About Mine Finder
Mine Finder is our version of the classic mine-sweeping puzzle. A grid of covered squares hides a set number of mines. Uncover a safe square and it shows how many mines touch it, counting all eight neighbors including diagonals. Use those numbers to work out where the mines are, flag them, and uncover every other square to win.
We kept the three board sizes most players already know:
| Difficulty | Board | Mines | Mine density |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 9 x 9 | 10 | about 12% |
| Medium | 16 x 16 | 40 | about 16% |
| Hard | 16 x 30 | 99 | about 21% |
Then we added a few things we always wanted from this kind of game:
- Your first click is always safe and always opens an area. The mines are placed only after your first click, and never on that square or any of its eight neighbors. That guarantees your first square is a blank that opens a patch of the board to work from.
- No-guess boards, on by default. Before you see a board, our solver plays it from your first click using only logical deduction. If the solver ever gets stuck and would need to guess, the board is thrown away and a new one is made. The result is a board that can always be solved with pure reasoning. You can turn this off in the footer if you prefer classic boards where a coin flip is sometimes unavoidable.
- Hard fits on a phone. On a narrow upright screen the 16 x 30 board is turned on its side to 30 rows by 16 columns. If it still doesn’t fit, the board scrolls instead of shrinking the squares to an unplayable size.
How to play
- Pick Easy, Medium or Hard.
- Tap any square to start. The clock starts with that first tap.
- Each uncovered number tells you how many of its eight neighbors are mines. A blank square has no mine neighbors, so the game opens all of its neighbors for you automatically.
- When you’re sure a square is a mine, flag it. On a computer, right-click. On a touch screen, press and hold for about a third of a second, or switch on Flag mode so every tap places or removes a flag.
- Chording: once a number has exactly as many flags around it as its value, tap the number itself to uncover all its other neighbors in one go. It’s a big time saver, but if one of your flags is wrong, it will uncover a mine.
- Uncover every square that isn’t a mine to win. You don’t have to flag every mine; the game flags the rest for you when you finish.
- Uncover a mine and the round ends. All remaining mines are shown, and any flag you placed on a safe square is crossed out so you can see what went wrong.
The counter at the top shows mines minus flags placed. Your best time for each difficulty is saved. If you switch tabs, the clock stops and the board is hidden until you press Resume.
Strategy tips
1. Start with the easy certainties
Look for a 1 that touches only one covered square: that square is a mine. Look for a number that already has all its mines flagged: every other neighbor is safe. These two checks solve most of an Easy board.
2. Learn the 1-2-1 and 1-2-2-1 patterns
Along a straight edge of uncovered squares, a 1-2-1 means the squares under both 1s are mines and the square under the 2 is safe. A 1-2-2-1 means the two squares under the 2s are mines and the ones under the 1s are safe. We explain why, with diagrams, in Mine Finder patterns.
3. Subtract one number from another
When the covered neighbors of one number are all shared by a neighboring number, subtract the smaller from the larger. The difference tells you how many mines sit in the squares only the larger number can see. Most “stuck” positions break open with this trick.
4. Use chording to go fast
Flag a mine, then chord the numbers around it instead of tapping each safe square. On Hard this can cut your time dramatically. Only chord when you are certain of the flags.
5. Count mines at the end
When only a few covered squares are left, compare them with the mine counter. If three squares remain and the counter says three, they’re all mines. If it says zero, they’re all safe.
6. With no-guess on, a guess is a sign you missed something
Every no-guess board can be finished with logic. If you feel forced to guess, scan the edges of the uncovered area again, especially pairs of numbers that share covered squares.
FAQ
Can I lose on my first click?
No. Mines are placed after your first click and never on that square or its neighbors.
What does “No-guess boards” mean?
With it on, every board is checked by our solver before you play. The solver uses the same kind of reasoning a careful player uses, and a board is only accepted if the solver can clear it from your first click without guessing. With it off, boards are purely random apart from the safe first click, so late-game 50/50 situations can happen.
How do I place a flag on a phone?
Press and hold a square, or tap the Flag mode button so that every tap places a flag. Tap the button again to go back to uncovering.
What is chording?
Tapping an uncovered number whose flag count matches its value uncovers all its remaining neighbors at once. It works in both normal and flag mode.
Are best times kept separately?
Yes, one best time per difficulty, saved in your browser.
