Free Games How to Play Minesweeper Without a Mouse
Minesweeper grew up with the computer mouse: left-click to reveal a square, right-click to plant a flag. So what do you do on an iPad, a phone, or a laptop with no mouse attached? You do not need a mouse at all. Here is how the controls translate.
On a touchscreen (tablet or phone)
- Tap a square to reveal it, exactly like a left-click.
- Flags: on the Minesweeper page here a long press does not place one, because the game only listens for a right-click. You never need a flag to win. You win by uncovering every safe square, so on a tablet you keep the mine positions in your head instead of marking them.
Many people find tapping more comfortable than a mouse, especially on a tablet, where the squares are big under your finger.
On a laptop trackpad
A trackpad works like a mouse even if it does not look like one:
- Tap or click the trackpad normally to reveal a square.
- For the flag (a right-click), tap with two fingers (Mac and most Windows laptops), or click the bottom-right corner of the trackpad on Windows.
A strategy reminder
However you point, the game is the same logic puzzle: a number tells you how many mines touch that square. Start with the corners a number rules out, and work outward from the squares you are sure of. Some boards force a guess at the end, but nothing is timed, so you can stop and think first.
Where to play
The free Minesweeper here runs in your web browser, with nothing to download and no sign-up. You can reveal squares with a mouse, a trackpad or a finger, and it offers Easy, Medium and Hard boards so you can pick your pace.
Enjoy quiet logic games? You might also like Sudoku, Nonogram picture puzzles, or the rest of the brain and logic puzzles.