Guides Numbers
What Do the Numbers Mean in Minesweeper?
Each Minesweeper number tells you how many mines touch that tile, counting all eight neighbors, diagonals included. That’s the whole game. Everything else is being careful about it.
A number counts its eight neighbors
A revealed number counts the mines in the tiles around it. That’s one on each side, three above and three below. Eight tiles in all, and the diagonals count.
The number tells you how many of them are mines. It never tells you which ones. That part is your job.
A number never counts itself. A numbered tile is always safe, or you wouldn’t be looking at it. It also never counts tiles two steps away.
Edges and corners have fewer neighbors
A tile on the edge of the board has five neighbors. A corner tile has three. The number works the same way, with fewer places to hide its mines. That makes edge and corner numbers easier to solve.
A 3 in a corner means all three of its neighbors are mines. Corners are not great at keeping secrets.
Blank tiles are zeros
A revealed tile with no number is a zero. None of its eight neighbors is a mine. Since they’re all safe, the game opens them for you.
If any of those are zeros too, it keeps going. That’s why a single click can open a big chunk of the board. Very satisfying. Highly recommended.
These areas are called openings. Every opening is ringed by numbers, because the tiles at its edge are the first ones that touch a mine.
What the colors mean
Each number has its own color, borrowed from the original Windows game. The color adds no information of its own. It just helps you read a crowded board at a glance.
After a while you’ll recognize a red 3 before you’ve read the digit. Red 3s just have a look about them.
| Number | Color |
|---|---|
| 1 | Blue |
| 2 | Green |
| 3 | Red |
| 4 | Dark blue |
| 5 | Maroon |
| 6 | Teal |
| 7 | Black |
| 8 | Gray |
Satisfied numbers and reduction
A number is satisfied when it already has as many flagged mines around it as its value. Every other unopened neighbor of a satisfied number is safe.
On RetroSweep you can click a satisfied number to open all of those tiles at once. This is called chording. Your mouse will thank you.
A number that isn’t satisfied yet still gets simpler as you find mines. Subtract the flags that touch it. A 3 with one flagged neighbor has two mines left, so treat it as a 2.
This is called reduction. It’s what keeps the common patterns working deep into a board.
How rare are 7s and 8s?
An 8 needs a safe tile with a mine on all eight sides. Beginner boards only have 10 mines, so you’ll almost never see one there.
Even on Expert, with 99 mines, an 8 turns up in about one game in a thousand. A 7 shows up in a few games in a hundred. Most of any board is 1s, 2s and 3s.
If you ever see an 8, take a screenshot. Nobody will believe you.
Questions
What does a 1 mean in Minesweeper?
A 1 means exactly one of the eight tiles touching it is a mine. If only one of those tiles is still unopened, that tile is the mine.
Do Minesweeper numbers count diagonal tiles?
Yes. Each number counts all eight surrounding tiles: one on each side, three above and three below. That includes the four diagonals.
What does a blank tile mean in Minesweeper?
A blank tile is a zero. None of the tiles around it is a mine. The game opens all its neighbors for you, which is how one click can clear a big area.
Why are Minesweeper numbers different colors?
The colors make the board quicker to read. 1 is blue, 2 green, 3 red, 4 dark blue, 5 maroon, 6 teal, 7 black and 8 gray, following the original Windows game. The color adds no extra information.
What is the highest number in Minesweeper?
8, when all eight tiles around a safe tile are mines. It’s very rare. Even on Expert it shows up in roughly one game in a thousand.
Keep reading
- Minesweeper for BeginnersYour first board, step by step: where to click, what to flag, and how to finish.
- Minesweeper Patterns1-1, 1-2, 1-2-1, 1-2-2-1 and reduction: the shapes that solve most of a board.
- Strategy and TipsThe order to solve in, when to flag, using the mine counter, and the mistakes that cost games.