Minesweeper – Medium

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Minesweeper is a well-known logic puzzle played on a square grid. The task in Minesweeper is to place mines into empty cells within this grid. The grid may contain numbers in certain cells, which indicate how many mines are located in the surrounding cells, including those that are diagonally adjacent. The challenge is to deduce the locations of the mines based on the numbers given and place them in such a way that each number corresponds correctly to the mines in its neighboring cells.

Basic Rules

• Each cell in the grid can either contain a mine or be empty.
• Numbers in the grid represent the count of mines in all surrounding cells, including cells located diagonally.
• The objective is to strategically place mines in the empty cells to satisfy the numerical constraints given in each numbered cell.

Additional Rules

• Puzzle grids can vary in size and layout, sometimes making it more challenging as the grid gets larger or more complex.
• Cells without any numbers do not require any specific mine placements around them but can still serve as clues when solving.
• In some variations, there may be cells that are marked as "safe" or "fixed," meaning they are predetermined as empty or containing a mine.

Basic Solving Tips

• Begin by identifying cells with a "0," as these indicate no mines in any adjacent cells; you can safely mark these as empty.
• Check cells with "1" or low numbers first, as they often provide straightforward information on where mines must or cannot be.
• Use the process of elimination by cross-referencing cells with numbers to narrow down possible mine placements.
• Look for clusters of numbered cells, as they often provide clues about shared adjacent mines, helping you determine precise locations.
• For larger grids, breaking the puzzle into sections can make it easier to solve, especially by focusing on one part of the grid at a time.