How to play Minesweeper Flags: the two-player MSN game

Minesweeper Flags was the two-player Minesweeper built into MSN Messenger. Unlike the classic game, here you want to find the mines: every mine you uncover is yours, and the first player past half of them wins.

• Players2
• Board12×12 with 29 mines, or 16×16 with 51
• TurnOne square at a time; find a mine and go again
• GoalFirst past half the mines

Turns

Two players share one board and take turns tapping squares.

• Tap a mine and you claim it: one point, a flag in your colour, and you go again.
• Tap anything else and it opens like ordinary Minesweeper: a number says how many mines touch that square, and a blank opens the area around it. Then it is the other player's turn - and they can read that number too.

Winning

The first to claim more than half the mines wins: 15 of 29 on the small board, 26 of 51 on the big one. The mine counts are odd, so there are no draws.

Reading the numbers

Every number counts the mines in the eight squares around it. Count the flags already claimed around a number, then the closed squares still touching it:

• If the number minus the flags equals the closed squares left, every one of them is a mine. Take them one after another - each mine is a point and another go.
• If the flags already match the number, every other closed square around it is empty. Opening one of those wins you nothing and may show your opponent a new number.

A run of sure mines can win a game in a single turn, so look for them before you guess.

Strategy

The game is reading the numbers faster than your opponent - and not opening squares that hand them easy mines. A square you open shows information to both players, so when you are not sure, choose a square that gives little away: far from the open area, rather than right beside a number they could finish.

Playing at Manita

Play online now pairs you with the next person who taps it. To play a friend, open a match and send them its four-letter code or the link. Or play the computer at Easy, Normal or Hard. The Hint button points to a square and tells you whether it is a mine for certain, or how likely it is to be one.

Questions

Can I play Minesweeper Flags against the computer?

Yes: at Manita the computer plays at Easy, Normal or Hard, on either board, and keeps your record against it.

Is Minesweeper Flags still available?

MSN Messenger is gone, but you can play Minesweeper Flags free online at Manita, against anyone, a friend with a code, or the computer.

How many mines are in Minesweeper Flags?

29 on the 12×12 board (first to 15) and 51 on the 16×16 board (first to 26).