Mines
Does a Mines number include diagonal neighbours?
Yes. Each revealed number counts mines in up to eight surrounding cells, including diagonals. Edge and corner cells have fewer neighbours. Flags are your notes, not confirmation that a mine is actually there.
Worked example
If a 1 already has one correctly identified neighbouring mine, its other neighbouring covered cells are safe. This deduction relies on the mine identification being correct.
What to check on your board
Apply the rule above to your current board, then verify the remaining puzzle constraints. The example explains a local deduction; it is not a solution to every randomly generated board.
Checking your next move
For one revealed clue, identify its full surrounding neighbourhood before counting flags and covered cells. Recheck which flags are deductions and which are guesses. A safe-cell conclusion based on a guessed flag is still a hypothesis, even when the arithmetic looks right.
Using this reference
For Mines, read the rule and the worked example together before opening the game. Separate what the rule explicitly requires from what only seems likely on the current board. A useful next move is one you can explain from the visible constraints, not merely a pattern that looks familiar.
If you get stuck, isolate a smaller part of the position and list what is still possible there. After a move, check the affected rows, regions or connections again. The reference explains the documented rules; progress, controls and save behavior belong to the linked game.
Read the developer’s manual ↗ · Open the developer’s browser version ↗
Manual inspected: · Simon Tatham & contributors · MIT