How To Play Minesweeper (with Pictures) - WikiHow

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How to Play Minesweeper Download Article Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Learning Minesweeper Mechanics
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• Downloading Minesweeper
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• Playing Minesweeper
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• Video
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• Q&A
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• Tips
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• Warnings

|Show more |Show less ARTICLE VIDEO X

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,023,361 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to play Minesweeper on a Windows computer. Although Minesweeper no longer comes pre-installed on Windows computers, you can download the remastered version from the Windows 10 Store for free.

Steps

Part 1 Part 1 of 3:

Learning Minesweeper Mechanics

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1. 1 Understand the principles behind Minesweeper. Each Minesweeper game starts out with a grid of unmarked squares. After clicking one of these squares, some of the squares will disappear, some will remain blank, and some will have numbers on them. It's your job to use the numbers to figure out which of the blank squares have mines and which are safe to click.[1]
   • Minesweeper is similar to a Sudoku puzzle in that your success is largely contingent on being able to eliminate possible answers until only one answer remains.
2. 2 Use the mouse's left and right buttons. The mouse is the only tool that you'll need to play Minesweeper. The left mouse button is used to click squares that don't contain mines, while the right mouse button is used to flag squares that contain mines.
   • On higher difficulties, you'll need to mark squares that you suspect contain mines until you can verify that they do contain mines.
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3. 3 Don't worry about your first click. The first square that you click will never have a mine beneath it; clicking a square will clear off some of the board while numbering other squares.[2]
4. 4 Know what the numbers mean. A number on a square refers to the number of mines that are currently touching that square. For example, if there are two squares touching each other and one of the squares has "1" on it, you know that the square next to it has a mine beneath it.[3]
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Part 2 Part 2 of 3:

Downloading Minesweeper

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1. 1 Open Start . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2. 2 Type store into Start. Doing so will search your computer for the Store app.
3. 3 Open the Microsoft Store. Click the Microsoft Store search result near the top of the Start window.
4. 4 Click the "Search" bar. It's in the top-right corner of the Microsoft Store window.
5. 5 Search for Minesweeper. Type microsoft minesweeper into the "Search" bar, then wait for a drop-down menu to appear below the bar.[4]
6. 6 Click Microsoft Minesweeper. It should be below the search bar in the drop-down menu.
7. 7 Click Get. It's a blue button below the "Microsoft Minesweeper" title. Doing so will install Minesweeper on your computer.
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Part 3 Part 3 of 3:

Playing Minesweeper

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1. 1 Open Minesweeper. Click Launch when prompted after Minesweeper finishes installing, or open Start , type in minesweeper, and click the green Microsoft Minesweeper app.
2. 2 Select a difficulty level. In the upper-left side of the window, launch your first game by clicking one of the following difficulty settings:[5]
   • Easy 9x9 - A nine-by-nine grid with 10 mines.
   • Medium 16x16 - A sixteen-by-sixteen grid with 40 mines.
   • Expert 30x16 - A thirty-by-sixteen grid with 99 mines.
   • Custom - Set your own game parameters, including the grid size, number of mines, and so on.
3. 3 Navigate the tutorial if you like. If this is your first game in Microsoft Minesweeper, you'll be prompted to start a tutorial that will help you practice the Minesweeper basics.
   • If you don't want to play through the tutorial, click Skip at the top of the window instead.
4. 4 Click any square on the grid. Doing so will start the Minesweeper game.
5. 5 Review the numbers. Any number on the board refers to the number of mines currently touching that number's square.
6. 6 Right-click any squares that you think contain mines. This will put a flag on the square. It's best to start with squares that absolutely have to contain mines (e.g., a solitary square next to a "1" on the board) to help with the process of elimination later.[6]
   • Make sure that you don't flag more squares than the number of mines on the board.
7. 7 Double-right-click any squares that are uncertain. Doing so will place a question mark over the square, indicating that you want to leave the square alone until you've ruled out other squares.
   • This is a safe strategy for boards on which you've found all but two or three of the mines.
8. 8 Click any squares that don't contain mines. This will clear the squares in question.
9. 9 Clear the board. To win a round of Minesweeper, you must click on the board every square that doesn't have a mine under it. Once you've done so, the game will be over.
   • If you accidentally click a square that has a mine beneath it, the game will be over. You'll have the option of starting a new game or redoing the one you just played.
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Community Q&A

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• Question How do I place a flag on a touchscreen device? Community Answer In most mobile games, press and hold a square to flag it. Flags are only to show where you think a mine is. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 41 Helpful 113
• Question What does the smiley face mean in the old versions of Minesweeper? Community Answer It is the reset button for when you lose. After you lose from a mine, click on the smiley face to clear the game and restart. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 28 Helpful 74
• Question How do I play the same game again? Community Answer You cannot do this with traditional Minesweeper. However, the Windows 10 Store edition has a "Play Same Board" option which will let you do just that. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 38 Helpful 66

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Tips

• If you see a pattern "121" along a straight line, then place a flag on the ones, and step on the number 2. Thanks Helpful 17 Not Helpful 10
• The more you play Minesweeper, the more you will learn to recognize patterns that indicate a mine (or a lack of one). Thanks Helpful 14 Not Helpful 13

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement

Warnings

• On Windows 7 or Vista, you'll need to open Minesweeper from Start instead of downloading it from the Store. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 4

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References

1. ↑ https://freeminesweeper.org/how-to-play-minesweeper.php
2. ↑ https://nothings.org/games/minesweeper/
3. ↑ https://freeminesweeper.org/how-to-play-minesweeper.php
4. ↑ https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/microsoft-minesweeper/9wzdncrfhwcn
5. ↑ https://dash.harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7312037d-80a6-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/content
6. ↑ https://minesweepergame.com/strategy/how-to-play-minesweeper.php

About This Article

Written by: Jack Lloyd wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 3,023,361 times. 145 votes - 59% Co-authors: 127 Updated: August 10, 2025 Views: 3,023,361 Categories: PC Games Article SummaryX

Minesweeper is a fun single player computer game. The goal of the game is clear the minefield by clicking safe squares and flagging the mines. To play, start by clicking on a random tile. If you don’t accidentally hit a bomb on your first move, a bunch of blank tiles and numbers will appear. Each number on a tile refers to the number of mines in an adjacent tile (corners are included). For example, if a 2 appears on a tile and it’s touching 3 tiles, it means that 2 of those 3 tiles have mines on them. If you know a tile has a mine on it, you can right click it to place one of your flags on the square. If you aren’t sure if there’s a mine on a square, you can right click it twice to place a question mark. Continue clicking on squares you know are safe and flagging squares you know are mines until you’ve cleared all of the safe squares and marked off all of the mines. If you accidentally click a mine, you lose. If you're able to flag all of the mines without clicking on one of them, you win! If you want to learn how to increase or decrease the difficulty of Minesweeper, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Written by: Jack Lloyd wikiHow Technology Writer 145 votes - 59% Click a star to vote Co-authors: 127 Updated: August 10, 2025 Views: 3,023,361

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