A little practice. A little progress.

How to play Minesweeper: numbers, flags and safe moves

Three small examples to help you read the clues before opening the next square.

Your first move

Reveal every safe square without opening a mine. In Matte Games, your first reveal and its surrounding neighbors are kept free of mines. A blank area opens outward until it reaches numbered squares. This first-move protection does not make every later choice safe.

A number counts mines in the eight surrounding positions: above, below, beside and diagonally. At an edge or corner there are fewer neighbors. A 1 means one neighboring mine, not that the numbered square itself is dangerous.

1. Find a mine from one remaining square

The top-left 1 touches three squares. Two are already revealed and safe; only A is covered. Its one neighboring mine must be A. You can flag A because the clue proves it, not because you guessed.

2. Use nearby clues to find safe squares

1. The left 1 touches A and B: together they contain exactly one mine.
2. The middle 1 touches A, B and C: those three also contain exactly one mine. A and B already account for it, so C is safe.
3. The right 1 touches B and C. Since C is safe, B must be the mine.
4. The left 1 is now satisfied by B, so A is safe too.

This deduction depends on the shown border and all three clues. Do not copy the shape onto an interior board position with extra covered neighbors: those extra squares change the constraints.

3. Know when the clues are not enough

Both 1s touch A and B. Either A is the mine or B is the mine; both arrangements fit every clue and the total. Placing a flag on A does not prove B safe. Look elsewhere for more information on a larger board. In this complete tiny example, no safe move can be proved.

Reveal and flag without mixing them up

• Mouse: click to reveal; right-click to toggle a flag.
• Touch controls: turn on Flag mode before tapping a suspected mine, then turn it off before revealing a safe square.
• Keyboard: Tab to a square and press Enter or Space. Switch Flag mode to change that square’s action.

Flags are reminders, not verified answers. The remaining-mine counter subtracts flags, including incorrect ones; reaching zero does not mean you won. Winning requires revealing all safe squares. Clicking a revealed number with enough neighboring flags can open the other neighbors, so an incorrect flag can make that shortcut lose the game.

Classic or No-guess?

Easy Classic uses a 9×9 board with 10 mines and starts quickly. Some later positions can require guessing. No-guess mode checks for a complete logical route from your first reveal before accepting the board; it does not prevent you from making a wrong move. Its Hint explains a proven safe square or mine, and Apply deduction performs that step. Player flags are not used as proof.

No-guess verification is bounded and may fail to find a board in time. Cancel or retry if needed; an unverified board is never silently substituted. The miniature examples above teach local reasoning; they are not playable deals or a promise of guaranteed wins.