Guides Patterns

Minesweeper Patterns

Minesweeper patterns are small number shapes, like 1-2-1, that always solve the same way. A handful of them clear most of any board. Learn them once and you stop solving the same puzzle from scratch every game. The mines are not thrilled about this page.

How to read the diagrams

Each diagram is a slice of a board. The numbers sit along a straight edge, with a row of unopened tiles below them. Nothing else unopened touches those numbers.

Every pattern here needs that setup. If a number also touches unopened tiles on its other side, the pattern doesn’t apply as is.

  • Must be a mine
  • Safe to open
  • Already flagged
  • Faded: rest of the board

1-1: start from a wall

Two 1s side by side, with the first one against the edge of the board. The first 1 touches two unopened tiles, so one of them is a mine.

The second 1 touches those same two, plus one more. Its mine is already in the pair. So the third tile is safe.

The first 1 only touches the two tiles below it, so its mine is one of those. The second 1 shares both, so the third tile is safe. Which of the first two is the mine? Still a mystery.

The wall doesn’t have to be the board’s edge. Any spot where the first number’s other neighbors are already open works the same way.

The 1-2 pattern: learn this one first

A 1 next to a 2 along a flat edge. The 2 touches three unopened tiles. The 1 shares two of them.

Those two shared tiles hold one mine at most, because the 1 only has one. So the 2’s other mine must be in the tile only the 2 touches.

It works the other way too. The 1’s mine is somewhere in the shared pair, so the tile only the 1 touches is safe.

Under the 2, on the far side from the 1: a mine. Under the 1, on the far side from the 2: safe. The two middle tiles share one mine between them.

The longer patterns below are just the 1-2 read from both ends. So this is the one to drill until you see it without thinking.

Some players start spotting 1-2s on license plates. This is normal. Probably.

The 1-2-1 pattern

In a 1-2-1, the tiles under both 1s are mines and the tile under the 2 is safe.

Here’s why. Read the 1-2 from the left and the 2-1 from the right. Each one puts a mine under the far 1.

That gives the 2 both of its mines. So the tile under the 2 is safe, and so are the tiles just outside the pattern.

The 2 looks like the scary one. It’s the only safe tile in the middle.

In a 1-2-1, the mines are under the 1s. The tile under the 2 is safe.

The 1-2-2-1 pattern

In a 1-2-2-1, the mines are under the two 2s and every other tile in the row is safe.

It’s the same idea, one tile longer. The 1-2 on the left puts a mine under the second 2. The 2-1 on the right puts one under the first 2.

If 1-2-1 is the movie, this is the sequel. Same plot, slightly longer.

In a 1-2-2-1, the mines are under the 2s.

The 2-1-2 pattern

In a 2-1-2, the mines are under the 1 and just outside each 2. The tiles under the 2s are safe.

Here’s why. Each 2 shares two tiles with the 1, and those two hold one mine at most. So each 2 has a mine in the tile only it touches, on the outside.

Each 2 still needs one more mine. The 1 can only afford one. The tile right under the 1 is the only spot that serves both 2s at once.

In a 2-1-2, the mines are under the 1 and just outside the 2s. Both tiles under the 2s are safe.

Its cousin, 2-1-1-2, puts each 2’s outside mine in the same place. The only layout that gives each 1 exactly one mine puts each 2’s second mine directly under it. Both tiles under the 1s are safe.

In a 2-1-1-2, the mines are under and just outside each 2. The tiles under the 1s are safe.

The 1s look outnumbered. They are fine.

Corners and walls: 1-1-2 and friends

The edge of the board is a free clue: there are no tiles past it. Patterns that start against a wall solve faster, which makes corners a good place to look first.

1-1-2 from a wall. Start with the 1-1: the third tile is safe. Now the 2 has only two unopened tiles left, so both are mines. One of them is under the second 1, which means the tile against the wall is safe.

Against a wall, 1-1-2 solves completely. The mines are under the second 1 and on the far side of the 2.

2-2 from a wall. The first 2 only touches two tiles, so both are mines. The second 2 now has both its mines, so its third tile is safe.

1-2 from a wall. The 1’s mine is in one of its two tiles, so the 2’s other mine is in the third tile. Same logic as the 1-2, with the wall doing half the work.

Walls are the quietest clue on the board. Also the most reliable.

Reduction: turn bigger numbers into patterns

Real boards rarely hand you a clean 1-2-1. More often you get 2s and 3s with flags already beside them. So subtract.

Take away the flags a number touches and read what’s left. A 3 next to one flag acts as a 2. A 2 next to one flag acts as a 1.

Then look for the patterns again.

Yes, there is math in Minesweeper. It’s subtraction. You’ll be fine.

The left-hand 2 already touches one flagged mine, so it only needs one more. Read it as a 1. The row now reads 1-2-1, and the mines go under the 1s.

The mine counter at the end

Near the end of a game, the mine counter is a pattern of its own. Say the counter shows 2, and you can prove one group of tiles holds at least two mines. Then every unopened tile outside that group is safe.

This only works if your flags are right, so check them first. The counter trusts you. Don’t let it down.

Practicing patterns

These patterns show up most on Intermediate and Expert, where the mines are packed tighter. Every daily challenge board is no-guess, so you can finish each one with logic like this.

Stuck? The answer is usually a 1-2 you haven’t spotted or a number you haven’t reduced. If it really isn’t, the guessing guide covers what to do next.

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