Minesweeper Strategy: Patterns That Clear the Board

Good Minesweeper players are not braver than anyone else. They simply look at the numbers in a certain order and recognise a handful of shapes that come up again and again. This guide walks through those habits, from the two rules that solve most of every board to the patterns that crack the harder corners. If you are new to the game, read the rules first.

Rule One: A Full Number Clears Its Neighbours

If a number already touches as many mines as it shows, every other covered square beside it is safe. A 1 next to one flag is "full". A 3 next to three flags is full. Dig everything else around it.

This is the rule you will use most. After every flag you place, glance at the numbers around that flag: one of them has very often just become full.

Rule Two: A Number With No Room to Spare Is All Mines

If a number has exactly as many covered squares beside it as mines it still needs, all of those squares are mines. A 1 with a single covered neighbour has found its mine. A 2 in a corner with two covered neighbours has found both. Flag them.

The two rules feed each other. Rule two gives you a flag, the flag makes a neighbouring number full, rule one opens new squares, and the new numbers start the cycle again.

Where to Look

Two Numbers Together

When neither rule works on a single number, look at two numbers side by side. They usually share some of their covered squares, and comparing them settles squares that neither could settle alone. The question to ask is: how many of this number's mines must be in the shared squares?

The 1-1 on a wall

Picture two 1s next to each other along a straight edge of covered squares. The first 1 has only two covered neighbours, and both of them also touch the second 1. So the first 1's mine is in squares the second 1 also touches, and that mine is all the second 1 needs. Every covered square that only the second 1 touches is safe.

In words you can remember: if all of one number's choices are inside another number's choices, and they need the same number of mines, the extra squares are safe.

The 1-2

Now picture a 1 next to a 2 along a wall. The 2 needs two mines. It shares two covered squares with the 1, but the 1 can put at most one mine there. So the 2 must find its second mine in the square that only it touches. Flag that square.

In words: if a number needs more mines than its shared squares can hold, the rest go in its own squares.

The 1-2-1 and the 1-2-2-1

These famous rows are just the 1-2 rule used twice. In a 1-2-1 along a wall, the mines sit opposite the two 1s and the square opposite the 2 is safe. In a 1-2-2-1, the mines sit opposite the two 2s, and the squares opposite the 1s are safe. You don't need to memorise them; if you apply the 1-2 rule from each end, they fall out by themselves. But once you have seen them a few times, you will spot them at a glance.

Using the Mine Count

The counter under the board tells you how many mines are still unflagged. Early in a game it is not much use, but near the end it can be decisive. If the counter says 1 and two separate corners each look like they might hold a mine, one of them must be clear. And if the counter says 0, every covered square left is safe, even ones no number touches.

The counter trusts your flags, so it is only as good as they are. That is one more reason to place a flag only when you are certain.

Good Habits

When You Really Are Stuck

With no-guess boards (the standard setting here), there is always at least one square that can be proved. It may need two numbers together, or the mine count at the very end. If you can't find it, tap Hint. It opens a safe square and tells you exactly which numbers prove it, and in what order. Reading two or three hints is the quickest way to learn the patterns above.

On classic random boards (with no-guess switched off), you may truly have to guess sometimes. If you must, prefer a square far from the numbers in the open, where the overall chance of a mine is lowest, or a corner, which tends to open a useful area when it turns out to be blank.

Try It

Start on a Small board and use the Hint button freely; the explanations will teach you the patterns in a game or two. Then move up to Medium. If you enjoy this kind of careful reasoning, you will probably like Sudoku strategy too, and our page of Minesweeper variations explains the options you can change.

Ready to try it? Play a free Minesweeper with big squares and a clear Dig or Flag switch. Every board can be cleared by logic alone. No sign-up needed.

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