We here at Netto's Game Room feel that there isn't enough appreciation for the classic game Minesweeper, and if my experience is any indication, it's because there isn't enough of you out there that understand how the game works. As the site's resident Minesweeper expert, I'm here to shed some light on this game so it can finally get the attention and appreciation it deserves. I won't waste any time, let's get right to it.
Overview
So first thing's first. What is Minesweeper? It's a classic puzzle game first created by Microsoft in the 90's. Your goal is to dig up a minefield, revealing every safe tile on the grid without clicking any of the mines. Hit one mine, and you're done. A lot of people's experience with it involves opening it up on a childhood PC, clicking randomly to try and figure it out, only to hit a mine and lose. Why is it that nothing we seemed to click as kids won us the game? Well, allow me to explain. All you have to do to succeed is pay attention to one thing....
The Numbers!
Your first click is guaranteed not to fail and open up some of the playing field. And you'll notice toward the edges of the newly revealed area are a bunch of tiles with numbers on them. So what do these numbers mean? To put it simply, these numbers indicate the amount of mines adjacent to that tile (including diagonally. Let's go through an example.
We have a revealed area showing a few numbers next to some unrevealed tiles. We'll be paying attention to the 1 in the corner, here.
You'll notice that there is only a single unrevealed tile next to this 1. Since the number indicates the amount of mines adjacent, that means that the single unrevealed tile can only be a mine, so let's go ahead and mark it as one.
Now we know that this tile is included as one of the numbered mines in any number next to it. So if we now look at this 1 here...
There can only be a single mine next to it. Since we already established that the tile in the corner has to be a mine, that means that it's the single mine for this 1, so we can assume that every other unrevealed tile adjacent to it is safe, and clear those without losing
And well....that's all there really is to it. Using the same logic, we can use the 2 on left that has the marked tile, and only one other unrevealed tile by it to mark another mine, and then clear another space safely.
All you gotta do from here is apply the same idea over and over again until you've revealed every single tile that isn't a mine. Once you manage that, you've won! If you still feel uncertain, go ahead and choose a lower difficulty. You'll get a smaller grid with fewer mines to let you master the basics, as you can see below.
What's Next?
So now you know the basics, so where do you go from here? Simple: Play a bunch of Minesweeper, move up the difficulties, and don't stop until you've mastered the game. Hopefully now that more of you understand how it works, we can finally give this masterpiece the attention it deserves. Get sweeping, dear readers, and let's make sure that Minesweeper is Game of the Year every year from now on!
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