Minesweeper strategy

Good Minesweeper players are not braver than anyone else. They have learned to see a few shapes in the numbers, and each shape tells them exactly where the mines are.

If you are new to the game, start with how to play Minesweeper: what the numbers mean and how to open and flag squares. This page picks up from there.

The two checks that do most of the work

Go round the edge of the open area and ask two questions of each number.

Does it touch exactly as many covered squares as its value? Then every one of them is a mine. A 2 with two covered neighbours, a 3 with three.
Does it already have all its mines flagged? Then every other covered square around it is safe, and you can open them all at once by clicking the number.

Each answer opens new squares, which bring new numbers, so repeat the round until neither check finds anything. Only then is it time for the patterns below.

Compare two numbers side by side

Every pattern on this page comes from one idea. When two numbers sit next to each other, they share some of their covered squares. If everything one number can see is also seen by its neighbour, the difference between the two numbers has to be made up by the squares only the neighbour can see.

The simplest case is two 1s next to each other, starting at a wall.

The 1 at the wall sees two covered squares, and one of them is a mine. The 1 beside it sees the same two plus one more, and its one mine is already among the first two. So the third square is safe.

The same thing happens from the other wall, so on this little board both middle squares are safe, which leaves the two corner squares as the mines. Look for this "1-1" shape wherever a row of numbers starts against the edge of the board or against squares you have already opened.

The 1-2-1

Three numbers in a row, 1, 2, 1, along a straight line of covered squares: the mines are opposite the two 1s, and the square opposite the 2 is safe.

In a 1-2-1, the mines sit above the two 1s. The square above the 2, and the squares beyond each end, are safe.

Why it works: if the square above the 2 were a mine, each 1 would have its mine already, so the squares on either side of it would both be safe, and the 2 would be left with only one mine. So the square above the 2 is safe, and the 2's two mines must be the squares on either side of it.

The 1-2-2-1

Four numbers in a row, 1, 2, 2, 1, along a straight line of covered squares: the mines are opposite the two 2s, and the squares opposite the 1s are safe.

In a 1-2-2-1, the mines sit above the two 2s, and the squares above the 1s are safe.

The reasoning is the same as before. Compare the first 1 with the 2 next to it: the 2 sees one square the 1 cannot, and it needs one more mine than the 1 does, so that square is a mine. The same comparison from the other end finds the second mine, and the 1s are then satisfied.

When the patterns run out

Work from what you know. After flagging a mine, subtract it from the numbers around it. A 3 with two flags next to it behaves exactly like a 1, and the patterns above apply to it.
Look at the corners and edges. Squares at the edge of the board have fewer neighbours, so the numbers there say more.
Count the mines left. Near the end, the counter above the board matters. If only one mine is left and it must be in one of two places that a single number already explains, every other covered square on the board is safe.
Try a square in your head. Pick a covered square and ask, "If this were a mine, would any number end up with too many?" If the answer is yes, it is safe.

What about 50/50s?

On a board dealt completely at random you can meet a true 50/50: two covered squares, one mine, and no number anywhere that tells them apart. No strategy helps there; it is a coin toss. Experienced players learn to spot one early and take the guess first, so a long game is not lost at the very end.

You will not meet one on this site. Every board is checked before you see it, and only boards that logic alone can clear are dealt, so when you feel stuck, there is always a safe square to find. How no-guess boards work.

Getting faster

Speed comes from steady habits rather than quick clicks. Open around numbers instead of opening squares one at a time, finish one area before moving to the next, and keep your eyes on the edge of the open area, where all the information is. Some fast players hardly flag at all and simply open the safe squares, but flags make mistakes much rarer, and on this site there is no prize for skipping them.

Practise with hints

The quickest way to learn a pattern is to see it on a real board. When you are stuck, press Hint: it highlights one square it can prove, rings the numbers that prove it, and explains why in one sentence. After a few games you will start seeing the same shapes before you ask. Zen is a good place to practise, with no clock and free hints.