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Training: Expert under 60 seconds

Reading your saved Expert games…

The plan

Your time is inputs × seconds per input, so 3BV/s is IOE (3BV per input) divided by seconds per input. Measured replays of players who break 60 seconds show both factors differ: they need about a fifth fewer inputs per board and spend about 40% less time per input. These stages start with inputs, the change needing no new speed; a comparison study will rank the speed components. Rules from earlier stages stay on.

Every session

  • Play 45–60 minutes on most days. Split more practice into two sessions hours apart: gains per session level off within about an hour, and practice spread across days is learned faster than the same amount in one sitting.
  • Warm up for 5 minutes on Intermediate with your current stage's rules. Then play Expert in blocks of about 10 minutes, one rule in focus per block.
  • Open in a corner. If the corner shows a number, restart with Space instead of guessing: a numbered start almost never becomes a fast win, and a restart costs a second.
  • Keep mouse, sensitivity, and zoom fixed. When one changes, add a state tag so before and after stay comparable.
  • Stop when a block is clearly worse than your best block of the session, or after two avoidable deaths in a row in games past 20 seconds. Do not wait until you feel tired: play gets worse before fatigue is noticeable.
  • Check this page at the end of each session.

1. Stop wasting inputs

  • Click a number only when all of its mines are flagged and it still has covered neighbors. Never click a number to test whether it chords.
  • Before flagging, count: flag and chord only when the chord opens more cells than the flags it needs (one flag for two or more cells, two flags for three or more). Otherwise click the safe cells directly. When the counts are equal, flag: the flag may serve a later chord.
  • Never flag a mine that no chord will use.
  • When several numbers could open the same cells, chord the one that opens the most.
  • Expect to be slower for a few sessions. Judge them by IOE, not time.
  • The game data column's IOE, no-op rate, and unused mark share rank every game against your history; turn them on for this stage.

2. Finish the runs you start

  • Chord only when every flag around that number is proven, not assumed.
  • Before any guess, scan the whole board for a safe move. When a guess is truly forced, take it at once instead of after clearing everything else.
  • When you notice a wrong flag, remove it before chording anywhere near it.
  • Drill: 5 minutes of Endgame drill a day. Every drill position is solvable without guessing, so every death there is a reading error.
  • If the rate stalls, play 10 Intermediate games of Proof-or-die, where opening any unproven cell loses.

3. Read and move faster

  • Read with your eyes, not the cursor: move only toward a cell you have already solved, and solve the next area while clicking the current one.
  • Clear the board in one sweep direction; avoid crossing back over solved areas.
  • After each session, replay your slowest win with the click-speed path view, find the longest pauses, and name the pattern behind each.
  • Learn the patterns that cost you pauses from the pattern catalog (1-2-1, 1-2-2-1, 1-1 against a wall, reductions).
  • Use Intermediate blocks for volume: shorter games give more feedback per hour.

4. Win under 60 seconds

  • The first win under 60 seconds usually comes on a low-3BV board (about 150 or less, roughly one Expert board in nine) once your median win is near 70 seconds; at the stage 3 target it becomes routine. Keep every rule on and keep finishing games.