How to Play Minesweeper

💣What is Minesweeper?

Minesweeper hides a set of mines under a grid of covered cells. Click a cell to reveal it: if it's a mine, boom; if it's safe, you get either open space or a number — the exact count of mines touching that cell, including diagonally. Every number is a little logic statement. Chain enough of them together and the mine locations stop being guesses and become certainties.

📜The rules

1. Reveal a cell: mine = game over; safe = a number (1–8) or an opening that auto-reveals its neighbors.
2. A number counts mines in the (up to) eight cells around it — edges and corners have fewer neighbors.
3. Flag cells you're sure are mines (on DailyGrid, long-press or use flag mode) so you don't click them by accident.
4. Win by revealing every safe cell. You don't have to flag every mine — clearing the safe cells is enough.
5. Your first click is always safe — the board is generated around it.

🎯Strategy

Getting started

• Read each number as an equation. A 1 with exactly one covered neighbor: that neighbor is a mine. Flag it. A 2 with exactly two covered neighbors: both are mines.
• The flip side: when a number's mines are all flagged, every other covered neighbor is safe. Click them — this is where most of the board opens up.
• Chord to go fast: on a number whose flags are complete, clicking the number again (chording) reveals all its remaining neighbors at once. It's the core speed skill — and it punishes wrong flags instantly, so flag honestly.

Level up — the patterns

• 1-2-1 along an edge: three numbers in a row — 1, 2, 1 — facing three covered cells. The 2 needs two mines among the three, and each 1 needs exactly one among its pair, which forces a unique answer: mines under the two outer cells, and the middle cell is safe. Learn to see the trio as a single unit.
• 1-1 pattern: two adjacent 1s sharing covered cells mean the third covered cell next to them is safe — the mine is under one of the shared pair.
• Subtract overlapping numbers. Two numbers sharing covered cells: the difference between their counts tells you about the cells they don't share. This subtraction is the master key to the whole game.
• Count the remainder: late game, compare mines left (total minus flags) with the covered cells in each separate region — a region needing 0 more mines is all safe.

Pro tips

• Open from the middle of edges rather than corners: bigger first openings, more numbers in play.
• When a true 50/50 guess is unavoidable, guess early while the blast radius is small — and prefer the cell that gives information either way.
• Speed comes from pattern recognition, not click speed: drill 1-2-1s until they're reflexes.

⚠️Common mistakes

• Flagging on vibes. A wrong flag silently corrupts every nearby deduction — only flag certainties, mark maybes with a mental note instead.
• Ignoring diagonals: nearly half the information in any number comes from its diagonal neighbors.
• Chording on autopilot before re-checking a number's flags — one stale flag turns a chord into a detonation.

❓FAQ

What are the rules of Minesweeper?

Reveal all safe cells. Revealed numbers count the mines in the surrounding eight cells. Flag certain mines; clicking one ends the game.

What do the numbers mean?

Each number is the exact mine count among its neighbors, diagonals included. A number with all its mines flagged makes its other neighbors safe.

Is the DailyGrid Minesweeper free?

Yes — a new board every day at midnight ET, no account needed — the daily puzzles are free. Always. One of ten daily puzzles on DailyGrid.

Where can I learn the other games?

See all ten DailyGrid guides.