Corner and edge cells in Minesweeper have fewer unknown neighbors than interior cells. A number in a corner has at most three unknown neighbors; on an edge, at most five. This constraint makes deductions tighter and often forces definitive conclusions faster than interior patterns.
A 1 placed directly in the corner of the board (or touching the actual corner cell) has at most three neighbors total. If two of them are already cleared or flagged, the 1 may have very few candidates left.
The 1 has neighbors: top-left (?), top (?), and left (?). Exactly one of those three is a mine. No deduction yet — but if any one of them gets flagged by another number, the remaining two are immediately safe.
If a 1 in or near the corner has only one remaining unknown neighbor, that neighbor is the mine. Click all other unknowns adjacent to the 1 safely.
Two 1s in a row along an edge, with the same unknown cells on the open side.
A 1 and a 2 along an edge sharing unknown cells is one of the most common edge deductions.
When you open a new game, clicking near the center gives you the most information — interior cells reveal many neighbors. But when the solve stalls, edge and corner numbers often provide the cleanest forced deductions because their constrained neighbor count leaves fewer variables to resolve.