Minesweeper (video game)

Minesweeper is a fun puzzle game.

You click on small squares in a grid. Some squares hide mines. If you hit one, the game ends.

Numbers on the board give you clues. They tell you how many mines are nearby. You can use flags to mark a mine. This helps you stay safe.

You win by opening all the safe squares. Some games are easy with few mines. Other games are hard with many mines. Can you clear the board?

Minesweeper is a logic puzzle game.

You play it on a computer. The game uses a grid of small squares. Some squares hide mines. If you click a mine, the game ends. To win, you must open every safe square.

Numbers on the board give you clues. A number tells you how many mines are next to that square. You can also use flags. A flag marks a square where you think a mine is hiding. Some versions let you use a trick called chording. This helps you open many safe squares at once.

There are different ways to play. Beginner boards are small with few mines. Expert boards are much larger and have many more mines. Some people play very fast to win contests. One player finished all three levels in 38.65 seconds!

People have made many versions of this game. Some use flowers instead of mines. Others make it part of bigger games like Minecraft. It is a game of skill and thinking.

Minesweeper is a famous logic puzzle game played on computers.

The game uses a grid of small squares called cells. Some of these cells hide dangerous mines. Your main goal is to clear the whole board without clicking a mine. If you click a mine, the game ends immediately. To win, you must open every single cell that does not have a mine. While there is no score, a timer tracks how fast you finish.

Learning to play requires using clues to find safe spots. When you click an unopened cell, it might show a number. This number tells you how many mines are touching that cell. Mines can be next to it vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. You can also place flags on cells where you think a mine is hiding.

In some versions, you can use a trick called chording. This happens when the number of flags matches the number on the cell. Chording automatically opens all the safe, unopened cells around it.

People are not entirely sure where the game began.

Some say Microsoft created it in the 1990s. Others point to a game called Mined-Out from 1983. Mined-Out was made by Ian Andrew for the ZX Spectrum. Curt Johnson helped write the Microsoft version in 1990. It appeared in the Windows Entertainment Pack for Windows 3.11. Johnson said his design was borrowed from another game, but he did not name it.

There are many ways to change the difficulty of the game. Most versions offer three main settings: Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert. A Beginner board is usually 8x8 or 9x9 with 10 mines. An Intermediate board is 16x16 and has 40 mines. The Expert board is much harder with a 30x16 grid and 99 mines.

You can also customize the size and number of mines yourself. Some players even compete in tournaments to see who is the fastest.

Many different versions of the game exist today. Some games, like Minesweeper X, help players get faster times. Other games have added Minesweeper as a small part of a bigger world. For example, Minecraft had a version called Minescreeper in 2015. There is even a version called Vinesweeper in the game RuneScape.

Some versions even use flowers instead of mines to be more gentle. This change happened because some groups felt the mine theme was upsetting.

Minesweeper is a logic puzzle video game genre. It is commonly played on personal computers. The game uses a grid of clickable cells. Some cells hide mines, which often look like naval mines. The player's goal is to clear the board without hitting a mine. To win, you must open every cell that does not contain a mine. While the game has no score, a timer tracks how fast you finish.

Gameplay relies on deduction and careful clicking. Cells exist in three states: unopened, opened, and flagged. An unopened cell is blank and ready to be clicked. An opened cell is exposed to reveal information. A flagged cell is marked by the player to show a suspected mine. If a player clicks a mined cell, the game ends. If the cell is safe, it shows a number. This number indicates how many mines are adjacent vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

Players use these numbers to find safe paths. A blank tile, or "0", means no mines are nearby. When this happens, all adjacent non-mined cells open automatically. Players can also use a technique called chording. This occurs when the number of adjacent mines equals the number of adjacent flags. Chording automatically opens all nearby unopened, non-flagged cells. The game also provides a minecount. This is the total number of mines minus the number of flags placed.

Difficulty levels change based on grid size and mine density. Most variants offer three standard configurations. The Beginner setting uses an 8x8 or 9x9 board with 10 mines. The Intermediate setting uses a 16x16 board with 40 mines. The Expert setting is much larger, using a 30x16 board with 99 mines. Players can often customize these settings. Competitive players aim for the fastest times possible. They often memorize specific patterns to increase their speed.

The exact origins of Minesweeper are a subject of debate. TechRadar suggests Microsoft created it in the 1990s. However, Eurogamer notes that Mined-Out, made by Ian Andrew in 1983, may have inspired it. Curt Johnson and Robert Donner wrote the Microsoft version. It first appeared in 1990 within the Windows Entertainment Pack for Windows 3.11. Johnson admitted the design was borrowed from another game. He did not confirm if it was Mined-Out.

Many different versions and clones exist today. Minesweeper X is a popular clone for fast players. It offers better randomization and detailed statistics. Other versions like Arbiter and Viennasweeper serve similar purposes. Some games have included Minesweeper as a minigame. RuneScape features a version called Vinesweeper. Minecraft included a version called Minescreeper in an April Fools' update in 2015. There are even paper versions of these logic puzzles. These are sometimes called "tentaizu," which means "star map" in Japanese.

In 2001, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines requested changes. They felt the mine theme was offensive to victims. In response, Windows Vista offered a tileset with flowers instead of mines. This shows how games can adapt to social concerns. Even the math behind the game is complex. In 2000, Sadie Kaye proved that determining if a board is solvable is NP-complete. This is a high level of computational difficulty. She also proved that "infinite" Minesweeper is Turing-complete.