Sweep off! It's Mine!

Life’s too short to think about unimportant things such as revenge, broken heart and impossible dreams. Open our eyes and mind and we’ll know that there are lots of better things to do. Often said, ‘a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step’. So why not take that step instead of standing still like the Statue of Liberty.

I’ll be 19 years old by the end of this year yet there are plenty of things I still haven’t achieved or find out. However, I did learn one simple thing a few days ago. Something I never thought I would be able to learn. Not so important it may be but it was satisfying. It took a simple boring holiday to teach me that. A simple game I’ve been playing since I was, what, 5 years old? This game is in almost every single computer in this world. It may not be as exciting as DOTA or PES 2010 but the game is kind of mind testing and sometimes it depends on luck.  

I’m sure everyone knows this game but probably many of us don’t know how to play it. Minesweeper is a deceptively simple game of memory and reasoning. The object of Minesweeper is to overturn blank squares and avoid those that conceal mines. If you click a mine, the game is over. Uncover all the blank squares as fast as possible for the highest score. 
Yes, luck may be a factor but there are some techniques needed to solve this puzzle.

To start the timer, click any square on the playing field. If a number appears on a square, it indicates how many total mines are in the eight squares that surround the numbered one. You can use this number to help deduce whether a square is safe to uncover.

In the figure above, the number 1(in red circle) indicates that there is only one mine in the eight boxes (green boxes) surrounding it.

In the figure below, the number 1 in red circle indicates that there is only one mine in the eight boxes surrounding it. Since there are no mine in the other seven boxes (green boxes) surrounding it, the mine has to be in the last box (yellow box).

To mark a square you suspect contains a mine, right-click it. This will add a flag to the square. If you're not sure, right-click it again, which will add a question mark to the square.

Try to mark all mines right away. If you know exactly where some mines are, take a second to mark them. Otherwise, you might forget them by the time you get back from another part of the board. This takes time, but it's worth it in the end.

If a set of squares doesn't reveal a pattern and you're not sure where to click next, clear out some unexplored territory. You're better off clicking in the middle of unmarked squares than clicking in an area where you know some mines are located.

You can adjust the difficulty level and set other game options in the Options dialog box.

Told you it’s not hard. Where there’s a will there’s a way. The few steps I shared above may not be enough to master this game but at least you could get some hint about this game. It takes experience to be good at this game. After all, experience is the best teacher. GOOD LUCK TRYING ^_^ !