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Minesweeper


Minesweeper

Minesweeper is single-player logic-based computer game played on rectangular board whose object is to locate a predetermined number of randomly-placed "mines" in the shortest possible time by clicking on "safe" squares while avoiding the squares with mines. If the player clicks on a mine, the game ends. Otherwise, a number between 0 and 8 is displayed that identifies the total number of mines present in the eight neighboring squares. Therefore, finding a square containing "8" indicated that all eight adjacent squares contain mines, while if a zero (displayed as a blank) is uncovered, there are no mines in the surrounding squares. A square suspected of containing a mine may be marked with flag.

In the Season 1 episode "Uncertainty Principle" (2005) of the television crime drama NUMB3RS, math genius Charlie Eppes uses the game minesweeper not only for his P vs. NP problem, but also to determine the pattern followed by a group of bank robbers.


See also

Board Game

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References

Peterson, I. "MathTrek: Minesweeper Logic." May 1, 1999. http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc99/5_1_99/mathland.htm.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Minesweeper

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Minesweeper." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Minesweeper.html

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