Mole Finder is a thinking game set in a garden full of hidden moles. Numbers tell you where the moles are not, and with careful reasoning you can dig up every safe square without a single lucky guess.

How to play

The goal is to dig up every square that has no mole in it. You do not have to find the moles themselves, only to avoid them.

Digging: tap a square to dig it up. If it is empty, a number may appear.
What the numbers mean: a number tells you how many moles hide in the eight squares around it, counting the corners. A "1" means exactly one mole is touching that square.
Blank squares: if a square has no moles around it, it shows no number, and the squares around it open up by themselves.
Flags: when you are sure a square holds a mole, mark it with a flag. On a phone, press and hold the square, or switch on Flag mode with the button at the bottom. On a computer, right-click it.
A shortcut: tap a number whose moles are all flagged, and the game digs up the rest of the squares around it in one go. Be sure your flags are right, because a wrong flag leads to a dig on a mole.
Winning: you win when every safe square is open.

The first square you tap is always safe, because the garden is laid out after your first tap. And the layout is checked so that a clear path of reasoning exists from there, which means you never need to guess. The Hint button points to a safe square. A timer runs along the top, and on a tall phone screen a wide garden turns upright so the squares stay big enough to tap.

The levels

The levels change the size of the garden, the number of moles and how many mistakes you may make.

Easy: a 9 by 9 garden with 10 moles. You have three lives, and Hint can be used as often as you like.
Medium: a 16 by 16 garden with 40 moles. You have three lives, and Hint is unlimited.
Expert: a 16 by 30 garden with 99 moles. One mole ends the game, and you have 3 hints.

When you dig up a mole on Easy or Medium, you lose a life and the mole is shown, and you carry on. On Expert the first mole ends the game.

Today's game

The daily game is a Medium garden. Everyone who plays on the same calendar day starts from the middle of the same garden, so the first opening is identical for all. Your time and the lives you had left are saved.

Tips

Start with the numbers beside the edge of the cleared area. A "1" next to only one closed square tells you that square is a mole.
When a number's mole count equals the number of closed squares around it, all of those squares are moles. Flag them.
When a number already has all its moles flagged, every other closed square around it is safe.
Compare neighboring numbers. If one square needs two moles and the next needs one, the overlap often shows which squares are safe.
Look at the total mole count on the board. It can settle the last few squares at the very end.
Do not flag from a hunch. A wrong flag is worse than no flag, so keep flags for squares you have proved.
When you have no safe move, look for a spot you have not examined. The game guarantees that a move without guessing exists.

A bit of history

Logic games built on counting hidden objects from neighboring clues have been popular on home computers for a long time.

Questions

Do I ever have to guess? No. Each garden is checked by a solver, so a sure move always exists. If you are stuck, you have missed a clue, and Hint can show a safe square.

Is my first tap really safe? Yes. The garden is made around your first tap, so that square and its neighbors are free of moles.

What does a flag do? It is a note to yourself. It also stops you from digging that square by accident.

What happens when I hit a mole? On Easy and Medium you lose a life and the mole is marked. On Expert the game ends.

Mole Finder