Minesweeper
Three boards a day, the same for everyone. Every one can be cleared by reasoning alone: never a coin-flip guess.
How it works
- A number is how many mines touch that cell, side or corner. Use the numbers to work out which hidden cells are mines and which are safe, and open every safe cell to clear the board.
- Tap a hidden cell to open it. Switch to Flag to mark a mine; a long press does the other one, and on a computer the right button flags.
- Tap a number whose mines are all flagged to open the cells left around it in one go.
- Each board starts already open where the reasoning begins. Stuck? Hint names the number to read and says why; press it again to take the step. Hit a mine and you can take that tap back.
Why play here
- Never a guess
- Every board is dealt only if it can be cleared from its start by reasoning from the numbers alone. If you are stuck, there is a safe cell to find, and Hint shows the reasoning.
- Made for a phone
- A Reveal and Flag switch under your thumb, a long press for the other one, a tap on a number to open around it, and the big board turned upright to fit the screen.
- A mine is not the end
- Hit one and you see it, then take that tap back and carry on. The card you copy says how much help you used.
- Every day, free
- Every earlier day’s three boards are free to play, with no account. Your progress stays in this browser.
Questions
What is no-guess minesweeper?
In a usual game the mines are dealt at random, so many boards end in a spot where no number can tell you which cell is safe and you have to guess. Here a board is kept only if reasoning finishes it, so that never happens.
How do I read two numbers together?
Say a 1 and a 2 sit side by side along an edge. The cells they share can hold at most one mine, the 1’s, so the 2’s other hidden cell must be a mine and the 1’s other cells are safe. Hint shows this kind of step.
What makes the bigger boards harder?
The 9 × 9 seldom needs more than one or two numbers read together. The 16 × 16 needs at least one step where they are not enough: suppose a cell is a mine, follow the numbers around it, and see one of them break. The 30 × 16 needs at least two such steps, sometimes in the same corner. Hint walks you through each one.
Is it the same board for everyone?
Yes. Each day’s three are the same for everyone on that date, so you can compare times with friends. The card you copy at the end gives your time, not the board.
Why is the big board turned on my phone?
A 30 × 16 board is wider than tall. On a phone held upright it stands on its side, 16 across and 30 down, so the cells are big enough to tap. It is the same puzzle.
More puzzles
- Today A country to find from six clues, and five flags, capitals and places. New every midnight.
- Map Find each country on the map, or name the one shown. Every continent, free.
- Flags Name the country from its flag. Pick from four or type it.
- Capitals Name the capital, or the country from its capital.
- Sudoku Three a day, easy to hard. No mistake limit, hints that explain, every earlier day free.
- Nonogram Three picture logic puzzles a day, 5 × 5 to 15 × 15. No lives, no guessing, every earlier day free.