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Can anyone tell me an answer to this Minesweeper problem. I have to find just 2 mines from 4 spaces. What I really want to know is the sure shot way to solve puzzle (no guessing)

I have found all but 2 mines in lower right corner position.

I want an explanation to the answer. I am not obsessed with Minesweeper, but with the solution. Also if answer involves some mathematics, I will try to understand that.

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thanks for edit – Master Chief Jan 31 at 15:13

3 Answers

up vote 10 down vote accepted

The board isn't solvable, since there are multiple valid solutions.

Assuming you're playing the Windows Phone version of the game, there are various power ups which you can use to reveal where the final two mines are.

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Yeah, but I am using the ones which finalizes all flagged position against possible mines. Bad choice here :D – Master Chief Jan 31 at 15:21
1  
That 2nd one was the answer. My brother used all his luck for the day to uncover those :D – Master Chief Feb 2 at 4:50
up vote 25 down vote

The original problem

X31
X??
X4?
12?

Possible answers:

X31    X31    X31    X31
X4X    X5X    XX2    XX1
X42    X4X    X4X    X42
12X    121    121    12X

Each of the tiles have equal probability of being a mine (50/50).

There is a wrong move, which is to try the corner or the tile next to the corner. If you try those lower tiles, you do not reveal enough information to avoid a second guess (odds of winning = 1/4). If you try either of the two higher tiles and win, there will be no second guess (odds of winning = 1/2).

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4  
This situation actually happens fairly frequently in Minesweeper. It's a bit of a flaw in the puzzle, if you expected it to behave in a manner that can be solved using reasoning only. – Kenogu Labz Jan 31 at 23:41
I'm confused on how the odds of winning this are 50/50 if you choose one of the upper tiles. Can you explain please? – Walkerneo Feb 2 at 3:59
If you choose an upper tile, either you lose, or you don't. If you didn't lose, you'll know whether the tile next to the corner is a mine or not, so you won't have to guess about the corner or its neighbor. You can see this in the answer because the upper tiles change values based on the position of the lower tile mine. – David B Feb 2 at 4:51
up vote 2 down vote

There is no one possible solution for this puzzle. It's a matter of luck now.

Every box is a possibility for every number.

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Now that is bad – Master Chief Jan 31 at 15:14
9  
No! This! Is! Minesweeper! – Task Jan 31 at 15:15
1  
It is not just luck, there are still 2 locations where you should not gamble for. Keep thinking. – Dorus Jan 31 at 20:05
That is nonsense. There is no way to solve that position applying logic, without any gambling. There are two completely independent ways of satisfying the 3 and the 2, and both of them satisfy the 4. – Kaz Jan 31 at 22:01

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