I finally upgraded to Windows 10 on my PC and now I can’t find Minesweeper. I love that game! Where did it go??
There are some games that have absolutely become core to the overall Windows computing experience. None more popular than Solitaire, of course, but running a close second is Minesweeper, a sort of one-person Battleship game that revolves around logical deduction skills. Both of these were removed from Windows 10 somewhere along its evolution for reasons I cannot possibly explain (disk space? negative feedback about games on a serious computer? revenue opportunities?). Fortunately they’re both available for free through the Microsoft Store.
In fact, I’ve written previously about how to restore Solitaire to your Windows 10 system if you’d like to restore that game too, so check that out. In terms of Minesweeper, it’s a bit puzzling because even though Microsoft has its own official version of the game for Win10, it’s a third party app that shows up by default if you do a rudimentary search through Cortana. Let’s jump in and I’ll step you through this <ahem> minefield so you can get back and running on Minesweeper!
To start out, don’t assume Cortana knows what game you want if you search:
In fact, it shows a Wikipedia page instead of a link to the game. And the “MineSweeper (Free)” link on the left side? That’s the wrong version of the game too. Well, it’s not “wrong”, it’s just an independent game developer’s version, not the Microsoft version. You’ll see what I mean in a moment.
Instead, open up the Microsoft Store app and search for “minesweeper”:
There are three matches. Microsoft Minesweeper with a 4-star rating, MineSweeper (Free) with its 3 stars, and, for reasons I cannot explain, Microsoft Treasure Hunt, which ain’t what ya seek.
Click or tap on “Microsoft Minesweeper” to get the game…
Easy enough, click on the blue “Get” button and it’ll download and install…
Eventually, depending on your network connection, it’ll be installed and ready to play. Yay!
ADD MINESWEEPER TO THE START MENU
Now, since I’m guessing you’re fairly new to Windows 10 at this point, let’s make sure you can find it again next time. On the Start Menu scroll or swipe down to find Microsoft Minesweeper on the full list of available programs:
Can you see it highlighted on the left side? It even says “New” underneath!
Now, with it showing, right click on the program name and a menu will pop up:
Choose “Pin to Start” and it’ll add a “tile” to the graphical portion of the Start Menu.
Now any time you want to play the game, all you have to do is click to show the Start Menu and click (or tap, I know) to launch Minesweeper from its bright, colorful icon.
Which reminds me, here’s how it looks now:
Still the same game, but with some additional bells and whistles and a nicer looking board. Now, go make the ocean safe for boats by marking all the mines before you *BOOM*
Online Option
If you’re having difficulty installing Minesweeper on your device, you can always play online. Check out Play Minesweeper, a free game that comes with a clean interface featuring bold colors. Additionally, Play Minesweeper features a breakdown of the rules as well as the history of the popular game.
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about Windows since the earliest generations of the system. Please check out my extensive Windows help tutorials while you’re here on the site. Thanks!
it is May 2023 so the Microsoft ‘store’ definitely changed since this article was authored.
Is there a way to reinstall the older Minesweeper or did Microsoft Kill it for ever?
At this time, the ‘available’, and ‘forced’ “Microsoft Minesweeper” today is not the same Microsoft minesweeper as what is shown in this article at all. The ‘new’ Microsoft Minesweeper is crammed with unwanted interrupting adds and has a completely different and smaller screen, it has honorable new sound affects that I can’t stand!
I have done disaster recovery backup to get the best Minesweeper that I can play when offline back on my PC.
The problem is that, in order to keep the Minesweeper I love to play, I now I have to delay all Microsoft updates. including the security updates I use Trend Micro and now it is requiring a “restart” to update which also goes to the Microsoft update and forces the Minesweeper I love to play out and replaces it with the horrible Minesweeper that I will never use.
Your best bet at this point is to look in the Microsoft Store for someone who’s written an “old school” style Minesweeper and play that instead of the updated Microsoft app. Good luck!
haha no way! I never even wanted to play it with those options before! Really cool article. Maybe next time you can explain how it went from a physical to a digital representation of how it looked in the 20s?? 😀 Sometimes quantum physics is a bit too on the “Been there done that” side.
I have used Minesweeper for many months, but last month it just failed to operate. Thank you for the instructions on how to download it. It is saying that Microsoft Minesweeper is installed. When I try to open it, the plain green screen remains and nothing happens.
I only used it on my laptop, not on my mobile.
I have managed to grab this game in its original form in a folder on my computer, win 95, so yea, it’s one of the original versions and NO! no one can have it or a copy of it.. due to its copyright protections.. It came with my 198.00 windows install of w98 in 2000something..