Is Minesweeper the Most Successful Game Ever?

[Rob Williams]

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I'll be honest. When I picture computer gaming, the last thing I think of is Minesweeper, but, its popularity cannot be denied. Given that it's included in Windows, and has been for a while (at least since 3.x), there are few people who haven't opened it to waste a few minutes every so often. That adds up, and chances are, if you have been using Windows for a while, you've likely sunk some real time into this unbelievably simple gem.

Minesweeper and other Windows classics are usually one of the first things I check out with a new Windows version. After all, they've become such a common part of that particular OS, that I always want to see if they've been updated at all. Until Vista, they really haven't been. There, though, the player can opt to use flowers instead of mines, thanks in part to complaints from countries where mines are a real problem.

As popular as Minesweeper has been, I do have to wonder if it's one of the most popular games out there, statistically speaking. For me personally, Solitaire used to be my vice. Years ago, I got into the game so much that I actually started losing sleep because I couldn't get the shuffling cards out of my head! It's a good thing I wasn't addicted to Freecell!

In the unlikely event you've never played it, the gist is that you start with an empty field (its size and number of mines determined by difficulty setting) and have to uncover squares one at a time. Underneath each is either a space, a number, or a mine. The numbers tell you how many mines are in the adjacent boxes, the mines kill you dead. To win, you have to clear the field without touching a mine. It's a relatively simple game of deduction, but satisfying.

Source: Tech Radar

[Merlin]

Yeah, Solitaire is one of my vices, I used it to focus my thoughts on other tings.
It gets so busy in there, you have to divert the overage to concentrate