It shows the total number of mines minus the flags you have placed. It tracks your own flags and is not proof that they are in the right places.
The counter reads "mines left". It is the board's mine count minus the number of flags you have placed.
How it changes
- Place a flag and the counter goes down by one.
- Remove a flag and it goes up by one.
- Place more flags than there are mines and it goes below zero.
It can be wrong
The counter does not know where the mines are. It only counts flags, so a counter at zero does not mean you have found every mine, and a wrong flag makes it misleading. Trust the numbers on the board before the counter.
Using it near the end
When only a few cells are left, comparing the counter with the numbers can show which cells must be mines. The Minesweeper tips guide covers this, and you never have to flag every mine to win. For everything else, see how to play Minesweeper.