Mastering Minesweeper, A Comprehensive Guide on How to Play Minesweeper Like a Pro

Dive into the world of Minesweeper with our detailed guide. Learn the rules, strategies, and expert tips to conquer this classic game. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to sharpen your skills, our guide will make you a Minesweeper maestro in no time. Start your Minesweeper journey now!

Minesweeper is one of those games that anyone, at least once in their life, has played: I’m sure you did too. It was included in almost every version of Windows up to 8, when Microsoft decided to remove it along with Solitaire and other pastimes that had been pre-installed on its operating system for years. Some also call it Prato fiorito , in fact this is a variant of the game (more politically correct) introduced with Windows 7 that had roughly the same characteristics.

Created in 1989, Minesweeper only came to Windows 3.1 in 1992 and still thrills many gamers today. Its interface has changed a lot over the years, but the game mechanics have remained intact. I bet these are exactly what you are interested in: since your previous experiences have not given very positive results, you would like to understand in detail how to play Minesweeper . I guessed it, right? Then know that I will be happy to give you a hand.

In today’s tutorial, in fact, I will explain how to get and how to play Minesweeper by talking about the latest version of Minesweeper available for free on the Windows 10 store, which also supports touch and can be connected to Xbox Live to share your progress. . Try it and I assure you that you will not regret it! And if it really does not satisfy you, I will not fail to point out valid alternatives for PCs, smartphones and tablets. Happy reading and, above all, have fun!

Index

• How to Play Minesweeper
• How to install Minesweeper on Windows 10
• Alternatives to Minesweeper
  • Minesweeper: The Essentials (Windows 10)
  • Minesweeper! (Windows 10)
  • Minesweeper (macOS)
• How to play Minesweeper online
• Minesweeper app

How to Play Minesweeper

Let’s start with the rules, that is, how to play Minesweeper , in order to immediately clarify the mechanics of this famous puzzle. In the latest version of the game released by Microsoft there are two modes available: the Classic one , which faithfully incorporates the characteristics of Prato fiorito, and the Adventure which, on the other hand, introduces new functions. Let’s start with the first one, which is the reason why you are reading this guide.

In the classic Minesweeper mode there is a grid of covered squares , which represents the area within which mines can be hidden: to win, all empty squares must be cleared as quickly as possible. In this version, you will find ladybugs instead of mines, but the functioning does not change. In addition to clearing the boxes with a click (or a tap), you can mark the ones you think are hiding a mine and lock them, so they don’t explode.

You can place a red flag on these boxes with a right click of the mouse or a long tap: by repeating this action, a yellow question mark will appear instead of the flags which will “unlock” the selected boxes and allow you to free them. To win, you must clear all the boxes that do not contain mines, without detonating a single mine.

There are three difficulty levels to choose from: Beginner , Intermediate and Advanced . What differentiates them is the number of boxes and mines in the grid: 9 × 9 boxes with 10 mines in the first, 16 × 16 with 40 in the second and 30 × 16 with 99 in the third. You can also choose to play a level with custom grids , where you can choose how many squares to have in Height , Width and the number of mines or Ladybugs . The first variant of 8 × 8 Minesweeper is no longer available.

Also Read: Minecraft: How to play Minecraft

Most of the free boxes are empty, but some contain a number from 1 to 6 : they are valuable information, because they tell how many mines are in that area. It is preferable to clear the boxes next to those that do not have a number in them and mark as “dangerous” those next to a 5 or a 6. Apart from that, you have to rely on luck, because there are no other special tips or tricks to win a Minefield. It’s a really nice puzzle!

Adventure mode is an interesting novelty and can be seen as a completely different game, although it retains some features of the classic Minesweeper. Here you play the role of a miner who must overcome a series of labyrinth tunnels (each of them represents a level) by undermining the boxes he finds on the path. In place of mines, traps are hidden: you start with three lives and you can earn more by collecting hearts. Coins increase the score.

The Adventure mode is less “frustrating” than the classic one, because if you encounter a trap you still have two more chances to complete the level. The presence of coins and other objects to collect to unlock the doors of the labyrinths (continuing in the Adventure ) makes the game experience more engaging: the boxes to be freed can always contain an identification number of the nearby traps and the mechanics are the same as already described above.

In addition to coins, the miner can collect gold bars and weapons to kill enemies and destroy the traps he encounters in his path: each of these actions contributes to increasing the score of the game. There are no flags or question marks, but there are red and white signs with an exclamation point , which serve the same purpose and are activated with a right click or a long tap.

The news did not end there, because Minesweeper now also offers daily challenges that are based on the classic mode and allow you to climb a monthly ranking to get bonuses that can be spent in the game. These daily challenges are accessible from the main page of the game and propose to complete different actions: for example, in one challenge you may have to mark ten mines with flags (without freeing any boxes) and in another step on the mines.

Challenges award four badges of bronze, silver, gold, and diamond, depending on monthly progress. The difficulty level mirrors that of the classic mode: you can overcome a challenge as a Beginner , Intermediate or Expert .

In addition to the special prizes, which mainly concern the premium version of the game (which I’ll tell you about shortly), the sense is to reach the Xbox Live Goals .

Yes, you read that right! Minesweeper cannot be played on Microsoft consoles, but it can earn you points on your Xbox Live account! But now enough chat: it’s time to understand how to install Minesweeper on your PC.

How to install Minesweeper on Windows 10

Learned to play, it’s time to explain how to install Minesweeper on Windows 10 . The game is available on the Microsoft operating system store, so all you have to do is press the blue button with the word Get on the official Microsoft Minesweeper page .

The application, as already mentioned, is free but there are additional paid content that can be unlocked after installation: you can subscribe to a premium subscription for a month for € 1.49 or for a year for € 9.89. . Unfortunately, the game contains banners and from time to time it forces you to view advertising videos of a few seconds that you cannot skip. The only solution you have to avoid this is to subscribe. Other subscription benefits are additional coins (which are needed for Challenges) and exclusive items for the Adventure mode.

That said, let’s take action! When the download is complete, start Microsoft Minesweeper using its icon in the Start menu and start a game in Classic mode or Adventure mode , then pressing on the boxes corresponding to the desired difficulty level: Beginner , Intermediate or Expert .

The main window of Minesweeper, which you can expand to full screen via the icon with the two arrows located at the top right, is horizontal scrolling: by swiping it to the left, you can find the statistics on the games and the Xbox Live achievements. You can only change Themes with the paid premium version: in the basic version only the default one appears.

To access the Minesweeper configuration, however, you have to click on the icon located at the top left and choose the Settings item from the menu that is proposed to you: this will open a side panel through which to adjust the game options .

You will be able to adjust the volume and activate or deactivate the alerts, while below you can choose whether or not to use question marks . If your PC allows it, you can also adjust the touch and graphics and you can activate the quick mode change and / or the scroll controls . Finally, you can choose to reset the settings to the default configuration or reset the game statistics .

One last aspect I would like to focus on is Xbox Live : if you have already registered a profile because you own an Xbox console, you won’t have to do anything and when you reach a goal you will have a notification on the desktop. If you don’t have an account yet, I don’t recommend registering one as you won’t get any rewards.

Alternatives to Minesweeper

As promised, I will now describe some alternatives to Minesweeper that you can choose if you are not satisfied with Microsoft Minesweeper.

Minesweeper: The Essentials (Windows 10)

The first alternative that I propose is Minesweeper: the essential , a free program that you find on the official Windows 10 store and that you can install, then, by clicking on the Get button . There are no add-on purchases or advertisements during matches. However, an Adventure mode is missing. It’s the classic Flowery Meadow with three predefined difficulty levels and a custom one.

The size of the grids and the number of mines per level are standard, so exactly the same as Microsoft’s Minefield. The customization of the grid also offers the same values: the names change, because here you can choose between Easy , Medium or Hard modes . In the Options you will find three themes to customize the graphics of the game and some controls concerning the timer, the sounds and the usual question mark. It really is as essential as the title promises.

This Minesweeper features a Match Score Stats system , but you can’t connect to Xbox Live to share them with friends – if you just want to play Minesweeper, I don’t think that’s a problem. As for the game mechanics, the moves are identical to those of Microsoft’s game: a click or a tap to free the boxes, a right click or a long tap to mark them. Easy, right? The graphics are also very nice.

Minesweeper! (Windows 10)

The second alternative that I propose to you, Minesweeper! , is suitable for a true nostalgic of Minesweeper. The graphics are not exactly the best, but the game offers the characteristics of the original for Windows: you can always find it on the Microsoft Store .

There are four grids (always divided by level of difficulty), namely Easy , Medium , Difficult and Nightmare . Here there is no possibility to customize the size and the number of boxes to free is very different from the standards.

In Easy mode, the grid is 8 × 9 boxes with 10 mines; in the Middle of 10 × 12 with 20 mines; in Hard of 12 × 14 with 30 mines and in Nightmare of 13 × 15 with 40 mines. The game mechanics are elementary: any click or tap frees the corresponding box, without being able to mark the suspicious ones. The game is translated into Italian, but in the settings you can also change the language or the background of the window: to access it, just click on the house- shaped icon located at the bottom center.

Minesweeper (macOS)

If you use a Mac, you can play Minesweeper by installing the homonymous application available on the Mac App Store , which you can install by pressing the Get / Install button , located at the top right, and authenticating, if necessary, using the password of your Apple ID or Touch ID (if your Mac has a fingerprint sensor).

The game mechanics are the same as the classic Minesweeper, with a 10 × 12 pattern and 20 mines. To adjust the game settings, you have to press the icon of the small house located in the lower center and select the Settings item from the menu that opens.

How to play Minesweeper online

Playing Minesweeper by installing a program on your computer is simple, but you may not want to take up disk space for such a game. So why not play directly online? On the Web there are several sites that allow you to do this: one of these is Minesweeper Online which also has a paid version on the App Store. I propose it to you because it has the same graphics and controls as the original Minesweeper for Windows.

The site is in English, but you don’t need to know the language to be able to play. The grids have the standard dimensions of Microsoft Minesweeper: by clicking on Game , located at the top left, you can choose between Beginner , Intermediate and Expert , which correspond to Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. Custom is for the Custom mode, where you can set Height (Height) Width (Width) and Mines (Mine). By checking Marks, you enable the question mark instead.

The game mechanics include a left click to clear the boxes and a right click to mark them: clicking on Controls displays a summary of the moves and keyboard shortcuts. The Display option is interesting, which allows you to zoom in or out on the grid from 100% to 200%.

The Night Mode , on the other hand, changes the background of the site and decreases the brightness of the window to save energy during the night.

Minesweeper app

Okay, I told you how to play Minesweeper on PC and online, but what if you want to do it from your smartphone or tablet ? Don’t worry: there are many free apps that allow you to play on Android and iOS. Some have innovative grills!

• Minesweeper: Collector( Android / iOS ) – a variant of the classic Minesweeper which, in addition to having grids of different shapes from squares or rectangles, includes levels and collectibles.
• Globesweeper( Android / iOS ) – tired of two-dimensional grids? With this app you can play on spheres and cubes. A variant of Minesweeper absolutely to try.

World of Mines( Android / iOS ) – dodge mines on maps of countries around the world with this variant of Minesweeper that invites you to review geography.

FAQ’s