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A closer look at the Windows Minesweeper game – An office workers best friend

Even with the endless list of top notch, complex high definition games available these days that overload the senses and take us on adventures into fantasy worlds, there are still a handful of simple computer games that we continue to play over and over again. Anyone who has owned a PC with a Microsoft Windows operating system bought after 1990 will be familiar with the selection of addictive add-on mini games included in its entertainment package. Many of them are digital versions of popular board and card games including solitaire, chess, checkers and hearts, but the one that sticks out in most people’s minds is minesweeper. Ask any 9 to 5 office worker about these games and they’ll surely tell you that they are a god send, especially on particularly boring days when you’d rather do anything else but work at a desk for 8 hours.

Of all of the above mentioned Microsoft computer games, minesweeper is particularly memorable to the majority of Windows users as it offers simple yet interesting game-play combined with an element of luck. Since its development and release this little gem of a game has gone on to spawn the creation of remake versions and even sparked controversial criticism from an activist group who were concerned that the game was taking the seriousness away from real life landmine victims; causing Microsoft to subsequently include the option of replacing mines with flowers in their follow up versions.

The basics of minesweeper

If you’ve not had the chance to play minesweeper or never realized it was on your computer; basically it’s a strategy/guessing game that involves clearing a field of mines without stepping on one. The back board is made up of 9x9 grid of small squares, the player begins by choosing a block which either clears a selected area, reveals a number or shows a mine and ends the game. The strategic aspect of the game happens when you find a number between 1 and 8; this tells you how many mines are directly surrounding that square. The difficulty and guessing part of the game involves figuring out which of the 8 squares around the numbered square contains a mine and which doesn’t. To add a more challenging aspect to the game there is an endless list of possible mine position patterns which change each time you lose or win a certain level. Although it may initially seem an impossible task to finish a single level of the game, minesweeper is based on certain mathematical variables meaning players get used to seeing certain patterns and get better at guessing where mines are and are not.

Origins of minesweeper and beyond

The original minesweeper game was developed by Curt Johnson and Robert Donner during their time at the Microsoft Company, though the game is far from original drawing much of its game-play influence from certain mainframe styled games from the 1970’s and 80’s. If you trace its roots back in time you’ll find similarities between minesweeper and cube, relentless logic, mined out and yomp as well as various other minor puzzle titles that were popular during the golden age of computer gaming. Following on from the popularity of the minesweeper mini game there have been several alternative versions developed over the years offering their own unique style and game play including ones with triangles and octagons in place of squares and a 3-D version involving a large cube made up of smaller cubes.

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