The digits are the whole game — learn to read them and the mines reveal themselves.
Every piece of information in minesweeper arrives as a single digit. Master what those digits mean — individually and in combination — and you can solve boards that look impenetrable. This guide explains each number, then teaches the three deduction techniques that turn numbers into certainty.
A revealed number N means: exactly N mines are hidden among the eight cells touching this one — the four orthogonal neighbors and four diagonal neighbors. Period. Every number from 1 to 8 obeys the same rule; only the count changes.
Zero adjacent mines. Blank cells are the friendliest thing on the board: every one of their eight neighbors is guaranteed safe. That's why revealing a blank cascades — the game flood-fills the connected blank region and automatically reveals the numbered ring around it. If you're looking for a safe place to work, the border of a blank region is it.
Exactly one adjacent mine. The "1" is the workhorse of minesweeper logic. A "1" touching exactly one covered cell has found its mine. A "1" with a flag already touching it has certified all its other neighbors safe. Most mid-game speed comes from chaining "1"s.
Exactly two adjacent mines. The "2" is the key actor in the most famous pattern in the game (1-2-1 and 1-2-x, covered below). A "2" touching exactly two covered cells flags both instantly.
Exactly three adjacent mines. Common in dense regions and around Hard-board clusters. The "3" in the classic 1-2-1-1 corner pattern pins mines precisely.
High-density numbers. A "4" means four of eight neighbors are mines — a coin flip on every neighbor, so you rarely deduce from a "4" alone. Instead, high numbers act as constraints: they usually have flags placed around them by other logic, and their remaining neighbors resolve. A useful inversion: a "4" with four flagged neighbors makes its other four neighbors safe.
Trophy rarities. An "8" means every single neighbor is a mine — on a standard board you may play thousands of games without seeing one. A "7" is nearly as rare. If you reveal a 7 or 8, flag everything around it: it's the one case where a lone number solves itself.
The two simplest deductions, and the ones you'll apply hundreds of times per game:
A number equals its count of covered neighbors? Flag them all. Example: a "3" touching exactly 3 covered cells — all three are mines, no exceptions.
A number equals its count of surrounding flags? Everything else it touches is safe. Example: a "1" with one flag touching it — reveal all other neighbors with confidence. In Bean Boom, double-tap the number to chord them all at once.
When two numbers sit near each other, compare what they can each "see". The classic scenario: a "1" and a "2" side by side along a wall.
The "1" sees two covered cells (the two cells above the 1-2 pair). The "2" sees those same two cells plus the third cell above itself. Since the "1" has exactly one mine among the two shared cells, the "2" — which needs two mines — must place its second mine in the one cell the "1" can't see: the cell above the "2". That cell is a mine, guaranteed. And once it's flagged, the shared cells resolve further.
This is the 1-2 pattern, and it's the single most valuable deduction shape in the game. The general principle: when one number's visible covered cells are a subset of another's, subtract the counts.
Two "1"s in a row, each seeing the same pair of covered cells to the right, but the rightmost "1" sees one additional covered cell. The left "1" tells you one mine is in the pair; the right "1" also sees that pair, and it also needs exactly one mine — so its extra cell is safe to reveal.
Generalized: whenever two numbers share the same set of covered neighbors, any extra neighbors of the larger constraint resolve by subtraction. This "set thinking" is what players mean when they talk about minesweeper being a constraint-satisfaction puzzle. For a full library of these shapes, see our minesweeper patterns page.
Edge cells have 5 neighbors; corner cells have 3. Numbers against geometry are compressed and therefore stronger:
No. Numbers are generated directly from the true mine layout, so they're always exact. If a deduction disagrees with a number, the deduction is wrong — usually because of a misplaced flag.
Blank means zero adjacent mines, so all its neighbors are safe. If those neighbors are also blank, the cascade continues automatically — a free opening.
The "1" — it resolves fastest and chains into satisfaction logic. The "2" powers the famous 1-2 patterns. High numbers (4+) rarely act alone; they mostly confirm flags placed by other logic.
Yes, identically, in both Classic and Egg Mode. Egg Mode adds scoring on top, but the underlying grid and number logic are pure minesweeper.