The mines calculator shows the odds behind the casino game Mines, where you open tiles on a 5 × 5 grid and every safe one raises your multiplier until you hit a mine. With 3 mines, opening 5 safe tiles in a row is a 49.57% chance and pays about 2.00×. The calculator is free and works for any number of mines, any number of picks and any house edge.
How the Mines odds work
With 25 tiles and 3 mines there are 22 safe tiles. The first pick is safe 22 times in 25, 88%. The second, 21 in 24. And so on. Multiply them together, or use the shortcut C(22, 5) ÷ C(25, 5), and five safe picks in a row is 49.57%.
A fair game would pay 1 ÷ 0.4957 = 2.02×. Most Mines games keep about 1% of that, so you’re offered 0.99 × 2.02 = 2.00×. That 1% is the house edge, and it’s the same whatever you choose.
Mines multiplier chart (3 mines)
| Safe tiles opened | Chance | Multiplier (1% edge) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88.00% | 1.13× |
| 2 | 77.00% | 1.29× |
| 3 | 66.96% | 1.48× |
| 5 | 49.57% | 2.00× |
| 10 | 19.78% | 5.00× |
| 15 | 5.22% | 18.98× |
| 22 (every safe tile) | 0.04% | 2,277× |
Is there a Mines strategy?
Not one that beats the edge. Where the mines are is random, so no pattern of tiles is safer than another, and corners are no better than the middle. The only choices you make are how many mines and when to cash out, and they change how swingy the game is, not what it costs. On £1 a game with a 1% edge, you lose about 1p a game on average, whether you’re after 1.13× or 2,277×.
A curious one: 1 mine and 24 safe picks, or 24 mines and 1 safe pick, both come in exactly 4% of the time and pay 24.75×.
Fixed your limit? The slot bankroll calculator shows how long a budget lasts at a given edge. For the edge on other games, see the RTP and house edge calculator.
Want to check a mines game was fair after the fact? The provably fair calculator recomputes the mine positions from the seeds.
Like crash games, Mines lets you choose when to cash out. Try the same idea on a multiplier with the crash game simulator.
Mines is quick, and quick games add up. Set a limit before you start. BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential if it stops being fun.