs two mines among the three squares it touches, but it can’t use the middle one together with either side, because that would give one of the 1s two mines. So the mines sit next to the two 1s, and the square next to the 2 is safe, as are the squares just beyond. This is the most common pattern on the board; learn to spot it at a glance.
The 1-2-2-1 pattern
Four numbers along a line, 1, 2, 2, 1. The two squares next to the 2s are mines, and the squares next to the 1s, and beyond them, are safe. It is very reliable and clears a lot of ground quickly.
Corners and edges
A square in the corner of the board has only three neighbors, and one on an edge has five, so they are easier to pin down.
- A 1 in a corner
- If all three neighbors are covered, one is a mine and two are safe. You need another number to tell which.
- A 2 in a corner
- Two of its three neighbors are mines.
- A 3 in a corner
- All three neighbors are mines.
- Numbers on an edge
- With five neighbors instead of eight, an edge number leaves fewer possibilities. Read it together with the numbers beside it.
Opening moves
On this site
Your first dig is always safe and never next to a mine, so it opens up a patch of the board wherever you dig. The first click is free; corners start to matter when you have to guess later.
- Guess in corners
- An unexplored corner is no more likely to hide a mine than any other unexplored square, but with only three neighbors it is the most likely to be a blank that opens more of the board.
- Avoid guessing in the middle
- A square in the open has eight neighbors, so it is the least likely to be blank. A guess there usually gives you a single number and little else.
- Digging several corners
- Some speed players dig two or three corners early for more information. Each one is a real guess, so it is a speed technique, not a safe one.
Logical deduction techniques
Subtraction
When two numbers share some covered squares, compare their counts. The difference has to be in the squares only one of them touches. For example, a 3 and a 2 share two covered squares, and the 2 touches no other covered squares. Both shared squares are mines, so exactly one more mine lies among the squares only the 3 touches.
Exhaustion
Once a number has all its mines flagged, every other covered square around it is safe. Dig them all; each one uncovers new numbers to work with. On this site you can tap the number to clear around it in one go.
Equations
For tangled spots, give each unknown square a letter and write an equation for each number, such as A + B + C = 2. Solving them together often proves a square safe or mined when no single number can. This is the technique that separates expert players from intermediate ones.
Probability and guessing
Simple probability
When you have to guess, count the mines that are left and the covered squares that are left. Remaining mines divided by covered squares is the chance that a random unexplored square holds a mine. Pick the square with the lowest risk. At the start of a game the densities are:
| Level | Mines | Mine density |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 10 of 81 squares | about 12% |
| Intermediate | 40 of 256 squares | about 16% |
| Expert | 99 of 480 squares | about 21% |
Local versus global
Local probability comes from the numbers next to a square; global probability comes from the total mine count. A square far from any number is usually safer than a 50/50 between two squares by the numbers, so an unexplored square is often the better guess.
Speed techniques
- Chording
- Classic Minesweeper chords with both mouse buttons on a number whose mines are all flagged; here you just click or tap the number. It clears the safe neighbors at once and saves a lot of time, but a wrong flag means you dig a mine.
- Efficient scanning
- Scan systematically, left to right and top to bottom. Focus on the boundary between open and covered squares, where all the information is, and flag mines as soon as you find them to free up your memory.
- Pattern scanning
- Train yourself to see patterns as units rather than individual numbers. Practice the common sequences of three and four numbers until you spot them at once.
Strategy by board size
- Beginner
- 9×9 with 10 mines. With practice you can win 80 to 90% of games. Excellent for learning patterns and rarely needs a guess, so focus on recognition rather than speed.
- Intermediate
- 16×16 with 40 mines. Skilled players win 60 to 70%. A balance of logic and guessing, with more complex combinations of patterns; probability starts to matter.
- Expert
- 30×16 with 99 mines. Even experts win only 30 to 40%. It takes every technique on this page, several guesses are often necessary, and equations come up often.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Random clicking
- Always use logic before guessing.
- Ignoring global probability
- Don’t get stuck on local 50/50s.
- Wrong flags
- A wrong flag leads to wrong deductions, and chording on it digs a mine.
- Rushing patterns
- Slow down to check you have read the pattern right.
- Not checking all angles
- Look at a square from every number that touches it.
- Giving up too early
- Complex spots often have a solution.
Ready to play?
Try these patterns on Beginner, then move up a size when they come naturally.