Buzz
This guide from Mytour will show you how to play Minesweeper (also known as Minesweeper) on a Windows computer. Although the game is no longer pre-installed on Windows machines, you can download a free updated version from the Windows 10 app store.
Steps
Learn How to Play Minesweeper
Understand how Minesweeper works. Each Minesweeper game begins with an empty grid of squares. When you click on one of these squares, some will disappear, some will remain empty, and some will display numbers. Your goal is to use these numbers to figure out which empty squares contain mines and which ones are safe to click.
- Minesweeper is similar to Sudoku in that your success largely depends on eliminating possible answers until only one remains.
Use the left and right mouse buttons. The mouse is the only tool you need to play Minesweeper. The left mouse button is used to click on squares that don't contain mines, while the right button is used to mark squares that are suspected of containing mines.
- At higher difficulty levels, you will need to mark squares that you suspect contain mines until you can confirm they do.
Don't worry about your first click. The first square you click on will never contain a mine; clicking on a square will clear some other squares and reveal numbers in the adjacent squares.
Understand the meaning of the numbers. The number in a square indicates how many mines are adjacent to that square. For example, if two adjacent squares have one of them displaying the number '1', you know that the other one must contain a mine.
Download the Minesweeper game
Search for the store keyword in the Start menu. This will help you locate the Store app on your computer.
Microsoft Store
Click on the "Search" toolbar. This toolbar is located at the top-right corner of the Microsoft Store window.
Search for the Minesweeper game. Type the keyword microsoft minesweeper into the search bar, and wait for a dropdown list to appear just below it.
Click on Microsoft Minesweeper. This keyword will appear in the dropdown list below the search bar.
Click on the Get. This is the blue button below the "Microsoft Minesweeper" software name. By clicking this, you will install the Minesweeper game on your computer.
Play Minesweeper
Open the Minesweeper game.LaunchStart
minesweeperMicrosoft Minesweeper
Choose your difficulty level. In the top left corner of the window, begin the game by clicking on one of the difficulty settings below:
- Easy 9x9 – A 9x9 grid with 10 mines scattered across it.
- Medium 16x16 – A 16x16 grid with 40 mines placed within it.
- Hard 30x16 – A 30x16 grid with 99 mines placed within it.
- Custom – Adjust the game settings to your preference, including grid size, number of mines, etc.
Read the tutorial if you wish. If this is your first time playing Microsoft Minesweeper, a tutorial will appear to help you practice the game's basic mechanics.
- If you prefer to skip the tutorial, click on the Skip button at the top of the window.
Click on any square on the grid. This will initiate the Minesweeper game.
Check the numbers. Any number you see in the grid indicates how many mines are adjacent to that specific square.
Right-click on any square you suspect contains a mine. A flag will appear in that square. To aid in future elimination, it's best to start with squares that are definitely mines (e.g., a square with only one adjacent square showing the number "1").
- Ensure that you don’t mark more squares with suspected mines than the number of mines on the board.
Right-click double-click on squares you're unsure about. This will place a question mark in the square, indicating that you want to set it aside until you can eliminate other possibilities.
- This is a safe strategy for boards where you've uncovered almost all squares and only two or three mines remain.
Click on any square that is not a mine. This will eliminate the suspected squares.
Clear the board. To win a round of Minesweeper, you need to click on all squares that don’t contain a mine. Once you do, the game will end.
- If you accidentally click on a square with a mine, the game will also end. You can choose to start a new game or replay the previous round.
Tips
- The more you play Minesweeper, the better you become at recognizing signs of mines (or areas that are safe).
- If you see a "121" pattern in a straight line, place flags on the cells with the number one and open the cell with the number two.
Warning
- For Windows 7 or Vista, make sure to launch the Minesweeper game from the Start menu instead of downloading it from the Store.
