Gooby
Burrow: Minesweeper without the guessing
Read the numbers, flag the mines, dig everything else. Every Burrow board can be cleared by logic from its first opening — no 50/50s, ever. 1,200 boards from 8×8 to 12×16, hints that explain each deduction, no ads and no sign-up.
How to play Burrow
- Each number tells how many mines touch that square — corners included.
- Flag the squares you know hide a mine; dig the ones you know are safe.
- Dig a mine and the game is over. Clear every safe square to win.
The game starts with an opening already dug, and from there every square can be worked out — no guessing.
Controls
- Tap to flag, press and hold to dig. One toggle swaps them if you prefer tap to dig.
- Tap a number whose mines are all flagged to dig around it in one go.
Minesweeper strategy: six deductions
1. Single number
If a number has exactly as many covered neighbours as it needs mines, they are all mines. If its mines are already flagged, every other neighbour is safe.
2. Mines left
Near the end, count: when every mine is found the rest is safe, and when the covered squares equal the mines left, they are all mines.
3. Subset (the 1-2 pattern)
When one number's covered neighbours are all among another's, subtract: the extra squares of the bigger number hold the difference. The famous 1-2 along a wall is this rule.
4. Overlap
Two numbers that share some squares: if the shared part must hold all of one number's mines, the other number's private squares are settled too.
5. Mine count
Add up the mines that separate numbers must have in different squares; if that uses every mine left, everything else is safe.
6. What if
On the hardest boards, suppose a square is a mine, follow the simple rules, and see if some number breaks. If it does, the square is safe. Master and Extreme boards need a few of these.
Boards and difficulty
| Tier | Board | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 8×8 | Single numbers |
| Medium | 9×10 | The 1-2 pattern |
| Hard | 10×12 | Overlapping numbers |
| Expert | 10×14 | Counting the mines left |
| Master | 12×15 | A what-if or two |
| Extreme | 12×16 | Chains of what-ifs |
Boards stay at most 12 squares wide so every square is easy to tap, and grow taller instead. Difficulty adapts to you.
Burrow questions
Is Burrow Minesweeper?
Yes — the same numbers and mines, with one difference: every Burrow board is built so it can be cleared by logic alone from its first opening, the way Simon Tatham's Mines works. You never have to guess.
What does no-guess mean?
In classic Minesweeper some boards end in a 50/50 where no amount of thinking helps. Burrow's generator moves mines until every square can be worked out from the numbers, so a loss is always a misread, never bad luck.
What happens if I dig a mine?
The game ends at once. You can try the same board again straight away.
How do I flag and dig on a phone?
Tap flags a square and press-and-hold digs it; one toggle swaps them. Tap a number whose mines are all flagged to dig all of its other neighbours at once.
Can I play Burrow offline?
Yes. After the first visit it works with no connection. Add it to your home screen to use it like an app — here's how.
Minesweeper is the name of the classic game. Burrow is Gooby's own no-guess version.