mobiMinesweeper world records and history
For twenty years Minesweeper came free with almost every Windows PC. Here is where it came from, how it changed, and how fast the best players in the world can clear a board.
Minesweeper world records
These are the fastest times on the classic boards, as listed by the world records page at minesweepergame.com when we checked in October 2026:
| Level | Time | Player | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0.45 s | Michal Szoplik (Poland) | 2021 |
| Intermediate | 5.80 s | Ze-En Ju (China) | 2022 |
| Expert | 26.59 s | Ze-En Ju (China) | 2022 |
A Beginner record under half a second sounds impossible, and it is a different kind of record from the other two. Because the mines are random, some boards are far easier than others. Speed players measure a board by its 3BV: the smallest number of clicks that could clear it. The Beginner record board had a 3BV of just 2, so two clicks cleared it. The Expert record board needed 138, which makes Ze-En Ju’s 26.59 seconds more than five clicks a second.
Records are now set in dedicated Minesweeper programs built for competition. The old Windows version is no longer accepted for the rankings, because it was too easy to cheat.
Before Windows
Minesweeper didn’t start at Microsoft. In 1983 Ian Andrew released Mined-Out on the ZX Spectrum home computer. You walked a character across a hidden minefield, and the game showed how many mines were next to you but not where they were, so you had to reason your way across. It was the first game of its kind on a home computer, and the first to show the count of nearby mines. It probably influenced the Windows game that came seven years later.
Minesweeper comes to Windows
The Minesweeper most people know was written by two Microsoft employees. Curt Johnson wrote the first version for IBM’s OS/2. Robert Donner brought it to Windows, and in the process changed the goal to the one we know: open every safe square.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1983 | Mined-Out comes out on the ZX Spectrum. |
| 1990 | Minesweeper ships in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows, on October 8. |
| 1992 | Windows 3.1 includes it as standard, replacing Reversi. |
| 2007 | Windows Vista brings a redesigned version, with a flower option. |
| 2012 | Windows 8 drops it. It becomes a free app in the Microsoft Store. |
From Windows 3.1 on, Minesweeper came with every version of Windows, barely changed, until Vista. That is how a small logic puzzle ended up on almost every PC of the 1990s and 2000s.
The flowers
In 1999 an online campaign called the International Campaign to Ban Winmine suggested replacing the mines with flowers, and Microsoft took the idea up. Some translated versions of Windows 2000, ME and XP renamed the game Flower Field and swapped the mines for flowers. When Windows Vista arrived, its new Minesweeper offered a Flower Garden theme as an alternative to mines, and used it by default in some countries.
Leaving Windows
Windows 8 was the first version without Minesweeper. Microsoft moved it to its app store as a free game, now supported by ads, with daily challenges and an adventure mode added.
The board sizes
| Level | Board | Mines |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 9 × 9 (8 × 8 in early versions) | 10 |
| Intermediate | 16 × 16 | 40 |
| Expert | 30 × 16 | 99 |
Our Minesweeper plays the Beginner board, 9 by 9 with 10 mines, sized for a phone screen. Your first tap is always safe, and every run goes on a daily leaderboard. If you want to get faster, the patterns guide covers the shapes fast players solve by sight.
Minesweeper history questions
What is the Minesweeper world record?
As of October 2026, the fastest recorded Expert game is 26.59 seconds, by Ze-En Ju of China in 2022. He also holds the Intermediate record of 5.80 seconds, and the Beginner record is 0.45 seconds, by Michal Szoplik of Poland.
When was Minesweeper made?
Microsoft's Minesweeper first came out in 1990, in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows. It became part of Windows itself with Windows 3.1 in 1992. Games built on the same idea go back to at least 1983.
Who invented Minesweeper?
The Windows version was written by two Microsoft employees, Curt Johnson and Robert Donner. Johnson wrote the first version for IBM's OS/2, and Donner brought it to Windows. The idea is older: Mined-Out, by Ian Andrew, came out on the ZX Spectrum in 1983.
Why was Minesweeper removed from Windows?
Microsoft stopped including it with Windows 8 in 2012 and released it as a free download from its app store instead. It is still free there, with ads.
What are the Minesweeper board sizes?
The classic levels are Beginner, 9 by 9 with 10 mines (8 by 8 in the earliest versions), Intermediate, 16 by 16 with 40 mines, and Expert, 30 by 16 with 99 mines.