Each number that is uncovered describes the number of mines surrounding that particular cell. Take a look at Figure 3. Figure 3 highlights eight cells in pink. Each number uncovered gives the number of mines surrounding that square, within its neighborhood of eight surrounding cells.

Figure 3
A Cleared Cell with its Eight Neighbors

In the example given in Figure 3, three of the eight covered cells inside the red box contain mines. If one were guessing at random, you would have a 3 in 8 chance of hitting a mine in the neighborhood of this uncovered cell. If you didn't find a mine in a neighbor on the first try, your odds would decrease to 3 in 7 for the next guess. So the more squares you clear around this cell, the riskier it gets.

As you might guess, 8 is the highest number that can be discovered in Minesweeper. It's extremely rare in actual game play (I've never run across it), but there is a trick to getting to see one, which I'll describe later in the handbook. The number 7 is fairly common, and if you play enough you'll see your fair share.

The most exciting result of clicking at random is hitting cells that have no numbers in them. In this instance, Minesweeper automatically clears all adjacent squares until numbered cells are encountered. Figure 4 displays a block that was auto cleared by Minesweeper.

Figure 4
An Area that has been Auto Cleared

At this point, you now know enough about the game to begin flagging the mines in the minefield. But there is a very important distinction to be made here.

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