Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Minesweeper

Whenever I hear that people don't know how to play Hearts, it is my duty to give them a lot of crap. Every Windows machine comes with Hearts, how can you not know how to play? At the same time, every Windows operating system comes with Minesweeper and I didn't know how to play...until today (so you can't give me crap).
Rough Loss
What the hell? 2nd Click?
It's like being in a dark room, fumbling around for the one light switch that won't electrocute you. It's a little nerve wrecking (slight understatement).  No second chances and definitely no 1-Ups. One wrong click and you're screwed. I might be the first to say this but Minesweeper is hardcore.*

Want to give it a try yourself? Learn to play here.

One more thing I learned today is at https://www.optoutprescreen.com/, you can opt out of getting those "Pre-Approved" credit cards. Save yourself from junk mail and the world will be a better place. The downside is you have to give your SSN.

* After a Google search, and I am in fact not the first person to make this statement.

Edit** 
The Minesweeper Challenge
The CURRENT RECORD for Beginner Minesweeper goes to Stefan with 14 secs. Beat it. 
Rob Fishman with an unbelievable-til-you-see-it 5 secs is the NEW LEADER. Can you do it in 4?
Not the hardest puzzle but an impressive time!

Stefan's incredible 14 sec




Stink at Minesweeper? Go fold a Paper Crane
Posted by Alex Lee at Tuesday, February 08, 2011
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12 comments:

  1. Stefan ChouFebruary 8, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    all about those corner ones! try to get it under 30 seconds for beginner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymouseFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:11 AM

    Who would have thought that the minesweeper post would have been more exciting than the buy a girl a drink post. I guess expectations were too high for the latter and non-existant for the former.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alex LeeFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:15 AM

    @Stefan: Under 30 secs?! I'll try today but send me a screen shot if you can do it; I'll post it.

    @Anonymouse: Haha. The problem with buying a girl a drink is only 2 things can happen, one of which was described. I had a lot on my mind for that post which is why it took me so long to write it. But Minesweeper is sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  4. robertstevenfishFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:36 PM

    dunno how to send you a screen shot on this... but, I will say that you got me inspired to revisit minesweeper. The thing about minesweeper, is that you need to get out of the beginner level ASAP. That area is just to learn how it works. The real fun is in the expert level. Right click to mark as a mine, or a question mark, for testing various hypotheses.

    Generally, there will be no guessing... all moves can be calculated, and it comes down to staying focused, and not getting sloppy.

    I will post my beginner scores (yes, Stefan, I got under 30 sec) on Facebook.

    ReplyDelete
  5. peaganFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:47 PM

    I am not a big fan of Minesweeper (need more practice, but I don't like practicing what I'm not good at... oh the irony), but I am a big fan of Sudoku, and ever since you posted that entry on Sudoku, I've been playing everyday on that site. I'm addicted. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alex LeeFebruary 10, 2011 at 12:14 AM

    @Fish: How long does it take you to complete an expert puzzle? I'm afraid it might take several hours. I can't even get close to 30 secs on beginner. To get a screen shot, press your Print Screen button, open Paint, Ctrl-V. Send me a shot or two and I'll update the post.

    @Peagan: Sudoku is fun. I think I'd get tired of playing everyday but I'm glad you're enjoying it.

    I'm really glad to see you guys are doing these 1-a-days as well! Please keep me posted if you try any more.

    ReplyDelete
  7. robertstevenfishFebruary 10, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    I don't think I have ever completed expert in under the 999 seconds which they allow. But just working through it is reward in itself... more intense than Sudoku... because... well... you could explode!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2013 at 2:35 AM

    I am not playing minesweeper very often, but sometimes I wabnt to play good old WIN XP minesweeper. And I just want to share a link to a replacement I have found some time ago. http://jscr.co/minesweeper allows to change its appearance and feels almost like the original one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Alex LeeFebruary 11, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    Thanks for the link, Anonymous...it brings back memories.

    I'm surprised anyone still reads this. Notice how your post is nearly 2 years to the DAY from the last post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownMarch 14, 2016 at 9:53 AM

    An online multiplayer mode was definitely true on my TODO list for this game. Infact, I was more into MSN on the flags for a while, but hated that it was still offline, and thus began this project.
    how to play minesweeper like a pro

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownJuly 26, 2016 at 3:46 AM

    thanks for sharing nice information

    how to play minesweeper

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownAugust 31, 2016 at 10:56 PM

    thanks for sharing nice images and data on play minesweeper online

    ReplyDelete

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