About

Minesweeper is a video game included on every version of Microsoft Windows between 3.0 and 7. In the game, players look at a grid of tiles and attempt to identify under which tiles are bombs. Other tiles are either blank or reveal a number saying how many squares touching the number are bombs, allowing players to mark which tiles they believe are bombs. Clicking a bomb results in a loss, and the game is over when all the tiles are clicked or marked. The ubiquity of the game has made it the subject of parodies online.

History

While variations of the core concept of Minesweeper have been around since the 60s,^[1] the most well known version of Minesweeper, that which appeared on Microsoft Windows, was created by Curtis Johnson for OS/2, before being ported to Windows.^[2] It was first released as part of Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1 in 1990. After becoming an iconic part of Windows, Microsoft discontinued having Minesweeper included in Windows with the release of Windows 8. However, a free version was available on the Windows Store, though to play it, the user would have to sit through a 30-second ad. To remove the ads, Microsoft offered a subscription service, which was criticized as greedy.

A completed Minesweeper board.

Online Parodies

The ubiquity and simplicity of the game has made it the subject of some notable online parodies. One of the most popular early parodies was Minesweeper: The Movie, a video by College Humor that was a fake gritty reboot of the game Minesweeper. Released on October 1st, 2007, the video has over 13 million views.

It has also been adapted to memes such as Rage Comics, Advice Animals, and Expanding Brain (shown below).

It has also been used in memes meant to satirize the political climate in countries that suffer from bombings.

Search Interest

External References