Reading Quickly with Patterns

Learning wall patterns like 1-1, 1-2, and 1-2-1.

The number arrangements that appear often along the border of an open area have fixed outcomes. Memorize patterns like 1-1, 1-2, 1-2-1, and 1-2-2-1, and you can tell mines from safe cells instantly, without calculation.

The 1-1 pattern pushes the mine outward in the direction of travel, and the 1-2 pattern confirms the far end of the 2 as a mine. In 1-2-1 the two ends are mines; in 1-2-2-1 the two middle cells are mines.

All of these patterns are special cases of subset logic. Understand the principle first, then process them quickly by pattern to gain both accuracy and speed.