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- Minesweeper for OS/2 is a game of luck and strategy based on the Windows game of
- the same name. This version contains additional features that enhance the
- challenge of the game.
-
- The game is played on a tiled grid. The object of the game is to clear every
- tile on the grid. To clear a tile either "open" it by clicking with Mouse button
- 1 or "mark" it by clicking with mouse button 2. Open those tiles that you believe
- have NO mine. Mark those that you believe DO have mines. By reclicking mouse
- button 2 you can place a question mark on a tile that you are unsure of. By
- reclicking again you can remove the mark. As you mark tiles, the numerical
- display in the upper left of the window will keep track of the number of mines
- left to find.
-
- Cleared tiles are marked with a flag or question mark, which means you have marked
- that tile as (possibly) containing a mine, or with a digit which means you have
- opened that tile.
-
- The digits are key. They indicate how many of the eight adjacent tiles contain
- mines. For example, an opened tile that shows a '1' has only one mine adjacent
- to it.
-
- A blank tile indicates that NO adjacent tiles contain mines. If you open one of
- these, the surrounding eight tiles are opened automatically. If one of these tiles
- is also blank, the process repeats recursivly. This is what causes those exciting
- sweeps that happen every so often.
-
- The first few moves depend on luck. After that, strategy comes into play.
- Figure out the contents of the tiles from the surrounding tiles that have already
- been exposed.
-
- You can use the "clear around" feature to speed up the game. If you have an
- opened tile that has the indicated number of surrounding tiles marked,
- You can click on the open tile and cause any surrounding closed tiles to open.
- This is different from how the Small & Squishy (Microsoft) version works.
-
- Some other features:
-
- Rocks:
- When you open a tile you may see a rock instead of a number. There is no
- penalty for opening tiles that have rocks. There is also no way of seeing the
- number that is normally displayed in an open tile. Rocks make the game more
- challenging. If you don't like rocks in your mine field uncheck the 'rocks' item
- under the 'options' menu.
-
- Danger UXB:
- There is an UneXploded Bomb hidden in the mine field. But it isn't treated like
- a regular mine. The numbers in the opened tiles don't reflect the location of the
- UXB. But the clear around and sweep procedures are smart enough to leave the UXB
- alone. AND SO SHOULD YOU!. If you see a tile that looks like it should have
- automatically opened but it stayed closed, LEAVE IT ALONE! IT'S THE UXB! You don't
- have to mark or open the tile that has the UXB.
- If however, you do Open the tile with the UXB you will have to defuse it. A
- dialogue window will pop up with the control panel for the UXB and directions
- for defusing.
- There are six buttons on the UXB control panel labeled A through F. Two of
- these are live. When you press a live button it's label changes to '***'. You
- must find and press both live buttons to defuse the UXB. _IF_ you manage to
- defuse the UXB the dialog will disappear and the game will continue.
- There are three harmless buttons. When you press a harmless button it's label
- changes to '---'. Harmless buttons are there to make life difficult. There is no
- penalty for pushing a harmless button.
- One button will cause immediate detonation of the UXB. When you push this
- button the dialog will dismiss and the game will end.
- If you would rather not deal with the UXB (whimp!) uncheck the 'UXBomb' item
- under the 'Options' menu.
-
- Gopher:
- There is a gopher in the mine field! You would think that a mine would have
- gotten him by now, but he is adept at pushing the mines around. During the game
- the gopher will pop up from time to time. You can expect him to steal your
- markers. Also, if he pops up on a tile that contains a mine he will push it into
- a surrounding closed tile. When this happens the numbers surrounding the tiles will
- change to reflect the new position of the mine. Keep your eyes out for gophers
- and be prepared for some rearrangement of the mines.
- If you would rather not deal with the varmint, uncheck the 'Gopher' item under
- the 'Options' menu.
-
- Cheating!:
- When you select the 'peek' item in the 'options' submenue the next mouse
- button 1 click on any tile will reveal what is in that tile. Numbers will not
- be shown; but mines, rocks, and the UXB will. Be careful though, if you peek at
- a mine there is a 1 in ten chance of setting it off.
-
- Marking:
- As you mouse button 2 click on a tile it will cycle through a flag mark, a
- question mark and no mark. If you prefer to not have the question mark, uncheck
- the 'marks' menu item under the 'Options' menu.
-
- Starting a new game:
- There are three preset games (beginner, intermediate, and expert) on the 'game'
- menu. Or, if you prefer, you can create a custom game by selecting the 'custom'
- item under the 'game' menu.
- The custom game dialog will pop up. There are four spinners to set the
- X (width) and Y (height) of the game board as well as spinners for the number of
- rocks and mines. Left mouse click on the arrows next to the numbers to increase
- or decrease the numbers. When you have numbers you like, click on the OK button.
- Regardless of how many rocks and mines you specified in the dialog, you can't get
- any more then half the tiles filled with mines and one quarter filled with rocks.
- The 'New' item under the 'game' menu will start a new game with all the same
- parameters.
-
- Scoring:
- The fastest completion times for the beginner, intermediate, and
- expert games are remembered. Times for custom games are not remembered. To
- display the high score table, select the 'show times' item in the 'game' menu.
- The 'Clear times' item will erase the high score table. A timer runs in the
- upper right corner as the game is played so you can keep track of how well you
- are doing.