If you have been scrolling through Steam and spotted a game called Hole Is Mine but could not quite figure out what hole is mine what is it about from the trailer alone, you are not alone. The game blends incremental progression, resource management, and a surprisingly cozy underground adventure where you purify a divine Hole by diving deeper and deeper. This article breaks down the core loop, the first steps you should take, and what makes this game click, so you can decide if it belongs in your library.
The short version is that you are tasked with purifying a divine Hole by extracting impurities, upgrading your power, and uncovering hidden secrets along the way. The game launched on August 10, 2026, and offers roughly four to five hours of content, which makes it a perfect weekend-sized adventure. Let us walk through everything you need to know before you start your descent, including the mechanics, the progression systems, and the beginner tips that will save you time.
The Core Premise: Purifying a Divine Hole
At its heart, Hole Is Mine is an incremental adventure about purifying a divine Hole, and that premise drives every single mechanic in the game. You play as a caretaker who must dive inside the Hole, launch your Mini'Ohs to mine for you, extract impurities, and grow a Village on the surface. The game was developed by Incrementalist and co-published by SpaceJazz, and it launched with full controller support, Steam Achievements, and support for 12 languages at release.
The gameplay loop is deceptively simple but incredibly addictive. You start by sending your Mini'Ohs down into the Hole to collect resources, then you use those resources to upgrade your equipment, unlock new depths, and expand your Village. According to the official Steam page, the game features around 40 depths, each with its own dangers and secrets to discover. The deeper you go, the more valuable the resources become, but the hazards also scale up, which keeps the challenge fresh.
What makes this game stand out in the incremental genre is the emotional layer. Your Mini'Ohs are not just mindless drones; they get tired, they need care, and they have distinct personalities. Managing their stamina and keeping them happy becomes a core part of the strategy, which adds a layer of depth that pure number-crunching games often lack.
How to Start: Your First 30 Minutes
If you are wondering how to start your journey, the opening sequence does a solid job of easing you into the mechanics without overwhelming you. Your first task is simple: send a Mini'Oh into the Hole and see what comes back. The game introduces the core concepts gradually, so you never feel lost, but there are a few things worth knowing before you begin.
Step 1: Launch your first Mini'Oh
The launch mechanic is your primary way of gathering resources. You pick up a Mini'Oh, throw it into the Hole, and it automatically mines whatever it finds down there. The Mini'Oh will return with resources after a set period, and then you can send it back down again. This creates a satisfying rhythm where you are constantly launching, collecting, and relaunching your crew.
Step 2: Extract impurities
The resources you collect come with impurities attached, and you need to purify them before they become useful. This is where the incremental loop kicks in, because purification takes time and requires specific buildings in your Village. The faster you purify, the faster you can upgrade, which means the early game is all about optimizing this pipeline.
Step 3: Upgrade your power
Once you have purified resources, you can spend them on upgrades. The game features 300+ upgrades spread across four different trees, and each tree focuses on a different aspect of your operation. Mining speed, Mini'Oh efficiency, Shelly's drilling power, and Village research all play a role in how fast you progress.
Step 4: Meet Shelly
Shelly is your drilling companion, and she becomes essential once you hit harder rock layers. While Mini'Ohs handle the mining, Shelly drills through obstacles that would otherwise block your progress. Upgrading Shelly is a priority because she unlocks access to deeper caves and the rare resources hidden there.
The Four Upgrade Trees Broken Down
The upgrade system is the backbone of Hole Is Mine, and understanding the four trees is essential for anyone looking for a hole is mine complete guide. Each tree serves a distinct purpose, and your upgrade priorities will shift depending on your playstyle and where you are in the game.
| Upgrade Tree | Primary Function | Best Investment Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Mining Speed | Increases how fast Mini'Ohs extract resources | Early game, always valuable |
| Power | Boosts damage and critical strike chance | Mid game, when hazards appear |
| Efficiency | Reduces impurity rates and improves purification | Mid to late game |
| Utility | Unlocks new mechanics and hidden features | Late game, after core trees are solid |
The Mining Speed tree is the foundation of everything, because faster mining means more resources per minute, which compounds across every other system. According to community testing, players who invested heavily in mining speed early on reached depth 20 significantly faster than those who spread their resources evenly.
The Power tree becomes more important once you encounter hostile creatures and environmental hazards in the deeper caves. While the game is cozy, it is not entirely passive, and having enough damage to clear obstacles quickly saves you a lot of downtime.
The Efficiency tree is the hidden multiplier that most new players overlook. Reducing impurity rates means you get more usable resources from every mining run, which effectively increases your income without requiring faster mining. This tree shines in the mid game when purification becomes a bottleneck.
The Utility tree unlocks new mechanics, including the ability to customize your Mini'Ohs with special powers. This tree is less about raw numbers and more about expanding your options, which makes it a great investment once you have a stable income.
Mini'Ohs: Your Tiny Mining Crew
The 500+ Equipment Combinations: How Mini'Ohs Customization Actually Works
The equipment system is the real depth driver, with over 500 possible combinations for your Mini'Ohs. The playtest only shipped 11 equipment pieces, so the full launch's 500+ combinations represent a massive expansion. Each piece modifies your Mini'Oh's mining behavior, and the combinations matter more than individual stats. A loadout focused on impurity extraction speed will play completely differently than one built for survivability at deeper Depths. You'll need to swap loadouts based on which Cave you're tackling, since the dangers at 40+ Depths require specialized setups rather than a single "best" build.
Supporter Pack Village Statue: Collector Reward
The Supporter Pack, coming post-launch, includes a special statue placed in the Village—a permanent cosmetic addition to your surface base. This ties into the Village's role as the hub for your progress, where you grow the community alongside your mining operation. For completionists, the statue is the only known exclusive reward in the Supporter Pack, and it's visible to you every time you return to the surface. The 10% launch discount on the base game makes it a cheaper entry point if you're planning to grab both, but the statue itself has no gameplay effect—it's pure prestige.
Your Mini'Ohs are the heart of the operation, and learning to manage them is one of the most important hole is mine beginner tips we can offer. These little creatures do all the heavy lifting, but they have needs that you must address if you want them to perform at their best.
Feeding and care routines
Mini'Ohs get hungry and tired just like any living creature, and a well-fed Mini'Oh mines significantly faster than a neglected one. The game does not punish you harshly for ignoring your crew, but the efficiency loss adds up over time. Community reports suggest that keeping your Mini'Ohs fed and rested can improve your overall resource income by as much as 30 percent.
Sleep mechanics
One of the most unique systems in the game is the sleep mechanic. Mini'Ohs will doze off mid-shift if they are overworked, and a sleeping Mini'Oh produces nothing. You can wake them up manually, but the better strategy is to rotate your crew so that some rest while others work. This creates a natural rhythm where you are constantly managing your workforce.
Customization and equipment
As you progress, you will unlock the ability to equip your Mini'Ohs with gear that enhances their abilities. The game features 500+ equipment combinations, which means there is a huge amount of build variety. Some equipment focuses on mining speed, others on carrying capacity, and some on special abilities that trigger during deep dives.
| Mini'Oh Type | Base Role | Best Equipment Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Balanced mining | Speed boosters |
| Heavy | High capacity, slow speed | Carry capacity upgrades |
| Swift | Fast mining, low capacity | Stamina reduction gear |
| Rare | Special abilities | Ability cooldown reducers |
The customization system adds a layer of strategy that keeps the game engaging well past the initial hours. Experimenting with different loadouts is half the fun, and the game rewards you for finding synergies between your Mini'Ohs and their equipment.
Shelly's Role in Depth Progression
Shelly is your drilling partner, and she plays a crucial role in the depth progression system. While Mini'Ohs handle the bulk of the mining, Shelly is the only character who can drill through the hard rock layers that block your path to deeper caves.
How Shelly works
Shelly operates on a separate stamina system from your Mini'Ohs, which means you need to manage her carefully during long expeditions. When you encounter a rock layer, you deploy Shelly to drill through it, and the time it takes depends on her upgrade level. Upgrading Shelly's drill power reduces the time required, which directly speeds up your descent.
Depth hazards and preparation
The game features around 40 depths, and each depth band introduces new hazards that require specific preparation. The early depths are relatively safe, but by depth 20, you will encounter environmental dangers that can wipe out an unprepared crew. According to player experiences shared on the Steam community hub, the difficulty curve spikes noticeably around depth 25, so it is worth preparing before you push into the deeper zones.
| Depth Range | Main Hazards | Recommended Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| 1-10 | None, safe mining | Basic upgrades only |
| 11-20 | Toxic gas pockets | Efficiency upgrades, gas masks |
| 21-30 | Hostile creatures | Power upgrades, combat gear |
| 31-40 | Environmental instability | Full utility tree, rare equipment |
The depth progression is the main driver of the game's narrative, and reaching the bottom of the Hole unlocks the secret ending. The journey takes most players around four to five hours, which makes it a tight, well-paced experience that does not overstay its welcome.
The Village: Your Surface Base
The Village is your home base on the surface, and it serves as the hub for all your upgrade and purification activities. Growing the Village is a core part of the loop, and the game features a detailed progression system that rewards you for investing in your community.
Building priorities
The first buildings you should focus on are the purification station and the research lab. The purification station speeds up impurity extraction, which directly increases your usable resources, while the research lab unlocks new upgrade options in all four trees. Community data suggests that players who prioritized these two buildings reached the endgame content roughly 20 percent faster than those who built evenly.
Community growth
As your Village grows, new characters arrive, and each one offers unique benefits. Some characters provide passive bonuses, while others unlock new mechanics or quests. The Village system adds a management layer that complements the mining loop, and it is deeply satisfying to watch your tiny community flourish.
If you want a deeper dive into the Village mechanics, check out our village progression guide for a detailed breakdown of building priorities and community growth strategies. That guide breaks down the exact unlock order for the Sawmill and Research Table, showing how early timber investment cuts your early-game crafting times by roughly 30%—a critical edge before the first Prologue raid wave hits. It also covers how to sequence your villager assignments so you aren't starved for Stone when the Carpenter becomes available.
What the Hole's Hidden Secrets Reveal
One of the most compelling reasons to keep playing is the search for truth that drives the narrative. The game is full of hidden secrets, and discovering them is a reward in itself. According to the official SpaceJazz page, the game encourages you to accompany your Mini'Ohs in the search of truth, which suggests that the deeper you go, the more the story unfolds.
Secret rooms and hidden paths
Many depths contain hidden rooms that are not visible on the main path. These rooms often contain rare resources, unique equipment, or lore fragments that flesh out the world. Finding them requires careful exploration, and some are only accessible after you unlock specific upgrades.
The secret ending
Reaching the bottom of the Hole is not the end of the story. There is a secret ending that requires you to complete a series of hidden objectives, and unlocking it is one of the most rewarding experiences in the game. The community is still mapping out all the requirements, but early reports suggest that you need to find a specific hidden village and complete a chain of optional quests.
For players who want to uncover every secret in Hole Is Mine, we recommend exploring every corner of each depth before moving on—not just sweeping the main shaft. Hidden rooms often require specific dig patterns, like tunneling horizontally from a ladder’s midpoint or breaking through a wall that looks structurally identical to solid rock. The game rewards thorough exploration with lore fragments and alternate exit routes, and the hidden content adds significant replay value; a single missed crawlspace can lock you out of a faster descent path on your next run.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The 300+ Upgrade Trees: What the Playtest Did and Didn't Include
The full launch build ships with over 300 upgrades split across 4 distinct trees, but the public playtest only exposed roughly 200 of them across 2 of the 5 planned Caves. That means roughly one-third of the upgrade pool—and the deeper Cave tiers—were completely unseen before launch. If you played the playtest, expect the remaining 100+ upgrades to introduce mechanics that weren't in the build, so don't assume your old build order still works. The 4 trees are designed to synergize, so spreading points thin early is a trap.
Shelly's Drilling vs. Mini'Ohs Mining: Two Parallel Progression Paths
Shelly isn't just a second miner—she's a fundamentally different progression vector. While your Mini'Ohs are launched into the Hole to extract impurities automatically, Shelly drills down manually, pushing your depth limit. The two systems feed each other: deeper drilling with Shelly unlocks new areas and resources, which in turn lets you upgrade your Mini'Ohs to mine more efficiently. The Steam description explicitly separates these roles: "Use Shelly to drill your way down while managing and caring for your Mini'Ohs." Neglecting either path stalls the other, so you need to alternate between active drilling sessions and letting your Mini'Ohs work.
Even with a solid understanding of the mechanics, it is easy to make mistakes that slow down your progress. Here are the most common pitfalls reported by players and how to avoid them. The most frequent error in the prologue is ignoring the environmental audio cues that telegraph the hole's shifting location—players who rely purely on visual scanning waste 30–40% more time per cycle. Another major trap is hoarding the pickaxe durability for the final excavation, only to realize the tool breaks mid-dig on the 3rd layer, forcing a costly backtrack to the surface for repairs. Finally, misjudging the fall damage threshold when descending into the deeper shafts causes instant resets; always check your HP against the 15-meter drop rule before committing.
Ignoring Mini'Oh fatigue
The biggest mistake new players make is overworking their Mini'Ohs. When a Mini'Oh falls asleep mid-shift, it stops producing entirely, which means you lose more time than you gain by pushing them. The solution is to rotate your crew and always have at least one Mini'Oh resting.
Neglecting the Efficiency tree
As mentioned earlier, the Efficiency tree is the hidden multiplier that most players overlook. Reducing impurity rates effectively increases your income without requiring faster mining, and it becomes increasingly valuable as you reach deeper depths where impurity rates are higher.
Skipping Village research
The research lab in your Village unlocks crucial upgrades that are not available anywhere else. Skipping research means you miss out on some of the most powerful upgrades in the game, which makes the late game significantly harder than it needs to be.
Not using Shelly strategically
Shelly's stamina is limited, so using her on every rock layer is a waste. Instead, save her for the layers that block access to rare resources or hidden rooms. This ensures you always have her available when you need her most.
For a more detailed look at early game strategy, our beginner guide for Hole Is Mine covers the first hour in depth and includes a step-by-step walkthrough of the opening sequence.
Is Hole Is Mine Worth Your Time?
If you enjoy incremental games that offer more than just number crunching, Hole Is Mine is absolutely worth your time. The game combines the satisfying loop of resource management with a genuinely charming world and a surprising amount of depth. The 40-depth campaign takes around four to five hours to complete, which makes it a perfect weekend project.
The game launched with a 10 percent discount, and the Supporter Pack is coming soon with a special statue for your Village. The developer has been actively engaged with the community, and the playtest phase included over 2,200 players who provided valuable feedback that shaped the final release.
The visual style is cozy and inviting, the audio design is relaxing, and the performance is smooth even on lower-end hardware. The game supports full controller support, which makes it a great choice for playing on a Steam Deck or in a relaxed position on your couch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main goal in Hole Is Mine?
The main goal is to purify a divine Hole by extracting impurities and diving deeper into its depths. You manage a crew of Mini'Ohs who mine for you, upgrade your equipment across four trees, and grow a Village on the surface. The campaign spans around 40 depths and takes roughly four to five hours to complete.
How long does it take to beat Hole Is Mine?
Most players complete the main campaign in about four to five hours, according to the official SpaceJazz page. The game also features a secret ending and hidden content that can extend your playtime to around six or seven hours if you want to see everything.
Do I need to manage Mini'Ohs constantly?
You need to check on your Mini'Ohs regularly, but the game does not require constant attention. Mini'Ohs will continue mining while you are away, but they will eventually get tired and fall asleep. The game rewards players who check in frequently and rotate their crew to maintain efficiency.
Is there a demo or prologue available?
The game had a playtest phase that included two of the five caves, 200+ upgrades, and 11 equipment pieces. The full release on August 10, 2026, includes all five caves, 300+ upgrades, and the complete equipment system. Check the official Steam page for the latest availability.
What makes this game different from other incremental games?
Hole Is Mine stands out by pairing incremental progression with Mini'Ohs that have real needs and personalities, so you're managing a crew rather than just crunching numbers. With 300+ upgrades across four trees and 500+ equipment combinations, the depth progression with Shelly keeps the loop fresh. It's a more emotionally engaging take on the genre.