About Minesweeper
Minesweeper is a classic logic game that used to come with almost every computer. This version is gentle and family-friendly: instead of mines, little hedgehogs are napping under the garden grass, and your job is to open every empty square without waking any of them up.
Every square you open shows a number that tells you how many hedgehogs are hiding in the eight squares around it. Use those clues to work out exactly where the hedgehogs are and mark them with a red flag. It is a gentle way to practice logical thinking, deduction and patience, a bit like solving a tiny math puzzle with every move.
Your first tap is always safe and opens up a nice patch to start from. There are 3 levels: easy (8x8 with 10 hedgehogs), medium (10x10 with 18) and hard (12x12 with 30). Your best time on each level is saved on your device, and the game runs in the browser with no download.
How to play
- Choose a level: easy, medium or hard.
- Tap or click any square to start; the first one never wakes a hedgehog.
- Read the numbers: a 1 means there is exactly one hedgehog in the squares touching it.
- When you are sure a square hides a hedgehog, flag it with a right-click or a long press.
- Open all the other squares to win in the fastest time you can.
Controls
| Keyboard | Arrow keys move the highlighted square, Enter or Space digs, and the F key plants a flag. |
|---|---|
| Mouse | Left-click opens a square and right-click plants a flag 🚩. Click an open number to open everything around it once all its hedgehogs are flagged. |
| Touch | Tap a square to open it and long-press to plant a flag, or switch with the "⛏️ Dig / 🚩 Flag" buttons under the board. |
Tips to win
- Start with numbers that have only a few closed squares next to them; they are the easiest to solve.
- If a 1 touches just one closed square, the hedgehog must be there.
- Once every hedgehog around a number is flagged, click the number to open the rest of its neighbours in one go.
- On a phone, use the 🚩 Flag button if long-pressing is tricky.
Minesweeper: questions and answers
How do you play minesweeper?
Open squares one at a time. Each number tells you how many hedgehogs are in the squares around it, so use the numbers to find the safe squares and flag the hidden hedgehogs.
What age is this minesweeper game for?
From about 8 up, and adults enjoy it too. There are no explosions or anything scary: the hedgehogs just wake up and go back to sleep, and the hard level is a real test even for experts. It is great for building logical thinking.
How do I place a flag on a phone or tablet?
Press and hold the square, or switch to the 🚩 Flag button under the board and then tap the square.
Can I lose on my first click?
No. The hedgehogs are hidden after your first tap, so the first square and the ones around it are always empty.