Mine Hunt

About Mine Hunt

Mine Hunt has roots in 1960s and 70s mainframe games, but it became famous when it shipped with Microsoft Windows 3.1 in 1992. For an entire generation of computer users, it was both an introduction to the mouse and a welcome distraction from work.

Despite looking trivial, Mine Hunt is mathematically rich — the general problem of solving a Mine Hunt board is NP-complete. Every click gives you a number telling you how many mines touch that square, and from those numbers you must deduce where every mine lies without clicking one.

How to Play

Controls: Left-click to reveal a square. Right-click to place or remove a flag on squares you suspect contain a mine.

Objective: Reveal every square that does not contain a mine. Revealing a mine ends the game instantly.

Tips & Strategy

• Start by clicking near the center — opening large empty areas is your best early information.
• A number shows how many mines touch that square. Compare adjacent numbers to deduce safe squares.
• Flag mines you are certain about, but do not waste time flagging every suspected square.
• When stuck, look for 1-1 and 1-2 patterns along edges — they almost always reveal something.
• If you have to guess, pick the square with the most empty neighbors to minimize risk.