Sweep (Mind Loft)

About Sweep (Mind Loft)

Sweep is a minesweeper on Mind Loft, a free site of daily browser games, with one difference from the classic: the field has no bottom. Everyone digs the same field on the same day, so the leaderboard compares reading rather than luck. The top row comes already uncovered, so the first dig is a read and never a coin flip.

The rules are the familiar ones. Tap a covered square to uncover it; a number counts the mines touching it, and a blank clears everything around it. Long press, right click or the Flag button marks a mine, and tapping a number whose mines are all flagged opens the rest of its neighbours at once. Every field is checked before it goes out, so every square can be worked out from the top down with the standard minesweeper rules, including the one where one number's unknown squares sit inside another's.

The score is the number of squares you uncover, with no ceiling. Each day has a par, 120 on the day we looked. You can play the day as many times as you like, and Sweep keeps your best run; ties break on fewest digs. However long you play, it pays at most one of Mind Loft's IQ points a day, so the competition is the day's leaderboard.

A new field goes up at midnight US Eastern Time, and on Sundays the same kind of field carries more mines. It suits players of Daily Minesweeper or Infinite Minesweeper who want a no-guess board with a shared score.

How to play Sweep (Mind Loft)

1. Open mindloftdaily.com/sweep; the top row of the field is already uncovered.
2. Tap a covered square to dig it; numbers count the mines touching that square.
3. Long press, right click or use the Flag button to mark a mine.
4. Tap a number whose mines are all flagged to open its other neighbours at once.
5. Keep digging downward until you hit a mine; play again as often as you like, and your best run counts.

Tips

• You never need to guess; if you are stuck, look for a number whose unknown squares sit inside another number's.
• Flags cost nothing, so mark mines as you find them to use the quick open.
• Ties break on fewest digs, so open blanks and use chords rather than clicking squares one by one.
• On Sundays slow down: there are more mines in the field.

Questions