Play Minesweeper online — free, instant Runs natively — no emulator
The classic Minesweeper, playable right now — no download, no sign-up, nothing to install. All three standard boards, the original number colours, chording, and a first click that's always safe. It runs as plain JavaScript rather than through an emulator, so it starts instantly and plays the same on a phone as on a desktop.
Your game saves itself — close the tab and open this page again to pick up exactly where you left off.
Controls — what does what
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Open a square | Left-click, or tap. |
| Flag a mine | Right-click — or long-press on a phone, or turn on Flag mode. |
| Chord | Click a number that already has that many flags around it to open the rest. |
| New game | Click the face, or pick a difficulty. |
Looking for the Microsoft version? winmine.exe is proprietary Windows software, so we can't host it — but our Minesweeper guide covers running your own copy in the browser, and this game plays by the same rules.
How to play Minesweeper
The board hides a fixed number of mines. Open a square and one of three things happens: it's a mine and the game ends, it's blank and a whole region opens up, or it shows a number — how many of that square's eight neighbours are mines.
Those numbers are the entire game. A 1 touching exactly one unopened square means that square is a mine. A number whose mines are all already flagged means every other neighbour is safe. Everything else is chains of those two deductions.
The opening move
Your first click can't lose — mines are placed afterwards, and never under or beside it — so always start by clicking into the middle of the board rather than a corner. A bigger opening region gives you more numbers to work with.
Chording — the speed trick
Once a number has the right count of flags around it, clicking that number opens all its remaining neighbours in one go. Good players spend most of their time chording rather than opening squares one at a time. The catch: if one of those flags is wrong, you detonate immediately.
Board sizes
- Beginner — 9×9, 10 mines. About 12% mine density.
- Intermediate — 16×16, 40 mines. Around 16%.
- Expert — 30×16, 99 mines. Around 21%, and the board every record is set on.
Strategy that actually helps
- Work the edges of open regions. The numbers bordering a cleared area carry the most information; the middle of an unopened block carries none.
- Learn the 1-2-1 pattern. Along a wall, a 1-2-1 run always means mine-safe-mine under the 1s. Recognising it on sight is most of intermediate play.
- Count the remaining mines. The counter is a real clue late in a game — if three mines are left and exactly three squares are unopened, they're all mines.
- Flag only what you're sure of. A wrong flag doesn't just mislead you, it makes chording lethal.
- Accept the guess. Some Expert boards genuinely reach a 50/50 with no deduction available. Guessing isn't failure — it's part of the game.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Microsoft Minesweeper?
No. Microsoft's winmine.exe is proprietary Windows software and we can't legally host it. This is an original implementation of the same game, written for ExeBrowser and free to play, with the same three board sizes and rules. If you want the Microsoft build specifically, our Minesweeper guide explains how to load your own copy in the browser.
Can the first click be a mine?
No. Mines are laid after your first click and never on or next to it, so the opening move always reveals a clear region. The earliest Windows releases didn't guarantee this; modern ones do, and so does this.
What is chording?
Clicking a number that already has the right count of flags around it, which opens all its remaining neighbours at once. It's the main speed technique — and it detonates instantly if one of those flags is wrong.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The board scales to the screen, long-press places a flag, and there's a Flag mode toggle if you'd rather tap than hold.
Do I need to download or sign up for anything?
No — no download, no account, no emulator. It's plain JavaScript running in your browser tab, so it starts instantly and nothing is uploaded anywhere.
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Put Minesweeper on your own site
This one is ours — written from scratch, not emulated — so you are welcome to embed it anywhere, free, with no permission needed. Paste this where you want it:
Keeping the credit line is the only thing we ask. Games we host but did not write are not offered for embedding, because those are not ours to hand on.