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Minesweeper: When All a Number's Mines Are Found

The all-mines-found technique says: when a number already touches as many flagged mines as its value, every other hidden square around it is safe. It’s the commonest move in Minesweeper, and the one chording does for you.

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This is the first of the Minesweeper techniques.

The rule

  1. Pick a number on the edge of the open ground.
  2. Count the flags among its eight neighbours.
  3. If the flags match the number, open every other hidden square around it, or tap the number to chord.
All mines found: a 2 with both its flags A row of hidden squares, some flagged, over a row of numbers. The 2 in the third column already touches two flags, so its other hidden square is safe. 1 2 2 3 3 3 2
The ringed 2 already touches two flags, so its other hidden square (dotted) is safe.

In a real game

On the Expert board every technique page follows, it’s the second move. Step 1 flagged a mine next to a 1 (see all hidden are mines). The 1 beside it touches that flag too, so it has its mine, and its one other hidden square is safe.

Step 2: all mines found The same corner one step later. The ringed 1 now touches the flag from step 1, so its other hidden square is safe. 3 3 1 1 2 1
Step 2: the ringed 1 touches the flag from step 1, so the dotted square is safe.

How often you’ll need it

Almost always. It was needed on 199 of 200 Beginner boards, 194 Intermediate and 183 Expert, and on the Expert board here it makes 117 of the 215 moves, more than any other technique.

Next steps

Questions

Is this the same as chording?

Chording is the shortcut for it. Tap a number whose mines are all flagged, and the game opens every other square around it at once.

What if one of the flags is wrong?

Then a square you open may be a mine. This technique is only as good as the flags it counts, so flag only squares a number proves are mines.