--- title: "How to play Minesweeper: rules and winning patterns" description: "How to play Minesweeper: what the numbers mean, how to place flags, chording and the 1-2-1 patterns that solve the board without guessing. Play free." url: https://games.klyo.pl/rules/minesweeper/ canonical: https://games.klyo.pl/rules/minesweeper/ type: zasady language: en author: klyo organization: Klyo Illia Krasnopolskyi (NIP 7822656871), Łódź, Poland contact: kontakt@klyo.pl updated: 2026-10-18 llms: https://games.klyo.pl/llms.txt --- # How to play Minesweeper Minesweeper is a puzzle in which you uncover squares on a board while avoiding the mines. The number on an uncovered square tells you how many mines touch it, and from those numbers you work out where the mines are. You win when you uncover every square without a mine. [Play Minesweeper](https://games.klyo.pl/minesweeper/) [All game rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/) - [![Saper: gra w przeglądarce od twórcy Klyo](https://games.klyo.pl/foto/zrzut-gra-saper-800.c60de309.webp) new 1 to 5 minutes **Minesweeper** Puzzle 1 to 5 minutes portrait & landscape Classic Minesweeper in your browser: clear the board and flag the mines.](https://games.klyo.pl/minesweeper/) ## In short 1. A number tells you how many mines touch the square. 2. A flag marks a square that certainly hides a mine. 3. A chord uncovers the neighbours of a number with all its flags. 4. In our Minesweeper the first move never hits a mine. 5. You win when you uncover every square without a mine. ## What do the numbers in Minesweeper mean? A number counts the mines in the eight squares around it: left, right, above, below and diagonally. A 1 means one mine next to it, a 2 means two. An empty uncovered square has no mines around it, so the game uncovers all its neighbours at once and a bigger piece of the board opens up. *A 1 that touches only one covered square: the mine must be exactly there, so you place a flag on it.* ## What is the flag for? A flag marks a square that you know hides a mine. A flag does not uncover the square and protects it from an accidental click. The mine counter in the bar subtracts your flags, so you can see how many mines are left. On a phone you press and hold a square, on a computer you use the right mouse button, and on a touchpad you tap with two fingers. ## What is chording and how does it speed up the game? When a number already has as many flags around it as it shows, the other covered squares around it are certainly safe. A chord uncovers them all in one move: tap the number, or click it with the left, the right or both mouse buttons at once. Just make sure your flags are right, because a wrong flag turns a chord into an explosion. ## Which number patterns are worth knowing? A few patterns come back on every board and are always solved the same way: - 1-2-1 along a straight edge: the mines lie under both 1s, and the square under the 2 is safe. - 1-2-2-1 along an edge: the mines lie under both 2s, and the squares under the 1s are safe. - A 1 in the corner of an open area that touches one covered square: the mine is there. - A number whose mines are all flagged already: the rest of its neighbours are safe. ## Do you have to guess in Minesweeper? Usually not. Most of a board can be solved with logic from the numbers alone. Sometimes, most often near the end, two squares are left that the numbers say nothing about, and then you have to choose. In Minesweeper on klyo the first square is never a mine and always opens part of the board, so no game ends on the first click. ## What levels does Minesweeper on klyo have? Easy is 9 by 9 squares with 10 mines, Medium 16 by 16 with 40 mines, and Hard 30 by 16 with 99 mines, turned to 16 by 30 on a phone held upright. There is also a daily board, the same for every player, with the start already open. The game keeps your best time on every level and shows a short tutorial the first time you play. ## How to play Minesweeper at master level Strong players do not guess, they subtract. Two neighbouring numbers share some squares; the difference between them tells you something about the squares they do not share. - 1-1 from a wall: when two 1s stand next to each other against a wall, the third covered square beyond the second 1 is safe. - 1-2 pattern: a 2 next to a 1 along a straight border has a mine on the square the 1 does not touch. - Subtraction: if a 3 touches all the squares of a 1 plus two more, those two squares are mines. - The mine counter at the end: when only a few squares are left, the number of remaining mines often decides where they are. - Speed: instead of uncovering squares one by one, place flags and chord on the numbers. ## The most common mistakes in Minesweeper - A flag placed on a hunch: a chord with a wrong flag ends the game. - Guessing before checking every number along the edge of the open area. - Ignoring the mine counter near the end of the board. ## Play Minesweeper for free You know the rules, now play. Minesweeper runs free in your browser, on a phone and a computer, with nothing to install and no account. [Play Minesweeper](https://games.klyo.pl/minesweeper/) [![Saper: gra w przeglądarce od twórcy Klyo](https://games.klyo.pl/foto/zrzut-gra-saper-800.c60de309.webp)](https://games.klyo.pl/minesweeper/) ## Similar free games - [![Warcaby: gra w przeglądarce od twórcy Rasalhague](https://games.klyo.pl/foto/zrzut-gra-warcaby-800.6e0f6f8e.webp) 5–15 minutes **Checkers** Puzzle 5–15 minutes Checkers against the computer, hotseat and online.](https://games.klyo.pl/checkers/) - [![Sudoku: gra w przeglądarce od twórcy Klyo](https://games.klyo.pl/foto/zrzut-gra-sudoku-2-800.a31ff905.webp) 5–15 minutes **Sudoku** Sudoku 5–15 minutes portrait & landscape Free online sudoku: 6 levels, hints that teach and a daily challenge.](https://games.klyo.pl/sudoku/) - [![Mahjong Sanctuary: gra w przeglądarce od twórcy Klyo](https://games.klyo.pl/foto/zrzut-gra-mahjong-sanctuary-800.e8ff51f5.webp) 5–15 minutes **Mahjong Sanctuary** Mahjong 5–15 minutes portrait & landscape Free Mahjong Solitaire online: 144 tiles, hints, undo and a daily board.](https://games.klyo.pl/mahjong-sanctuary/) - [![Pasjans Pająk: gra w przeglądarce od twórcy Klyo](https://games.klyo.pl/foto/zrzut-gra-pasjans-pajak-800.057ae24f.webp) 5–15 minutes **Spider Solitaire** Solitaire 5–15 minutes portrait & landscape Free Spider Solitaire online: 1, 2 or 4 suits and a daily deal.](https://games.klyo.pl/spider-solitaire/) ## Rules of other games - [Chess rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/chess/) - [Sudoku rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/sudoku/) - [How to play solitaire](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/solitaire/) - [Checkers rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/checkers/) - [How to win at Tic Tac Toe](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/tic-tac-toe/) - [Mahjong rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/mahjong/) - [Castling in chess](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/chess/castling/) - [En passant](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/chess/en-passant/) - [Stalemate in chess](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/chess/stalemate/) - [Chess openings for beginners](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/chess/openings/) - [Spider Solitaire rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/spider-solitaire/) - [FreeCell rules](https://games.klyo.pl/rules/freecell/) --- Source: https://games.klyo.pl/rules/minesweeper/ · Built and run by klyo, a Polish technology company (Łódź) · Contact: kontakt@klyo.pl · Index for language models: https://games.klyo.pl/llms.txt