Minesweeper: the classic puzzle, and how it differs from casino Mines

What Minesweeper is

Minesweeper is a single-player logic puzzle. A grid of covered squares hides a set number of mines, and you uncover squares one at a time, trying to clear every safe square without setting one off. The game gives you clues: each uncovered square shows a number from 1 to 8 for how many mines touch it, or nothing if none do.

It became famous on Windows. The Microsoft version was created by Curt Johnson for IBM's OS/2 and ported to Windows by Robert Donner, both at Microsoft at the time. It first shipped in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1 in 1990 and joined the standard install of Windows 3.1 in 1992, replacing Reversi.

The classic levels

Flagging the squares you think hide a mine is part of the craft, and an Expert board takes careful counting more than luck, apart from the odd position where only a guess will do.

Where to play it free

• Microsoft Minesweeper is a free download from the Microsoft Store for Windows. It has been a separate, ad-supported app since Windows 8, made by Arkadium.
• Minesweeper Online (minesweeper.online) runs in the browser, with the classic levels and rankings.

How it differs from casino Mines

The two games share a grid and a word, and not much else.

In casino Mines, an open tile tells you nothing about its neighbours, so skill can't improve your odds: the chance of each click is set by the mine count alone, and the payout is trimmed by the house edge, 3% in Spribe's version. If that's the game you were after, the free Mines grid shows the odds as you play.