How to Play Minesweeper

1. Choose Start➪Games; in the Games window, doubleclick Minesweeper. A window appears where you can click the level of difficulty you prefer.

2. The Minesweeper game board opens. Click a square on the board, and a timer starts counting the seconds of your game.

• If you click a square and a number appears, the number tells you how many mines are within the eight squares surrounding that square; if it remains blank, there are no mines within the eight squares surrounding it.

• If you click a square and a bomb appears, all the hidden bombs are exposed, and the game is over.

• Right-click a square once to place a flag on it marking it as a mine. Right-click a square twice to place a question mark on it if you think it might contain a bomb to warn yourself to stay away for now.

3. To begin a new game, choose Game➪New Game. In the New Game dialog box, click Quit and Start a New Game. If you want to play a game with the same settings as the previous one, click Restart This Game.

4. You can set several game options through the Game menu:

• To change the expertise required, choose Game➪ Options and then choose Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.

• To change the color of the playing board choose Game➪Change Appearance.

• If you want to see how many games you’ve won, your longest winning or losing streak and more, choose Game➪Statistics.

5. To end the game, click the Close button.

If you want a bigger game board (more squares, more bombs, more fun) choose Game➪Options and then click Custom and specify the number of squares across, down, and the number of bombs hidden within them.