The grid, the mines and cashing out

Mines game: how the multiplier grows with every tile

You open tiles one by one, and every safe tile lifts the multiplier. Here is the arithmetic behind each jump, what the number of mines does to the chance, and how to verify the board.

A mines game looks like a small board with 25 closed tiles. Under some of them there are mines, under the rest there are safe fields. You choose yourself how many mines the board should have, open tiles one at a time and can cash out whenever you like. Hit a mine and the stake for the round is lost.

What makes the game interesting is that you take a new decision after every tile. The chance that the next tile is safe falls with every tile you open, and the multiplier rises accordingly. Below we work out exactly how much, with figures you can check on an ordinary calculator. Tile-clicking and percentages are only one game of several; the whole comparison is gathered on the home page of the Kryptospill comparison.

Mines: tiles turned one by one

The tiles are turned in order, and the ninth hides a mine. We deliberately show a round that is lost, because an illustration with only safe tiles would give a skewed picture of the game.

The board and the mines in a mines game

Most versions use a 5 × 5 grid, so 25 tiles. Before the round you choose the stake and the number of mines, often from 1 to 24. The placement of the mines is decided before you open the first tile, and it does not move along the way.

A round goes like this:

Choose the stake and the number of mines. More mines means larger jumps in the multiplier and more risk per click.
Open a tile. If it is safe, a diamond or another symbol appears, and the multiplier rises.
Make up your mind. You can take out the stake multiplied by the current multiplier, or open a new tile.
The round ends when you cash out, when you hit a mine, or when every safe tile has been opened.

When the round is over, most games show the whole board with all the mines. That is not decoration: the placement is what you can later check against the seed values. Take a screenshot of the board in rounds you want to check, and you will have something to compare with when the server seed is revealed. Making the note takes a moment and makes the check much easier to carry out later.

The multiplier tile by tile

The mathematics rests on counting combinations. With m mines on 25 tiles, the chance that the first n tiles you open are all safe is C(25 − m, n) / C(25, n). A fair multiplier with no house edge is 1 divided by that chance. A casino then takes the house edge off.

A worked example with 3 mines and a 1% house edge. The house edge was chosen for the example and is not taken from a particular operator:

1 safe tile: chance 22/25 = 88.0%, multiplier 0.99 / 0.88 ≈ 1.12×
2 safe tiles: chance 77.0%, multiplier ≈ 1.29×
3 safe tiles: chance 66.96%, multiplier ≈ 1.48×
4 safe tiles: chance 57.83%, multiplier ≈ 1.71×
5 safe tiles: chance 49.57%, multiplier ≈ 2.00×
8 safe tiles: chance 29.57%, multiplier ≈ 3.35×

Note how every new tile is a little more dangerous than the one before. The first has 3 mines among 25 tiles. After four safe tiles the same 3 mines sit among only 21 remaining, so the chance that the fifth tile is safe is 18/21, around 85.7%.

The multiplier in your game may differ slightly from the figures above, because the house edge and the rounding vary. Compare the table in the game with the calculation: the chance multiplied by the multiplier should give roughly the same figure all the way, and that figure is the return.

A worked example: 25 tiles, three mines and a 1% house edge. The multiplier is 0.99 divided by the chance of having opened that many safe tiles. Each new tile raises the win and lowers the chance at the same rate.

More mines, larger jumps

The number of mines changes the shape of the risk, not the average. Look at the same target, around 2.00×, with different numbers of mines (still a 1% house edge as the example):

1 mine: you have to open many tiles. After 12 safe tiles the chance is 52%, and the multiplier is around 1.90×.
3 mines: 5 safe tiles give a 49.57% chance and ≈ 2.00×.
5 mines: 3 safe tiles give a 49.57% chance and ≈ 2.00×.
10 mines: the first tile alone has only a 60% chance and gives ≈ 1.65×, and the second tile gives a 35% chance and ≈ 2.83×.
24 mines: one single tile is safe. The chance is 4%, and the multiplier comes out at 0.99 × 25 = 24.75×.

With few mines the win comes gradually, with many mines each click is a large leap. Over many rounds you pay the same house edge in both cases.

When should you cash out in a mines game?

There is no point at which stopping pays. Every time you open a new tile, the expected result is the same as if you had cashed out, minus the house edge on the new step. Cash out early and you win more often and less. Go far and you lose more often and win more when it comes off.

A worked example. With 3 mines and 2 USDT staked, cashing out after 2 tiles gives ≈ 2.58 USDT in 77% of rounds. Cashing out after 8 tiles gives ≈ 6.70 USDT in 29.57% of rounds. Both give around 1.98 USDT back per round on average, that is a 1% loss.

A simple plan is to decide the number of tiles before the round starts and stick to it. It does not change the house edge, but it stops you chasing a lost round with another click. A game with similar logic, but with cards instead of tiles, is explained in the guide to higher or lower.

Provably fair: checking the board

In house games with seed checking, the placement of the mines is decided by a server seed, your client seed and a nonce that counts the rounds. The hash of the server seed is shown before you play. When you later change the server seed, the old one is revealed, and you can work out where the mines were in each round.

The check answers one question: was the board moved after you started? It says nothing about how large the house edge is, about the ceiling on winnings, or about the terms on your account. The whole procedure is in the explanation of the seed and the nonce.

A mines casino: choose the operator by the terms

A mines casino is not a casino of its own kind; it is an operator that has a mines variant among its house games. The game is largely the same from one place to another, so it is the terms that differ. The ranking on this site looks at five points:

A clause on identity checks in the terms.
When the check starts.
An amount that triggers it.
A period for the documents.
The licence in the authority's register, under the operator's own domain.

Bitcasino.io has four out of five: the amount is €2,500 (cl. 6.6), while a document period is missing. Rocketpot also has four, but two register queries at cert.cga.cw in September 2026 both gave the status «invalid» for the certificate. When you are weighing up a mines casino, it is details like these that count, not the number of house games. All twelve with a file stand in the overview of ranked crypto casinos.

Mines in crypto: the balance, the minimum amount and the caps

Mines in crypto means in practice that the stake is held in a coin, for example BTC or USDT. The multiplier applies to the coin, and the value in kroner changes with the rate between rounds as well.

Three rules from the terms are worth knowing:

At Wolfbet a deposit below the minimum amount is not credited (cl. 14 §9).
At Rainbet coins sent on a network the operator does not support are lost (cl. 7.9), and cl. 8.1 sets $15 as the lowest amount per withdrawal.
Wild Fortune caps withdrawals at €1,000 daily, €5,000 weekly and €15,000 monthly (cl. 11.8). Progressive jackpots are kept outside those caps.

Which network and which address you should use is worked through in the checklist for coin deposits.

Patterns, apps and promises of safe tiles

You will find videos and apps saying they can show you where the mines are. The placement is decided by a secret server seed that nobody outside the operator knows until you change it. There are no patterns in earlier boards that tell you where the next board has its mines. Anyone asking you to pay for such a tool is selling guesswork.

Set a loss amount before you start instead, and take a break when it is reached. Hjelpelinjen (hjelpelinjen.no) gives free help if play starts to control you.

Frequently asked questions

How many mines should I choose in a mines game?

The number does not change the average, only the swings. With 1 mine the multiplier grows slowly, and you have to open many tiles for a noticeable win. With 10 or more mines each click gives a large jump, but the chance of hitting a mine is high already on the first tile. Choose what suits the amount you have set aside.

Can I see where the mines were after the round?

Yes, most versions show the whole board when the round is over. With provably fair you can also work out the placement yourself once the server seed is revealed, using the client seed and the nonce for the round. If the calculation matches the board you saw, the mines were not moved.

What should I look for in a mines casino?

Look for a clear clause on identity checks, an amount and a period for documents, and a licence that stands in the register under the operator's own domain. Check the minimum amount, the network for deposits and the caps per period too. The game itself is fairly similar everywhere, so the terms are what differ.

What is the difference between ordinary mines and mines in crypto?

The game is the same; the difference is that the balance, the stake and the win are held in a coin. That means the value in kroner can change while you play, and that you have to use the right network and address when you deposit. The minimum amount and the rules for deposits are in the operator's terms.