Minesweeper is a pure-logic puzzle: clear every safe cell without detonating a hidden mine. Each revealed number tells you exactly how many of its eight neighbors are mines. On Board Gaming Hub the board offers three classic sizes and right-click flagging (long-press on touch). This guide takes you from random clicking to reading the board like an expert.
The first click is always safe
Your opening click can never hit a mine — the board places mines only after you click, avoiding your cell and its neighbors. So always open with a click in the middle of a large area to trigger the biggest possible cascade of zeros and hand yourself a wall of numbers to work from.
Reading the numbers
A number is a promise: a 1 touches exactly one mine among its unrevealed neighbors, a 2 touches two, and so on. Two deductions do most of the work:
- Satisfied number: if a number already touches that many flagged mines, every other neighbor is safe.
- Forced mine: if a number has exactly as many unrevealed neighbors as its value, all of them are mines — flag them.
Patterns worth memorizing
Along a straight edge of revealed cells, certain number sequences resolve instantly without any counting:
| Pattern | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1-2-1 | The mines sit under the two 1s; the cell under the 2 is safe. |
| 1-2-2-1 | The mines sit under the two middle 2s; the cells under the outer 1s are safe. |
| 1-1 on an edge | Where a new wall opens, the cell just past the second 1 is usually safe. |
Flagging vs chording
Flag a cell (right-click or long-press) once you have proven it is a mine — flags are your notes, not guesses. Once a number is fully flagged you can chord it: left+right click together (or middle-click) on the number auto-reveals all of its remaining unflagged neighbors at once. Chording is the single biggest speed boost on larger boards, but it only fires when the flag count matches the number, so keep your flags honest.
The three difficulties
- Beginner — 9×9 grid, 10 mines (about 12% density). Ideal for learning patterns.
- Intermediate — 16×16 grid, 40 mines (about 16%). Chording starts to matter.
- Expert — 30×16 grid, 99 mines (about 21%). Speed, patterns, and clean flagging all count.
Enjoy deduction with no luck at all? Sudoku is the natural companion — see the Sudoku tips guide.