FAQ
BY: Karl Jobst
E-mail: faq_god@hotmail.com or k_jobst@hotmail.com
Version: 1.0
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CONTENTS
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1. Intro
2. Revision History
3. Cast and Crew
4. The Screen
5. How to Play
6. Games
7. Cheats
8. Fastest Times
9. Other stuff
10.Closing Statements, copyright, etc.
Wow! A FAQ on minesweeper! This is a fun game to FAQ because
it's so simple. But while being so simple, many people find it hard to
play. If you don't really know how to play Minesweeper it can be
boring, but once you get into it more and get better at it, it becomes
a very playable game.
Minesweeper is a game that gets under rated because of its
simplicity(and the fact that it comes free with windows). But
Minesweeper has some of the best playability you will find. Sure, you
not going to spend 2 hours on it every day, but playing Minesweeper for
10 minutes here and there can be quite fun.
But you can only get the most enjoyment out of Minesweeper if
you're one of those people who enjoy problem solving and thinking.
Still, Minesweeper can be fun for anyone.
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REVISION HISTORY
1.1 (01/4/00)
Second update. Added two more games, and wrote in some more
stuff in the How to Play section. I also got a heaps better
intermediate time, although I have yet to get an expert time. I don't
usually say this, but expert is REALLY, REALLY hard if you're going for
a fast time.
1.0 (31/3/00)
First release of this FAQ.
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CAST AND CREW
'The Face': You can find 'The Face' at the top of the screen. He's(or
she's) the round yellow circle with a face on it. 'The Face' changes
its looks for every different situation. 'The Face' can get pretty
emotional. If you having a hard game and you want to try all over
again, just click on 'The Face' and he'll see what he can do. Here are
the different faces 'The Face' is bound to pull:-
Happy Face(?): The happy face keeps you company while you try to
find the mines. "When you want to cheer up, put on a happy face!"
"Oh My God" face(:o): You can see the "Oh My God" face when you
click on a square, I guess he just gets too carried away in the moment.
If you hold down the mouse button, you can make fun of the "Oh My God"
face and make him sit there nervously forever.
Unhappy Face(?): The Unhappy Face watches over you when you're
at your worst. You just hit a mine, and 'The Face' gets pretty sad when
you hit a mine. 'The Face' takes Minesweepers very seriously OK, please
be careful.
Cool Face: When 'The Face' turns cool he puts on some sunglasses
and shows you how slick you are for beating the game. When you beat the
game, all you can do is click on 'The Face' and start a new game
Mines: These things are you're worst nightmare. They're the 'bad guys'
of the game. It is your job to cover up the mines without setting them
off. If you're clumsy and step on one, you'll blow up and loose the
game.
Flags: You need flags to cover up all of the mines set out on the grid.
To place a flag, move the mouse cursor on to the designated square and
hit the right mouse button. When a square is covered by a flag, you
cannot step on the square. This means that if the flag is covering a
mine, there is no chance you're going to step on it if you've put a
flag there.
Question Marks: This is a cross between a blank square and a flag. If
you're not quite sure if there is a mine underneath a square, you can
place a question mark over it to warn you not to step there. When there
is a question mark on a square, you CAN step on it, a question mark is
only there to warn you to be careful. To place a question mark, move
the mouse cursor over the designated square and press the right mouse
button twice.
Numbers: If you click on a square that doesn't cover a mine, a number
will pop up. This number tells you how many mines there are around that
square. If the number is 2, this means that there are 2 mines next to
the mine. Here are a few diagrams to help you out:-
C : Covered square
0 : Blank Square
1 : Number of mines next to the square
M : Mine
1 mine:
1 1 1
1 M 1
1 1 1
2 mines:
M 1 1 1
1 2 M 1
C 1 1 1
3 mines:
M 2 1 1
2 3 M 1
M 2 1 1
4 mines:
M 3 M 2
2 4 M 2
M 2 1 1
5 mines:
M 2 1 1
3 5 M 2
M M M 2
6 mines:
1 2 3 2 1
1 M M M 2
2 3 6 M 3
1 M 3 M 2
1 1 2 1 1
7 mines:
1 2 3 2 1
2 M M M 2
3 M 7 M 3
2 M 4 M 2
1 1 2 1 1
8 mines:
1 2 3 2 1
2 M M M 2
3 M 8 M 3
2 M M M 2
1 2 3 2 1
If you click on a square that has no mines around it, it will
show up blank. Several squares will then be uncovered until every edge
square is touching a mine.
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THE SCREEN
Flag Counter: On the top left-hand corner of the screen there is a
number that tells you how many flags you have left. When you start the
game, you have the same amount of flags as there are mines. So this
means that the counter also tells you how many mines you have not yet
covered.
Time Counter: On the top right-hand corner of the screen there is a
counter that counts how many seconds have passed during the game. The
counter starts as soon as you step on your first square. The counter
will continue to count the seconds until you a)win the game or b)step
on a mine.
'The Face': I think you're already who 'The Face' is.
The Grid: The grid represents a minefield. The grid is made up of
squares. By moving the mouse cursor over a square and clicking the left
button, you can uncover 1 square. Depending on the difficulty level,
the grid can be large or small.
TOOLBAR OPTIONS
GAME:
New: This lets you start a new game.
Beginner: This option lets you start a game on the beginner
difficulty level.
Intermediate: This option lets you start a game on the
intermediate difficulty level.
Expert: This option lets you start a game on the expert
difficulty level.
Custom: This option lets you customise the size of the grid and
how many mines will be spread about it.
Marks(?): This option allows you to switch off question marks.
Therefore if you press the right mouse button twice the square will go
back to being blank.
Colour: This option allows you to change between black-and-white
and colour.
Best Times: This lets you view the top times for each difficulty
setting.
Exit: When you've had enough.
Help: After reading this FAQ, I doubt you'll need help.
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HOW TO PLAY
As you probably already know, the objective of the game is to
find all of the mines and cover them with flags. But you can't set any
of the mines off. You must use the numbers to determine the position of
the mines. It may seem difficult, but there is one pattern in the
numbers that is the most important...
S : Covered Square
0 : Blank Uncovered Square
1 0
1 1 0
0 0 0
Usually when you click on a square and a number of blank squares
come up you will see this pattern. This pattern is very important, it
usually starts you off. The reason this pattern is important is because
the mine can only be in one place...
M 1 0
1 1 0
0 0 0
Another pattern that can start you off is this one...
N : Number above 1
N 3 N
0 0 0
In this case as well, the mines can only be in one place...
M M M
2 3 2
0 0 0
These patterns should very useful while playing minesweeper. But
before you start playing Minesweeper, here's a little training grid.
See if you can find all of the mines...
C : Covered Square
0 : Blank Square
1 : Number
M : Mine
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|C 2 1 C C 1 0 0|
|2 C 1 C 1 1 1 1|
|1 1 1 1 C 1 C C|
|0 0 0 1 C C C C|
|0 0 1 2 3 C 2 C|
|0 0 2 C 3 1 2 1|
|0 0 3 C 3 0 0 0|
|0 0 2 C 2 0 0 0|
- - - - - - - -
Now I'll help you find some of the mines step by step. First of
all, in the top right hand corner you see this...
_ _ _ _
|C 2 1 C
|2 C 1 C
|1 1 1 1
This displays a simple pattern. There are only 2 covered squares
around the number 2. This means that the mines would HAVE to be here...
_ _ _ _
|M 2 1 C
|2 M 1 C
|1 1 1 1
Second, in the bottom of the grid you see this...
0 1 2 3 C
0 2 C 3 1
0 3 C 3 0
0 2 C 2 0
Yet another simple pattern. In case you haven't already figured
it out, the mines are here...
0 1 2 3 M
0 2 M 3 1
0 3 M 3 0
0 2 M 2 0
Another pattern you can see on the right side of the grid is
this...
2 C|
2 1|
0 0|
Therefore, the mine would have to be here...
2 M|
2 1|
0 0|
Anyway, here's the solution to the whole grid. Before looking,
make sure that you've found all ten mines. Also make sure that if a
square has the number 1 in it, it should not be touching 2 mines...
...Time to let you look back over the grid to see if you have made
mistakes...
Well I hope you got it all right. If you got some wrong I
suggest practising a bit more. There is usually a mathematical way to
solve every game.
When you think you have covered up all the mines around a
number, you should then uncover all of the other squares around it.
Make sure you do this every time, because it will give you an idea to
where other mines may be placed.
If you get to a point where the numbers cannot tell you exactly
where a mine is, you will just have to click on a square somewhere on
the map and hope you don't hit a mine. If you're lucky, there will be a
large area that opens up for you. You can then start to cover up mines
somewhere else on the grid. Eventually, the two areas will meet up.
Minesweeper is sought of like a problem solving game, I guess
you must be fairly smart to be able to play it easily and without
taking a million years. But practice is very important. You may not
notice, but the game gets a little easier each time you play. The first
time you play it, it may seem a little boring. But once you start
getting better, and are able to beat the game faster, it gets more and
more enjoyable. You should be able to wiz through most of the time
without thinking. Only then will you become a true master...
You should now be able to complete the game at least on
beginner. Once you are able to handle more mines, try intermediate. If
you're really in for a challenge, try expert. Minesweeper can be very
easy if you take your time and think your way through it.
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GAMES
If you're a little bit bored of Minesweepers and you want to try
something new, give these games ago. Hey, they may not keep you
occupied for hours, but they are pretty addictive, sought of like
gambling...
Chicken(2 players): Select custom and make your grid 40 by 40(the game
will automatically change the height and length down to the maximum),
and make there be 250 mines. Now with a friend, take it in turns,
clicking on a square. The first one to hit a mine looses. However, if
someone backs out, the other person must then take the mouse and click
a square. If they click on a mine, they loose. But if they don't, the
person who backed out looses. Try it with something valuable...
Chicken(1 player): Some as the above, except you just sit there and see
how many clicks you can do without setting of a mine.
Minesweeper Made Easy: This isn't really a game, but it gives me
enjoyment. Select custom and put height and width at 40. Then put mines
down to 10. Start the game and click on a square. Most of the time, the
whole screen fills up and you're just left with a couple of squares to
fill in. Click on a square, and see how fast you can complete the game.
On average, I get 2-3 seconds. On a few occasions I have gotten 1
second, but I guess I was just lucky.
Don't Fill in the Gaps: Select beginner and start a new game. Play as
normal, but don't cover any of the mines with flags. Instead just try
and finish the level without planting a single flag. This isn't a game,
but it is harder than playing the game normally. Thus, creating an
extra challenge.
I took these cheats from Game Sages, so, none of them were
invented by me.
REVEAL MINES:
With your cursor inside the minesweeper window type "XYZZY" then
press SHIFT-ENTER and ENTER. A white dot should appear in the upper-
left corner of the screen. If it turns black, your cursor is resting on
a mine.
Note: This trick works best if your Windows background is black. Also
note that the code will not work in Windows 95 or Windows NT.
Submitted to Game Sages by Daniel Bayles
(dbayles@vax2.rain.gen.mo.us)
SOUND EFFECTS:
For sound effects, add the line "SOUND :3" to WINMINE.INI
Submitted to Game Sages by Austen(abde@traveller.com)
STOP THE CLOCK:
While playing, hold down the left and right mouse buttons and
you should see a 3x3 square imprint on the board. Next hit the ESC key
while holding down both mouse buttons and the timer is stopped.
Karl's Note: By doing this, you can also get a best time of one second.
Just start a new game and pause the timer as soon as you begin.
Complete the game and your new best time is 1 second!
Submitted to Game Sages by Gerald Storer(gerald600@yahoo.com)
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FASTEST TIMES
I think I'm obsessed about getting fast times. Anyway, here they
are. Please send your fastest times so I can post them. I doubt more
than a few people will actually read this but what the hell...
When you start a new game, there is absolutely NO WAY of hitting
a mine on your first click. The first click is always safe. But from
then on you're on your own.
If there is a square with a number on it, and you've covered up
all of the mines around it, you can instantly uncover all of the other
squares around it. Just move the cursor over the square and press the
left and right mouse buttons at the same time.
This site cannot be copied and sold or anything that gives you
money and/or fame. If you want you can e-mail me and ask to link to
this FAQ. That's OK with me, just make sure that you give me your URL
so I can see if you're ripping of my work. I would also ask you to keep
checking GameFAQS for any updates and update this FAQ straight away.
I think you know all of the other do's and don'ts so that's
about it.
This FAQ is copyright ® Karl Jobst 2000
I thank Ian Rogers for helping me start this whole FAQ-writing
business.
