Slight correction. The MS+ tile calculation was wrong. The density's close to 25% but still enough that even on a blank layout I can't guarantee a perfect clear.
But 9 actually kinda makes this easier
A member registered Jul 10, 2025
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New update: I beat 11 Phase 2 after around 40 attempts total. A few tips to help you all:
- Leave the RNG CHECKS for last. Clear the rest of the board before even trying to resolve them, because making an early mistake is 4x more devastating than a late mistake.
- Your mistake count carries over from Phase 1... but only for 11, it seems like. So if you made 4 mistakes in Phase 1, your first on Phase 2 will probably be your last, because 11 will act as if it was your fifth.
- 9 can help you. 9 can shuffle some 50/50s around, uncover zeroes, or even cover up an entire unsolved area. This can actually let you win.
- TAKE YOUR TIME. You have 111 seconds. On a blank layout with no time limit, you should take less than a minute to reveal everything. Before you try to uncover any RNG checks, check everything, because you'll have at least 30 seconds left ideally.
- Turn up the brightness! I've had at least 3 runs die from three or fewer incorrect tiles. The tiles blend into the background really easily, and this can help; my clear was on DICOM mode on my monitor (very bright, medical standard)
- And most importantly, take breaks. Nerves kill runs. If you're starting to slow down, or your eyes start to hurt, that's your last run for at least 2 hours.
This boss takes an insane amount of focus, and sometimes luck, to beat. Hopefully it gets nerfed, but for now, this is how it is.
Okay. In PRACTICE MODE, I finally beat 9+10+11...
...after 33 failed runs. At least 2-3 were done in practice mode after I edited the save data, which I will share how to.
Go into the folder with Minesweeper Plus on it, and go to your savegame.save.
I circled two numbers in green. The higher one is your listed time on Novice for Episode 3 Normal, and the lower one is your rank (0 = D, 1 = C, 2 = B, etc.)
Change the number on row 3 (the higher one) to something like 9999.00, and the number on row 5 (the lower one) to 0, then restart your game from the folder. You should be able to challenge 11 in practice mode!
Also, here's the settings in freeplay for the boss:
And the grid:
(download the image as a png and import it in freeplay)
Good luck, everyone. Until this game updates, at least.
Hi! One major comment here, which comes from someone who's fought...
[SPOILERS for all of Episode 3]
...11, with a 2/3 win rate...
...but has never beaten Phase 2 (I only have 1 clear from Beginner)...
I highly suggest to make the layout less RNG-heavy.
From what I've found, getting a mine in the 2x2 boxes on the top left and bottom right gives your run a 50/50 chance of instant death. There is no way to avoid it. Your momentum just dies if you make a single mistake.
Also, sidenote, if Free Play is a practice mode it would make more sense to make bosses available to rehearse the moment you reveal them.
If that's not possible, changing one of these things would make the Phase 2 fight MUCH more enjoyable:
- Reduce the mine rate overall on the board (>40% is a bit harsh for Novice),
- Add a checkpoint just before Phase 2,
- Enable the sonar (would make sense, as Captain Sweeper would want to go all-out on the defenses), or...
- Make 11 punish you less relatively for revealing mines (it still uses the Phase 1 rate on a much smaller board, so even ONE mistake is basically instant death).
I've been at it for 3 hours total. I don't know if it's just me, but Phase 2 just seems like an unfair difficulty spike. When I get a good starting click, I feel any time I lose is deserved, but in actual runs I seem to always run into near-impossible, zero-clue situations like this:
Even the base layout doesn't feel fun to play on when sonar is locked.
Yes, this is a skill issue. And yes, my language was unreasonably harsh. But this is just what I feel from playing.
That's all I have to say. Everything else is great!
By the way, all screenshots are from either 9+10 or nothing, all on the actual Phase 2 layout, in practice mode.