Nonosweeper - About Minesweeper

MINESWEEPER

Introduction

If you've got a PC, the chances are you've got Minesweeper. This addictive little game is included in most versions of Windows, and even has a world ranking table on the internet!
If you've never tried it, have a look in Start->Programs->Games on your Start Menu: it's probably there.
There is even a hidden version on the Kindle e-reader!

Concept

As with Nonosweeper, the idea is to find and label a fixed number of mines which have been randomly distributed across a grid. In Minesweeper, though, the clues are also hidden in the grid along with the mines. When a grid square is clicked on, it reveals the number of mines in adjacent squares (unless it's a mine, in which case it's game over!).
The challenge is clear the grid as fast as possible and get the best time on three different levels of play - Beginner (9x9 grid, 10 mines), Intermediate (16x16 grid, 40 mines), and Expert (30x16 grid, 99 mines).
Beginners may like to read this guide to playing Minesweeper.

Strategy

Although it's a simple game, there are plenty of ways of increasing your odds of winning or shaving a fraction of a second off your high score. There is a strategy guide in the Authoritative Minesweeper Wiki, and some more tips for advanced players here.

The mathematics of Minesweeper

There has been a lot of research done into the maths of Minesweeper, and the recent announcement that the Clay Mathematics Institute is offering a $1 million prize for solving a certain mathematical problem ("P=NP?") coupled with Richard Kaye's proof that Minesweeper is NP-complete (in other words, it's a representation of this abstract problem) have created number of headlines about winning a million dollars with Minesweeper.
I can tell you now that being good at Minesweeper won't help you in the slightest with solving this problem, but as an accessible introduction to this type of mathematical problem, it's a very interesting connection. There are articles showing the equivalence between Minesweeper configurations and propositional logic (and hence the NP problem) here and here.

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Techuser.net has some articles about other theoretical aspects of Minesweeper.

More about Minesweeper

The Authoritative Minesweeper has a wealth of interesting information about the game: records, tips, history, links, and much more.

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia contains an entry for Minesweeper.

Believe it or not, there's even an archive of Minesweeper fan fiction out there!

Minesweeper implementations

JavaScript Minesweeper - A JavaScript demo program for gamers and programmers (Play online)

Sweeper Cell - Minesweeper written in HTML5 (Play online)

Java Minesweeper - Java implementation with source code available

Minesweeper variations

Minesweeper3D Minesweeper3D - Minesweeper played on a variety of different 3D boards

Super Minesweeper - Hugely customizable version with a variety of cell shapes and patterns, board shapes, gameplay rules, etc...

Quantum Minesweeper - Minesweeper in the world of quantum physics! (Play online)

Mamonosweeper - Cross between Minesweeper and an RPG (Play online)

Massively Multiplayer Online Minesweeper - Minesweeper on a virtually endless board, shared by all players. Results are measured by the size of the board "claimed" by a player. Written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. (Play online)

Crazy Minesweeper - Classic Minesweeper but with mines of varying strengths

Exotic Minesweeper - Play on boards with cells of different shapes

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