Neon Mines: rules, controls and strategy

Rules

• Reveal every non-mine cell to win.
• A number states exactly how many adjacent cells contain mines.
• Revealing a mine ends the run.
• Flags are notes and do not make an incorrect cell safe.
• The first revealed cell is protected when the mine layout is generated.

Keyboard, pointer and touch controls

Click or activate a cell to reveal it. Toggle Flag Mode for touch-friendly flagging, or use a long press on a covered cell. Keyboard users can focus cells and activate them with Enter or Space.

Scoring and saving

A win score is derived from the selected difficulty and completion time, so faster clears on harder boards are stronger. Signed-in wins update the Minesweeper best and the dedicated win achievement counter through the backend.

Scores from browser games are bounded and synchronized by the backend, but local game outcomes are client-authoritative unless this guide explicitly identifies server-owned match evidence.

Beginner guidance

• Start near the center to reveal information in more directions.
• When a numbered cell already touches its full number of flags, reveal its other neighbors.
• When its covered neighbors equal the remaining mine count, flag them.
• Work from certain deductions and leave guesses until no deterministic move remains.

Advanced strategy

• Compare overlapping number neighborhoods to isolate mine differences.
• Use unflagging freely when a contradiction appears.
• Scan completed edges so stale flags do not hide an opening.
• On Expert, solve dense clusters before expanding uncertain open areas.

Common mistakes

• Treating flags as proof instead of a player annotation.
• Counting diagonal neighbors incorrectly.
• Guessing while a forced move exists elsewhere.
• Changing difficulty without realizing it starts a fresh board.

Accessibility notes

Cells are keyboard-focusable grid cells, numbers remain visible as text, Flag Mode avoids reliance on right-click, and long press is optional. Status and pause changes are announced through the shared game shell.

Troubleshooting

• If long press reveals instead of flags, enable Flag Mode first.
• If the grid seems small, use browser zoom; cells are responsively bounded.
• If the timer is stopped, resume from the Pause control.
• If a win does not sync, keep playing locally and check your session before the next board.