Minesweeper without guessing

Classic Minesweeper with one difference: every board here can be solved to the end by reasoning alone. You never reach a 50/50 where only luck decides. If you lose, there was a safe move you missed — and the hint will show you which one and why.

How to play Minesweeper

Mines are hidden under the cells of the board. The goal is to open every cell without a mine. Each number shows how many mines are in the eight cells around it, and from these numbers you can tell exactly where a mine is and where it is safe. In detail: rules and techniques with examples →

With a mouse

Left click opens a cell. The first move is always safe and opens an area.
Right click places or removes a flag.
A click on a number that already has as many flags around it as it shows opens the rest of its neighbours. A click with both buttons or the middle one does the same.

On a phone

Tap opens a cell.
Long press places a flag (the phone gives a light buzz).
The Flag button swaps the two: a tap places a flag.
Expert turns vertical on a narrow screen so the cells are bigger.

What “no guessing” means

In ordinary Minesweeper the mines are scattered at random, and sometimes two cells are left at the end that no logic can choose between: a 50/50. Here a solver program checks every board before you play it: it can be finished by reasoning alone. If you lost, there was a mistake somewhere, not bad luck.

The game also passes over the dullest of such boards: those where the first click opens half the board and nothing is left to think about. The others stay as varied as before: only the weakest part is left out.

Every board on this site is like that; there is no mode with guessing.

Six board sizes

From Beginner 9×9 with 10 mines to Master 30×24 with 160 mines. In between are Apprentice 12×12, Intermediate 16×16, Advanced 24×16 and Expert 30×16. The bigger the board, the denser the mines: from 12% to 22% of the cells. Beginner, Intermediate and Expert are the classic sizes, so you can compare your records on them with other sites.

Techniques worth knowing

Most moves in Minesweeper are a few repeating patterns. Here are the three most useful ones. a mine here safe here

One hidden cell. The 1 has only one hidden cell next to it, so the mine is exactly there.

1-2-1 along a wall. The mines are above the 1s, the cell above the 2 is safe.

1-2-2-1. The mines are above the 2s, above the 1s it is safe.

All patterns on real boards: 1-1, 1-2, 1-2-1, 1-2-2-1 →

What the numbers after a win mean

3BV: The smallest number of clicks that solves the board: each empty area is one click, each number outside them one more. The higher the 3BV, the harder the board.
3BV/s: Speed: how many of these necessary clicks per second. It compares players more fairly than time, because boards can be easy or hard.
Efficiency: 3BV divided by your clicks. 100% means not a single extra click; with flags and clicks on numbers you can even go above 100%.