Mines is an originals game in which a fixed number of mines is hidden in a grid. Every square opened safely raises the multiplier and you can cash out at any moment. Hitting a mine ends the round and the stake is gone.
How the multiplier arises
The multiplier is pure probability: the more mines and the more squares already opened, the smaller the chance of the next safe square and the larger the multiplier. The house edge is usually 1%, i.e. an RTP of 99% — the same as in dice.
The only real decision
How many squares to open before exiting. That does not change the expected value, only the volatility: three squares with five mines is a frequent small win, ten squares is a rare large one. Patterns ("the corners are safer") are a myth — the layout is new every round.
Verifiability
Mines is provably fair: the mine layout derives from the server and client seed and can be recalculated after the round. That is the only way to be sure the layout did not change after your clicks.
Wagering
As with the other originals games, the weighting in bonus wagering is mostly zero or very small. Check the table before taking a bonus.
Working out the multiplier with an example
Take a 25-cell board (5×5) with 3 mines. The chance that the first cell is safe is 22/25 = 88%. The chance that two cells in a row are safe is 22/25 × 21/24 = 77%, and for three it is 77% × 20/23 ≈ 66.96%. The multiplier is 0.99 divided by that probability (with a 1% house edge): roughly 1.125× after the first cell, 1.286× after two and 1.479× after three. A real game's table may be rounded or use a different edge, so compare these numbers with the game's own info. The maths is the Wikipedia: hypergeometric distribution: cells are opened without replacement.
An extreme example: 24 mines and only one safe cell. The probability is 1/25 = 4% and the multiplier is 0.99 × 25 = 24.75×. A big multiplier is not generosity, it pays for how rarely it hits.
What the cash-out point changes and what it does not
Take a 2 USDT bet and one opened cell. With 88% probability you get back 2.25 USDT, with 12% nothing; the average return is 0.88 × 2.25 = 1.98 USDT, or 99% of the stake. The same 99% comes out if you open three or ten cells. The cash-out point only changes how often you win and how big the win is, that is volatility, not the expected result. A 1% edge means an RTP of 99%, and you can verify the layout if the game is provably fair.
Common mistakes
- Believing that after several mines the next round is "safe" or that some cell is "hot". Every round starts with a new layout; this is the classic Wikipedia: gambler's fallacy.
- Raising the stake after a loss. Expected loss is always turnover times house edge; a bigger stake only increases the swings.
- Abandoning the plan for "one more cell". Decide the cash-out point before the round and stick to it.
Rounds are fast, so turnover builds up unnoticed. A 2 USDT stake and 500 rounds is 1000 USDT of turnover, which at a 1% edge means an expected loss of 10 USDT; the house edge calculator does the same with your numbers. If you notice you play longer or with bigger stakes than planned, take the self-assessment test. For a game explainer and the Estonian view see also the Mines page on freespin.ee.