Minesweeper was one of the more addictive games on Windows, and a few ports have been made to the Mac platform. Minesweeper 101 is a free app that implements a version of Minesweeper under Mac OS. Minesweeper Deluxe for PC and Mac. Written by Simply Game. Category: Games Release date: 2013-07-29 Licence: Free Software version: 1.2 File size: 2.27 MB Compatibility: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista and Mac OS X 10.6.
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This is a collection of Minesweeper games for the Macintosh computer from OS 6 to OS 9 and 1988-1999.
The most important game is Mines (1988), a minefield crossing game written by Daniel Griscom that inspired the programmers who wrote the Microsoft version. All the Mac versions here are ports of the Microsoft version except Hexmines (which started as a crossing game, inspired by Mines) and Trimines (which includes both styles of play, inspired by Hexmines).
The Macintosh had a 1 button mouse, so to flag or chord you need to press a key while you click. The Hexmines game called chording 'Superclick' and many Mac games copied the terminology. The more advanced games offer a choice of what key to press. About half of Mac minesweeper games require all mines to be flagged and all other squares opened to win, and several incorrectly copied the Expert level as 16x32 instead of 16x30.
Games were shared in Usenet chat groups by converting into BinHex code and posting the text result (we have decoded these). Another common method was archiving into a SIT or CPT file and emailing to a host, which was usually an university. SIT files can be opened by the StuffIt Expander program (version 5.5 and earlier) and CPT files can be opened using Compact Pro (version 1.5.2 or earlier), both of which are free online.
In order to play you will need a Mac or a free Emulator. For early monochrome games the best emulator is Mini vMac, for colour games and OS 6 to 7 use Basilisk II, and for OS 7.5 to 9 use Sheepskin.
1Games
2Help Wanted
[edit]Games
[edit]1988 - Mines
See full article elsewhere...
Daniel Griscom, USA
Version 1.02 1989-04-15 (.SIT archive)
Version 1.02 1989-04-15 (Virtual .DSK)
Version 1.01 1988-08-12 first release
Goal is to cross a minefield from top left to bottom right corner
Black & White
Game automatically opens first square.
No highscores, sound or chording
Flag by holding Shift and clicking once, Questionmarks click twice
You can only move to a square next to an already opened square
Compatible with System 6 (1988) or later
Freeware
Game directly inspired from SunTools program called Mines by Tom Anderson.
[edit]1991 - Bombs
Christer Ericson, Sweden
Bit By Bit Productions
Version 2.2 1991-06-10 (.SIT archive)
Version 1.2 released 1991-02-20
Grid is 10x10 with Easy (10 mines, 75s), Moderate (15 mines, 100s), Difficult (22 mines, 150s), Impossible (28 mines, 300s)
You win by opening all safe squares, each level has a time limit
Best 10 scores overall are saved (not per level)
Game automatically opens first square.
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord (Version 2.2)
Options to choose what key to press while clicking to flag or superclick.
Game has option to add obstacles (which make a square unuseable).
Compatible with System 6 (1988) and 7 (1991)
Freeware
Ericson wrote Bombs 3.0 but noted in 1994 he was not going to release it, as there were too many minesweeper games already
[edit]1991 - Mine Sweeper
William Woody, USA
Version 1.0 1991-03-10 (.SIT archive)
Black and White, no colour or sound
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord.
Mark mines by pressing 'Shift' while you click.
Timer starts as soon as a new game is selected from the menu.
Levels are 10x10, 15x15 and 15x30 with each allowing Light (1 mine per 10 squares) or Heavy (1 mine per 10 squares)
Games saves best highscore for each of the 6 levels.
To win you must open all safe squares and flag all mines.
Compatible with System 6 (1988) and 7 (1991)
Freeware
[edit]1991 - Mind Mines
Matthew B Evans, USA
Version 1.2.2 at least by 15/4/91
No highscores or sound
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord
Has a Cheat option.
Game sold as part of Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek CDROM, no known copies exist.
Graphics change every game you play and there are optional sound effects.
You must open all safe squares and flag all mines to win a level.
You flag by holding 'Shift' while you click, there is no chording feature.
Shareware for $5 full version is now Abandonware
TRIVIA: In 1995 someone named Kevin Clancy renamed the game Grave Digger 2.5.0 and started selling it as shareware without permission.
Version 1.1a was distributed as part of Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek
Version 1.3b still calls itself 1.3a in the Help file and version info
[edit]1991 - NyankoSweeper
Yukio Kouno (Japan)
Version 1.0 1991-06-02 (.SIT archive)
Cats are hidden instead of bombs
Default level is 17x30 with 100 cats
Saves 10 best highscores
Custom levels also possible
You open squares with a double-click
You flag with one click, Questionmark with a second click
No chording
Sound effects include a cat meowing when you step on it
Game in English but help file is in Japanese
[edit]1992 - MineField Deluxe
Kendall Redburn, USA
BugByte Inc
Version 1.0.3 1993-05-16 (.SIT archive)
Each level has a maximum number of points instead of a timer
Features that cost you points include using the Safe Start feature or Hint feature
Features that add points are adding Pools (squares with no information), using Wrap (numbers on edges include opposite side of board), or increasing the difficulty level
There are 3 difficulty levels - Beginner is normal mode, Expert only shows a number if the cursor is above the square, and Guru closes squares again when the cursor moves away
There are 3 grid sizes (Small is 10x10 with 15 mines, Medium, Large)
You win by flagging all mines, not by opening squares
Bonus is game comes with 4 'scenarios' or special board layouts such as a Skull pattern
Shareware $20, game has locked features
Tested on OS6 and OS7
PROBLEM 1: Game comes with file (dated 1992-08-04) claiming MineField is by Yves Legault (Canada) and listing only a few simple features and that the game is free. This is a different game.
PROBLEM: A Usenet user who reviewed minesweeper games in the 1990s mentioned 'Mine Field 1.3 by BugBytes' starting 1993-05-07: it had 7 levels and saved 1 highscore for each, was in colour, automatically opened first square, had the superclick and no obstacles. (This version was also sold as part of Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek.) Then on 1994-11-19 the user still listed this version but was excited to announce finding 'MineField Deluxe', listing all the features in the version offered here which is clearly by BugByte.
[edit]1992 - Hexmines
Ingemar Ragnemalm, Sweden
Version 2.04 2000-08-29 (.CPT archive)
Version 2.03 1997
Version 2.0 1995-06-10 (.CPT archive)
Read Me 2.0 1995-06-10 (.TXT archive)
Version 1.2 1992-12-20
Version 1.1 1992-07-03 (.SIT archive)
Version 1.0 1992-03-30 (.SIT archive)
Goal is to cross a hexagonal minefield from top left to bottom right corner
Game automatically opens first square.
Game saves 10 best highscores
Sound effects.
Flag by pressing a key (choice available) and clicking
Superclick - chord by clicking on a square
Version 1 - Single 20x21 square grid and no Timer, game asks for number of mines each time, goal is to cross the minefield, you can only move to a square next to one already opened ('walking').
Version 2 - Hexagonal window and grids sizes Small, Medium and Big. Time but score based on points. You can play original cross the minefield mode, or flag all mines and open all safe squares mode.
Based on Mines (Griscom, 1988)
Version 2.0 and later crash OS 7.5.3 using Basilisk II emulator but work in Black & White on OS 6 in Mini vMac. Ingemar emailed this site 2014-01-02 and said, 'I was quite proud of version 2, which is purely hexagonal, including the playfield and even the window. However, that solution is not portable to OSX, and likely to break emulators.'
All versions have an About screen stating copyright 1990-1992 but hidden version info says v2.0 is 1991-1995, 2.03 is 1991-1997 with v2.04 having a creation date of 2000-08-29. Earliest known public reference is is June 1992. Ingemar notes, 'Hexmines was one of my first Mac games, written right after Bikaka (hexagonal Tetris) [...] having written a decent solution on how to access hexagonally sampled data. Bikaka was written in 1990 so it is likely that the first draft to Hexmines was also written then.'
Version 1.0 uses 4 bit colour (8), 1.1 uses 8 bit colours (256).
Freeware
[edit]1992 - BombSweeper
Scott Harker, USA
Version 2.1 1994-02-27 (.CPT archive)
Read Me File 1994-02-27 (.TXT)
Version 2.0
Version 1.1
Has a tutor feature that suggests moves based on simple logic
Trying to play the game crashes Basilisk II using OS 7.5.3
[edit]1992 - Minefield
Yves Legault, Canada
Instructions (Virtual .DSK)
Original release 1992-08-04
Only instruction file exists, accidentally included with another game of the same name
Freeware
[edit]1992 - Mine
Ted B Lowery, USA
Version 1.0 1992-10-07
Read Me 1.0 1992-10-07 (.DOC)
No sound.
One highscore for each of the 3 levels.
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord (Macs had a 1 button mouse)
Sold as part of the Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek, no known copies exist.
Freeware (above collection was unauthorised)
Game was finished a few days before release date
[edit]1992 - Mine Field
John Lindal (USA)
Version 1.1 1994-06-05 (.CPT archive)
Version 1.0.1
Black and White, no colour
Sound effects are a 'ping' for each click, and an explosion for hitting a mine.
You flag by holding the command key while clicking
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord while holding down command key
Timer is optional
Game is 10x10, default is to randomly provide between 10 and 20 mines but this range can be set at start of each game. No highscores.
Shareware $5 full version is now Abandonware
Original version released in 1992 at least by 1992-10-09 as discussed then in comp.sys.mac.games
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord.
To flag you can choose key to press from preferences, or uniquely you can click on a square only touching its own number of squares and it will flag them for you.
Options to add craters (these prevent you deriving information from a square), having mine that move, or having a randomizer square (when you open it all mines are relocated).
You can pause a game but it hides the board until you restart to prevent cheating.
You must flag all mines and open all safe squares to win
Shareware $15 but full version is now Abandonware
Requires OS 6 or later
[edit]1992 - Minesweeper
Adventure Minesweeper Mac Os 11
Matthew Flatt, USA
Robby Findler, USA
Version 1.3 at least by 1993-05-07
Version 1.1 at least by 1992-10-09
Sound effects and colour
Saves 10 best highscores
No superclick (chording)
Hint feature could suggest moves (added by Matt)
Works with OS 6 or later
Version 1.3 was distributed as part of Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek
Trivia: Matt as of 2013 is a computer science professor at the University of Utah
Trivia: In an email from Flatt (2013-12-31) he states, 'These days, Robby and I work on a programming language called Racket. A variant of Minesweeper has been included as a demo program in the main Racket distribution almost since its inception (back when it was 'PLT Scheme'). It's bare-bones compared to our old Mac version, though.' Findlay by email notes, 'And yeah, I don't think Walnut Creek ever got in touch with us....'
[edit]1992 - Super Mines
Callisto Corporation, USA
Version 1.0 1992-11-05 (Virtual disk .DSK)
Four grid types: squares, parquet, hexagons, or a mix of small and large squares
Four levels: 8x13 (10 mines), 12x19 (27 mines), 16x25 (68 or 80 mines)
SuperMine mode you start as a Private and every 5 wins move up a military rank
A fuse acts as a timer while you play
Points awarded based on rank and time left for each finished game
Multiple lives, you lose points for each life lost or you lose when none left
Hidden treasure and lives in the game, Hint feature (costs points to use)
Ablity to pause game (board is hidden)
Option to play Mini Mines mode with single games, no highscores and no progression
Flag by holding Shift or Option while you click
Superclick - chord by holding Option or double-clicking on number
Game automatically opens first square
Sound effects
You must open all safe squares and flag all mines to win
Requires Mac OS 6.05 or later
Commerical, requires activation code (such as EQ-31700) from your disk to open game
[edit]1992- MineSweep
Version 2.01 at least by 1992-10-09
Black and White, no colour
Sound effects
One highscore for each of the 3 levels.
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord
Has Cheat features and gives Hints.
Shareware but now full access abandonware
Version 2.01 mentioned 1992-10-09 in Usenet group noted in comp.sys.mac.games, original likely 1991
[edit]1992 - KMines
Version 1.0 released at least by 1992-10-09
Colour
No highscores, no sound, no chording
First internet mention 1992-10-09 in Usenet group comp.sys.mac.games
Publisher Kagi also sold a minesweeper game 'Logic Bomb' for OS X
[edit]1992 - MineSweeper
Version 1.4 at least by 1992-10-09
Game automatically opens first square.
Sound effects and colour
One highscore for each of the 3 levels.
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord
Graphics can be customised.
Shareware now full access abandonware
Requires OS 6 or later
First internet mention 1992-10-09 in Usenet group comp.sys.mac.games, but version date unconfirmed and may be earlier
[edit]1992 - Windows 3
Original released before 1992-10-09
Game is a parody of Windows 3.0 and opens a Windows desktop, but everything you click gives you error messages except the minesweeper game
'It is a game because it simulates errors for absolutely everything you try to do, except play the Mine game. It pokes fun at the nightmare of configuring a Windows/MS-DOS system.'
No highscores or sound effects
Colour
First internet mention on 1992-10-09 in Usenet group comp.sys.mac.games
Minesweeper was released in 1990 but became part of Windows in Apr 1992
[edit]1993 - Applefield
Lorenzo Cangiano (Italy)
Version 1.0 released 1993-03-30
Colour, no sound
One highscore for each of the 9 levels.
CD Textfiles: Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek CDROM: AppleField 1.0 Lorenzo Cangiano A mine-field type game LCab 30725 Board/Strategy: Board/Strategy
Freeware
Requires System 7 (May 1991) does not work on System 6
[edit]1993 - YAMS
Heinrich Schnermann, Germany
Version 1.04 1993-04-17 (.CPT archive)
Sound effects
One highscore for each of the 3 levels.
Languages: German, English, French
Shareware for $15 full version now abandonware
Requires OS 7 or later
YAMS stands for 'Yet another minesweeper'.
[edit]1993 - MacGrid
Erik Schwiebert, USA
Version 2.02 at least by 1995
Original release between 1992-10-09 and 1993-05-07
Saves 10 highscores for each of the 3 levels.
Sound effects and colour
Freeware
Requires System 7 with QuickDraw and colour
Version 2.02 was also distributed as part of Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek
[edit]1993 - PolyMine
S. T. Han, USA
Kagi Shareware
Version 1.09 1996-05-01 (.CPT archive)
Version 1.06 1994-10-06 (.CPT archive)
Version 1.04 uploaded to info-mac 1993-09-27
Version 1.03
Version 1.02 at least by 1993-08-28
Version 1.01
Version 1.00 first release in 1993
Saves 10 best highscores (based on points not time)
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord, to flag hold down 'Shift' while clicking
There are 3 grid shapes, 5 mine density options and 4 options for number of holes in the grid for a total of 60 combinations.
You must open all safe squares and flag all mines to win.
Sound effects.
Shareware but full version now abandonware. Version 1.06 asked for $1 or more, Version 1.09 requests $10.
[edit]1993 - Trimines
Peter Van Schevensteen, Belgium
Version 1.0 Demo 1993 released 1993-09-21
Goal is either to cross the field or open all squares.
Grid is triangles instead of squares
Sound effects.
Black and White, no colour.
Sold as part of Ultra Mac-Games CDROM 2, 1995 by Walnut Creek
Appears to have been inspired by Hexmines, thus triangles and two methods of gameplay
[edit]1994 - Land Mine
Unknown
Original released before 1994-11-19
Sound effects and colour
One highscore for each of the 3 levels.
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord
Requires OS 7 and colour
Most likely inspired by the Atari game of the same name
[edit]1994 - kBoom
Original release before 1995-01-13
Sound effects and colour
One highscore for each of 10 levels.
Person listing minesweeper games at Usenet comp.sys.mac.games did not mention game on 1994-11-19 but did on 1995-01-13.
[edit]1994 - Stink
Original release before 1995-01-13
Sound effects and colour
No highscores
Superclick - click on square touching flags to chord
Person listing minesweeper games at Usenet comp.sys.mac.games did not mention game on 1994-11-19 but did on 1995-01-13.
[edit]1995 - Mine Field
Blake Mitchell, USA
NO Software
Version 0.b1.0 1995-02-07 (.SIT archive)
Requires System 7 or later and 8 bit colour
Game crashes using OS 7.5.3 using Basilisk II emulator
Alternative source: UMich
[edit]1995 - Mac Röj
Mattias Sundström, Sweden
Version 1.0.1 1995-03-15 (.SIT archive)
Version 1.0 original release March 1995
Game is in Swedish
Highscore for each of the four levels
Levels are Nybörjare (10x10, 10m), Lärling (16x16, 40m), Expert (16x30, 99m), Fantast (? - Larger than screen).
Sound effects include snoring if you stop clicking, and playing the 'Hallelujah Chorus' when you set a record.
Flag mines by pressing 'Shift' as you click, no chording
You must open all squares and flag all mines to win.
Shareware but now abandonware with full game access
[edit]1995 - SCS Mines
Aaron Davidson, Canada
Silicon Creek Software
Version 1.0 1995-07-29 (.SIT archive)
Levels are same as Windows: Easy (10 mines, 8x8), Average (40 mines, 16x16), Difficult (99 mines, 16x30) and Custom.
Saves best highscore for each level (but calls it 'Low Scores')
Sound effects
No chording, you mark mines by pressing 'Shift' as you click
You must open all safe squares and flag all mines to win a level.
Requires 8 bit colour (256)
Trivia: According to author game site, 'Written in C for Macintosh (Classic) in 1995. A very faithful port of the Windows Minesweeper game. In 1997 I also wrote a fairly sophisticated minesweeper solver as a project in a 2nd Year Algorithms course. It could solve a high percentage of minesweeper problems.'
[edit]1996 - MineSweeper Pro
Kentaro Tanida, Japan
Version 2.0 beta 1997-06-14 (.SIT archive)
Version 1.0 beta original release 1996-12-12
Game automatically opens first square
Version 2.0 allows custom up to 10,000 squares.
Game has English and Japanese instructions
In colour (256)
You can choose from 4 sizes of squares and 9 colour schemes
You can save games and open them later to finish
Sound effects and music
Superclick - clicking on a square next to a flag does chording
You can set an option to flag when clicking and hold a key to open squares, or vice versa
Version 2.1 added a timer, 2.5 introduced chording
You can choose any colour for the grid from a palette
Flag by pressing one of 4 keys (you can select) and clicking
Chord by pressing one of 4 keys (you can select) and clicking
Chording on a square if there are not enough flags will lose the game
Game comes with a history file describing all 5 versions
Game first uploaded Jan 1998 but copyright is 1997 as programmed in Dec 1997.
SmallMines 2.5.1 requires OS7 or later
[edit]1999 - Mega Minesweeper
Stephen Nowalk, USA
Carrot Software
Version 1.7 2001-02-06 (Virtual .IMG disk)
Version 1.6.6 2001-01-18
Version 1.6.5 2001-01-14
Version 1.6.1 2000-11-14
Version 1.6 2000-11-08
Version 1.5b1 2000-10-17
Version 1.2 2000-08-20
Version 1.0 2000-05-11
Version 0.9.5b1 1999-11-22
14 colour schemes
Allows custom up to 32767 * 32767 and 1,073,676,288 mines
Five levels are 8x8 (10 mines), 16x16 (40), 16x32 (99), 100x100 (1500) and 1000x1000 (150000)
Shareware $10 - can play 50 games before registering
Requires OS 8.6 with CarbonLib or later, also works on OSX
Versions 0.x were Freeware
Original Minesweeper Download
[edit]2000 - MacMine
Ian Mann, Canada
Version 1.0 2000-01-20 (.SEA Self Extracting)
'You are captain of a minesweeper and must locate hidden mines'
Requires OS 8 and a PowerPC
Freeware
[edit]2002 - Bommo Sweeper X
Slovis Software, USA
Version 1.1 2002-10-08 (Virtual .IMG disk)
Version 1.1 PDF Instructions
Version 1.0 original release
There are 3 difficulty levels for each of the 7 grids
Saves 5 highscores for each combination
More than 10 colour schemes
Click and press 'Shift' to chord (added v1.1)
Requires Mac OS 8.6 or later, a Power PC and CarbonLib
One website dated 2003-04-26 claims a v1.1.5
Game also sold as part of 'Ten for X Games' by Aladdin Systems in 2003 (actually 13 games)
[edit]2006 - Turtle Minesweeper
Alan Smith, USA
Turtlesoft
Version 1.1.7 2006-10-21
Version 1.1.5 2006
Same 3 levels as Windows minesweeper
Custom (as of version 1.1)
Flag by pressing 'Control' when you click
Requires Mac OS 8.6 or later and CarbonLib
Also released separately for OS X (picture is OS X version)
Freeware
[edit]Help Wanted
If you can provide missing versions or pictures, please Help.
[edit]Files with Problems
Have these files but could not get working - please test and provide screenshots:
Bombsweeper CPT archive
Mind Mines The 2 forks in a zip file
MacMines The 2 forks in a zip file
Mine Field SIT archive
YAMS CPT archive
[edit]Missing Files
All those without links in this article
Retrieved from 'http://www.minesweeper.info/wiki/Minesweeper_Games_%28Mac%29'
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In Minesweeper World you can choose different themes and give the game your own look, as well as customize its rules and controls. To raise awareness on World Water Day, we are teaming up with the NGO Viva con Agua creating an exclusive theme bundle for Minesweeper World. The bundle is available within Minesweeper World as a Shop Special for a limited time: in addtion to the excluisve VcA theme, you'll get 1,000 gems (which you can spend on protective vests, hints or more visual gadgets) for just a fiver. LITE Games donates the full earnings from this Shop Special to NGO Viva con Agua to support water projects around the world.