A component of Microsoft Windows | |
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![]() Minesweeper in Windows 7, by Oberon Media, 2007
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Other names | Minesweeper |
Type | Computer game |
Included with |
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Also available for | Windows 8, Windows 10 |
Microsoft Minesweeper (formerly Minesweeper) is a minesweeper computer game 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 1 in 1990, it was included in the standard install of Windows 3.1 in 1992, replacing Reversi from Windows 3.0. Microsoft Minesweeper has been included in all subsequent Windows releases until Windows 8. An updated version included in Windows Vista and Windows 7 was developed by Oberon Games. Another updated version was developed for Windows 8 and Windows 10 by Arkadium. In Windows 8 and 10 the game is not included by default, but it is available on the Windows Store.
The goal of the game is to uncover all the squares that do not contain mines without being "blown up" by clicking on a square with a mine underneath. 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 board comes in three set sizes: beginner, intermediate, and expert, though a custom option is available as well.