A number tells you how many mines touch that square, including diagonal neighbors. It does not point toward a mine or count an entire row. Try the board above, then use these checks to separate a proven safe square from a guess.
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Reveal every safe cell. Each number counts mines in its eight neighboring cells, including diagonals. Classic has a 9 × 9 board and ten mines; Practice has a 6 × 6 board and five mines. Your first cell and its neighbors are safe. On a phone, select Flag before marking a suspected mine; on a computer, right-click. A flag is an assumption until the clues prove it. Some boards can require guessing.
An interior square has up to eight neighbors. A square at the edge has fewer, and a corner has only three. The clue counts mines among those neighbors, regardless of whether they are above, below, beside, or diagonal to it. A 1 means exactly one neighboring mine, while a 2 means exactly two.
For example, a 1 with three unopened neighbors does not tell you which of those three is mined. You have one constraint and several possible arrangements. Another nearby clue may rule out an arrangement, but the number alone cannot. Reading it as an arrow or as a warning about the next square is a common beginner mistake.
Suppose a 2 touches one mine that you have proved is present. One mine remains to be located among its other unopened neighbors. Think of that as a remaining requirement of one, rather than continuing to search for two more. The subtraction applies to this clue’s neighborhood, not to all flags visible nearby.
A flag records your conclusion; it does not make the conclusion correct. If you placed a flag on a hunch, do not use it as a certainty in another calculation. Otherwise one mistaken assumption can spread through several clues and make a safe-looking click dangerous. Revisit the first unsupported flag when your counts become inconsistent.
First, if a clue’s mine requirement has already been satisfied, its other unknown neighbors are safe. A 1 next to one proven mine cannot touch a second mine. You can therefore open its remaining unknown neighbors. Check diagonals carefully: a square can belong to the clue even when it is not in the same row.
Second, if the number of mines still needed equals the number of unknown neighbors, every one of those neighbors is mined. A 2 with exactly two unknown neighbors and no already-counted mines requires both. These two rules are opposites, and applying them back and forth often opens a substantial part of a small board.
A blank square represents zero neighboring mines. Its neighbors can be opened safely, and further zeroes can extend that opening. The boundary of numbers around the opening is useful information, not decoration. Work from that boundary into the remaining closed area instead of clicking randomly on the opposite side of the board.
The standard Break Club game protects your first click and its surrounding squares when it creates the layout. That is a first-move safety rule. It is not proof that every later decision has a forced answer. A no-guess board requires an additional generation and deduction check; do not confuse the two promises when choosing a game mode.
Pick one clue and describe only the squares that touch it. Count established mines, then count the remaining unknown squares. Say what forces your action: «This clue already has its one mine, so the other two squares must be safe.» If you cannot finish that sentence with a constraint, you may need a second clue.
When two clues overlap, compare their sets of unknown neighbors. A smaller set can explain part of a larger set and expose a new safe square. The 1-2-1 example linked below shows one specific arrangement, but it is not a magic rule that applies wherever those digits appear. Geometry and already-counted mines still determine the result.
Yes. A mine touching any corner of the numbered square is included.
No. It counts one mine among all neighboring squares without identifying a direction.
Only if your reasoning supports it. Flags are player marks, not automatic confirmations.
Zero mines touch that square.
No. First-click protection and full logical solvability are separate properties.