How to Play and Win Minesweeper

How to Play and Win Minesweeper: If you’re around my age, you probably remember a time when the best games that you can play on your PC are Solitaire, Minesweeper, Pinball, and Pac-Man. Or if you’re feeling creative, you can entertain yourself by drawing in Paint too! Despite the simplicity of the games, those were fun times, and to some degree, I kind of miss them!

I still play solitaire every now and then when I’m bored, but one game that I never really got to understand was Minesweeper. I pretty much have an idea that I have to avoid the mines so I don’t lose the game, but I had no clue whatsoever how to win it! That’s until recently, I managed to revisit the game at calculators.org where I found the instructions much more easier to understand. And now that I know how to play the game, I can’t stop playing!

If you’re still confused about how the game works (and how to win it), below is my simplified version of the game mechanics:

How to Play Minesweeper

1. The goal is to uncover all cells, except the ones with mines/bombs in them. Start by randomly selecting a cell on the board.
2. If the cell yung open has a number, that number tells you how many cells adjacent to it (up, down, left, right, diagonal) have mines in them.
3. If the cell you open is blank, that means all adjacent cells are safe and have no mines in them.
4. You lose when you open a cell containing a mine. When you suspect that a cell has a mine, you can mark it with a red flag.
5. You win when all safe cells are opened.

Tips on How to Win Minesweeper

1. When your first cell contains a number at the start of the game, I suggest for your next cell be away from the adjacent cells. Sure, there’s still a chance that you land on a mine, but you’re less likely to select the mine around the first cell.
2. Blank cells are your best friend. When you land on one, select all the cells adjacent to it. You’re 100% sure there’s no mine, plus you get to uncover more cells that in turn, uncover even more cells.
3. Use the red flags. They’re super helpful since they mark your suspected cells that contain mines, so you don’t unknowingly click on them.

In the end though, Minesweeper is a game of luck as much as skill. You may know various techniques to win but you’ll always be one bad cell away from selecting a mine. So I guess just don’t take it seriously, have fun, and enjoy the game.