Minesweeper Help
Playing Minesweeper
Setting Game Options
Tips on Avoiding Mines
Playing Minesweeper
The Minesweeper game board consists of a grid of squares, with mines hidden underneath some of the squares. Your goal is to mark all of the squares that contain mines. The quicker you do this, the higher your score. But be careful! If you step on (tap) a square that contains a mine, you lose, and the game is over.
The right half of the status bar, at the bottom of the screen, contains the number of unmarked mines remaining on the game board. The left half of the status bar contains the game timer.
To play a game of Minesweeper
- Tap the smiley face button on the command bar to begin a new game, then tap any square on the game board to uncover it and start the timer. If the square contains a mine, you lose.
- If the square doesn't contain a mine, a number appears that indicates how many mines are in the eight adjacent squares. Use this information to figure out where the mines are.
- To mark a square that you suspect contains a mine, tap it while holding the Up/Down control in the down position. If you suspect that a square contains a mine, but want to decide later, mark it with a question mark by holding the Up/Down control in the down position, then double-tapping the square. Later, you may chose whether to uncover the square or mark it as a mine. The Marks check box must be selected in Options page to use this option.
- Tap squares to uncover those that you think are safe, and mark squares that you think contain mines, until you find all of the mines. Then, uncover the remaining squares adjacent to a numbered square by holding the Up/Down control in the up position and tapping the numbered square.
Setting Game Options
Tap the Options button, and then select the options you want, as follows:
- To set the skill level, tap Beginner, Intermediate, or Expert. The higher the skill level, the larger the grid, and the more mines you must uncover.
- You can mark a square with a question mark (?), then decide later to uncover it or mark as a mine. To do this, select the Marks check box, then mark a square by tapping it twice while holding the Up/Down control in the down position.
- To hear the game clock tick, select the Ticking check box.
- To hear a sound at the end of the game, select the End of Game check box.
Tips on Avoiding Mines
- If you want to delay making a decision about whether a square contains a mine, mark it with a question mark (?). (To find out how to do this, see Setting Game Options) Later, you can either mark the square as a mine or uncover it.
- Once you find all of the mines around a numbered square, you can uncover the remaining squares around it by holding the Up/Down control in the up position while tapping the numbered square.
- Patterns in the numbers on the game board sometimes indicate a pattern of mines. For example, a row of squares with the numbers 232 suggest that there could be a row of mines in the three adjacent squares.