All remaining neighbours must be mines
A revealed clue becomes decisive when the number of mines still needed equals the number of its unresolved neighbours. Every one of those spaces must then contain a mine.
LEARNING CENTRE
Minefield: separate deductions from guesses
Read the revealed numbers as constraints on hidden neighbours. Learn when they prove a mine, when they prove safety and when more than one arrangement remains possible. These lessons use the classic eight-neighbour rules of Playfield's Minefield.
Rules you need at the board
Reveal all safe squares on a six-by-six board with six mines. A revealed number counts mines in all eight neighbouring directions. Flags are your notes, not proof. The fixed studies begin with a supplied safe opening; they reveal one selected cell per click so you can inspect each inference. The regular arcade game expands zero areas automatically.
Four techniques to practise
A satisfied clue makes its other neighbours safe
Sometimes counting mines tells you where not to find them. Once a clue's full mine requirement is accounted for, every remaining neighbour is safe to reveal.
Compare overlapping clues by subtracting shared squares
Two clues may be inconclusive on their own but decisive together. Name their unresolved neighbours and compare the shared set with the extra squares.
Recognise when the clues do not settle a square
A useful solver must sometimes stop short of choosing a cell. Understanding what remains uncertain prevents a guess from spreading through later deductions as if it were a fact.
Follow a practice collection
1. Read one clue completely
Use proved mines and remaining hidden neighbours to distinguish all-mine from all-safe deductions. Diagonal and boundary cases keep the neighbour count explicit.
2. Compare what two clues share
Work with overlapping neighbourhoods and subtract only when one unresolved set contains the other. Notice which extra squares are settled and which shared squares remain unknown.
3. Prove a move or keep it undecided
Choose among local counting, subset comparison and an honest uncertainty result. The goal is a justified classification, not a lucky selection from the hidden answer.
What the explanations can establish
A flag is a mark made by the player, not independent evidence of a mine. Subtract only mines already proved or supplied as established facts in an exercise. Local ambiguity does not establish equal probabilities, and another clue or the total mine count may resolve it. The current six-by-six game has six mines; its safe first reveal does not guarantee that every later move can be deduced without guessing.
Hints in this study area use the current marks. In Nonograms, Tents and Bridges, deductions assume earlier marks are correct; a local conflict stops the suggested step, but absence of a warning does not certify every mark. Minefield flags are never used as evidence. Cross Lights tests complete first-row choices and verifies the resulting plan.
Keyboard: Tab to controls and press Enter or Space. Board state saves locally; no account is needed.