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Minesweeper (Windows)
Encyclopedia
Windows Minesweeper is a variant of the computer game Minesweeper
, created by Curt Johnson, originally for OS/2
, and ported to Microsoft Windows
by Robert Donner, both Microsoft
employees at the time. First officially released as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows
in 1990, it was included in the standard install of Windows 3.1
in 1992, and has been included in every Windows release since. A new version in Windows Vista
was developed by Oberon Games.
(with the left mouse button) without being "destroyed" by clicking on a mine. The location of the mines is discovered by a process of logic. Clicking on the game board will reveal what is hidden underneath the chosen square or squares (a large number of blank squares may be revealed in one go if they are adjacent to each other). Some squares are blank but some contain numbers (1 to 8), each number being the number of mines adjacent to the uncovered square. To help avoid hitting a mine, the location of a suspected mine can be marked by flagging it with the right mouse
button. The game is won once all blank squares have been uncovered without hitting a mine, any remaining mines not identified by flags being automatically flagged by the computer. However, in the event that a game is lost and the player mistakenly flags a safe square, that square will either appear with a red X covering the mine (denoting it as safe), or just a red X (also denoting it as safe).
The game can be reduced into a set of algebraic statements with binary variables which take a value from the pair (mine does not exist, mine exists). The distinctive feature of minesweeper from the board games with algebra of binary variables is the randomness at the initial stage and at some intermediate stages.
The beginner board size and the minimal board size increased from 8 × 8 to 9 × 9 in Windows 2000
and its derivatives. The reason for this change is not publicly known.
Interestingly, the density of mines is the same on the old 8 × 8 beginner field and on the 16 × 16 intermediate field (10/64 = 40/256). The 8 × 8 beginner game is still easier because it has fewer total chances of hitting a mine, and a smaller chance of having a problem that cannot be solved without guessing. The player is also much less likely to make a careless error because the game is shorter and concentration can be more easily sustained.
In 2003, Microsoft added a variation of the original Minesweeper, called Minesweeper Flags in MSN Messenger (from version 6 onwards). This game is played against an opponent, and the objective of this game is to find the mines by actually clicking on the squares where the mines are located, not by clicking the surrounding squares. The person who first uncovers 26 (out of 51) mines wins.
In Windows, the Minesweeper board is generated randomly before the player clicks any squares. If the player happens to click a mine square on their very first click, the mine at this square is removed and a new mine is placed in the upper left corner. If there is already a mine in the upper left corner (or it was the square that the player clicked), a new mine is placed in the first (starting in the upper left corner then proceeding left->right, top->bottom) available empty spot of the board. Once this change is made, the game proceeds as if the initial clicked square was empty. This is done to ensure that the player will not lose on their very first click.
The first clicked square is always a zero (i.e. is not a mine and has no mines adjacent to it) in the Windows Vista
version of the game. At this time it is not known if the Vista Minesweeper board is generated before or after the player first clicks a square in a new game.
However Windows Vista
now has the ability to restart lost games, and save the progress of Windows Games like Minesweeper. Therefore it is possible to click on a mine in a restarted game, losing the game (with the option to restart again). This has also led to people taking screenshots of the lost game, restarting, and completing the grid with the lost game showing where all the mines are.
Vista also drops the cheat feature available in earlier versions, where typing 'xyzzy
(shift-enter)' displays a dot in the upper-left corner of the screen, which goes white or black when the cursor is over unmined and mined squares respectively.
If the user clicks both mouse buttons or the middle mouse button on a revealed square, and the correct number of mines have been flagged around the square, then the remaining surrounding squares are revealed. This offers no strategic advantage, but serves as a convenience to the player by reducing the time it takes to clear a board and removing the need to consider which squares around a revealed patch can safely be clicked individually. However, if a square is flagged in error and this feature is used, it can set off a mine and end the game. From Windows Vista onwards, the feature can also be accessed by double-clicking the square, and a red X in the clicked square and a sound effect indicate if the square is not surrounded by the correct number of flags.
operating systems, the default color scheme for Minesweeper was a light shade of gray. When Vista was released, the theme underwent a large overhaul of appearance. The user can now select from two main color themes – blue and green – as well as choosing to replace mines with flowers. Flowers behave in the same way as mines, in that they "explode" when clicked. However, in place of the usual series of explosions, a calm melody sounds in the background. The option to display flowers instead of mines was implemented as part of the Windows Vista makeover because the game was considered to be offensive in some parts of the world due to the inclusion of seamines.
Minesweeper (computer game)
Minesweeper is a single-player video game. The object of the game is to clear an abstract minefield without detonating a mine. The game has been written for many system platforms in use today....
, created by Curt Johnson, originally for OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
, and ported to Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
by Robert Donner, both Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
employees at the time. First officially released as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows
Microsoft Entertainment Pack
The original Microsoft Windows Entertainment Pack is a collection of simply-designed 16-bit computer games for Windows. These games were somewhat unusual for the time, in that they would not run under MS-DOS. Many of the games were later released in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack...
in 1990, it was included in the standard install of Windows 3.1
Windows 3.1x
Windows 3.1x is a series of 16-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was first sold during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0...
in 1992, and has been included in every Windows release since. A new version in Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
was developed by Oberon Games.
Goal
The goal of the game is to uncover all the squares that do not contain minesLand mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
(with the left mouse button) without being "destroyed" by clicking on a mine. The location of the mines is discovered by a process of logic. Clicking on the game board will reveal what is hidden underneath the chosen square or squares (a large number of blank squares may be revealed in one go if they are adjacent to each other). Some squares are blank but some contain numbers (1 to 8), each number being the number of mines adjacent to the uncovered square. To help avoid hitting a mine, the location of a suspected mine can be marked by flagging it with the right mouse
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
button. The game is won once all blank squares have been uncovered without hitting a mine, any remaining mines not identified by flags being automatically flagged by the computer. However, in the event that a game is lost and the player mistakenly flags a safe square, that square will either appear with a red X covering the mine (denoting it as safe), or just a red X (also denoting it as safe).
The game can be reduced into a set of algebraic statements with binary variables which take a value from the pair (mine does not exist, mine exists). The distinctive feature of minesweeper from the board games with algebra of binary variables is the randomness at the initial stage and at some intermediate stages.
Features
There are three sizes:- Beginner: 8 × 8 or 9 × 9 field with 10 mines
- Intermediate: 16 × 16 field with 40 mines
- Expert: 30 × 16 field with 99 mines
- Custom: Any values from 8 × 8 or 9 × 9 to 30 × 24 field, with 10 to 667 mines [the maximum number of mines allowed for a field of size A × B is [(A − 1) × (B − 1)].
The beginner board size and the minimal board size increased from 8 × 8 to 9 × 9 in Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
and its derivatives. The reason for this change is not publicly known.
Interestingly, the density of mines is the same on the old 8 × 8 beginner field and on the 16 × 16 intermediate field (10/64 = 40/256). The 8 × 8 beginner game is still easier because it has fewer total chances of hitting a mine, and a smaller chance of having a problem that cannot be solved without guessing. The player is also much less likely to make a careless error because the game is shorter and concentration can be more easily sustained.
In Windows, the Minesweeper board is generated randomly before the player clicks any squares. If the player happens to click a mine square on their very first click, the mine at this square is removed and a new mine is placed in the upper left corner. If there is already a mine in the upper left corner (or it was the square that the player clicked), a new mine is placed in the first (starting in the upper left corner then proceeding left->right, top->bottom) available empty spot of the board. Once this change is made, the game proceeds as if the initial clicked square was empty. This is done to ensure that the player will not lose on their very first click.
The first clicked square is always a zero (i.e. is not a mine and has no mines adjacent to it) in the Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
version of the game. At this time it is not known if the Vista Minesweeper board is generated before or after the player first clicks a square in a new game.
However Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
now has the ability to restart lost games, and save the progress of Windows Games like Minesweeper. Therefore it is possible to click on a mine in a restarted game, losing the game (with the option to restart again). This has also led to people taking screenshots of the lost game, restarting, and completing the grid with the lost game showing where all the mines are.
Vista also drops the cheat feature available in earlier versions, where typing 'xyzzy
Xyzzy
Xyzzy is a magic word from the Colossal Cave Adventure computer game.In computing, the word is sometimes used as a metasyntactic variable or as a video game cheat code, the canonical "magic word"...
(shift-enter)' displays a dot in the upper-left corner of the screen, which goes white or black when the cursor is over unmined and mined squares respectively.
If the user clicks both mouse buttons or the middle mouse button on a revealed square, and the correct number of mines have been flagged around the square, then the remaining surrounding squares are revealed. This offers no strategic advantage, but serves as a convenience to the player by reducing the time it takes to clear a board and removing the need to consider which squares around a revealed patch can safely be clicked individually. However, if a square is flagged in error and this feature is used, it can set off a mine and end the game. From Windows Vista onwards, the feature can also be accessed by double-clicking the square, and a red X in the clicked square and a sound effect indicate if the square is not surrounded by the correct number of flags.
Appearance
In editions of Minesweeper that were released in XP 2000 and earlier WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems, the default color scheme for Minesweeper was a light shade of gray. When Vista was released, the theme underwent a large overhaul of appearance. The user can now select from two main color themes – blue and green – as well as choosing to replace mines with flowers. Flowers behave in the same way as mines, in that they "explode" when clicked. However, in place of the usual series of explosions, a calm melody sounds in the background. The option to display flowers instead of mines was implemented as part of the Windows Vista makeover because the game was considered to be offensive in some parts of the world due to the inclusion of seamines.