Minesweeper Strategy: Patterns and Tips

Start from the easy numbers

Look for numbers that touch exactly as many covered cells as their value. If a 2 has only two covered neighbors, both are mines. Flag them — each flag you place makes the numbers around it easier to read.

The opposite also works: if a number already touches as many flags as its value, its other covered neighbors are safe.

The 1-1 pattern

Along a straight edge, when two 1s sit side by side and the first 1 touches only two covered cells, its mine is in one of those two. The second 1 shares both of them, so its third covered cell is safe.

The 1-2 pattern

When a 2 sits next to a 1 along an edge, the 1 allows at most one mine in the cells they share. The 2 needs two, so the covered cell that only the 2 touches must be a mine.

The 1-2-1 pattern

One of the most common shapes along a straight edge. The mines are always above the two 1s, and the cell above the 2 is safe.

The 1-2-2-1 pattern

Another edge pattern. The mines are above the two 2s, and the cells above the 1s are safe.

Habits that save you

• Work along the border between opened and covered cells — that is where the information is.
• After every flag, re-read the numbers next to it. One flag often unlocks a chain of safe cells.
• Don't chord on a number unless you are certain about every flag around it.
• If you are stuck, look for a nearby area you haven't started. On an infinite map there is always somewhere else to make progress.
• Guess only when logic truly runs out, and then prefer cells far from high numbers.

Practice where it counts

Patterns stick when you use them. Every area in Minesweeper Worlds is a fresh puzzle, so you can practice the 1-2-1 on your tenth area and your thousandth.