I’m a hardcore minesweeper addict (a.k.a. dork) and I’ve worked my best times down to really good times, at least in my opinion. I was wondering if anyone knew what the official world record times are (if they exist) for the standard windows version of Minesweeper.
There is no way to establish a world record, since the beginning layout of mines is random. I might click on an square and suddenly almost all the cels are open, or I might get a really tough arrangement of mines with no easy openings. Your best times are certainly caused by easier mine layouts.
There’s no way to compete for a world record unless everyone all played the same layouts. You need a level playing field.
If you think Minesweeper is a fascinating game, I have just one word for your consideration: Civilization. 
I’m pretty fast, but I don’t know if it’s a world record.
About 5 seconds for Beginner, 20 for Intermediate, and 60 for Expert.
I was such a Minesweeper geek that I wrote a DOS version of it instead of installing Windows 3 and the actual game. I was a little faster with that version, as I didn’t have the little jostles you get with a mouse. The hard programming part was getting it to reveal all the neighboring blanks in a wave fashion, rather that just opening them all up.
Don’t say it!! DON’T SAY IT!!! ARRRGGGGH!!!
Now I’m gonna have to go play it for the next 8 hours. THANKS A LOT.
a few years ago i got 3 seconds on the beginner level by just randomly clicking very quickly. it seems to me that no matter what, the expert level always involves a couple of guesses. does anyone know a way around that?
I got to where I could solve it fairly reliably at Beginner, Intermediate and Expert, then I switched to Custom and started adding mines 10 at a time to the Advanced layout.
I have solved the field with as many as 120 mines, but so far that’s the best I can do.
Has anyone else experimented with custom fields? Are there any Minesweeper hacks out on the 'Net we could use to spice up our play?
60 seconds for expert (480 squares, 99 mines) is quite incredible. Are you sure?
By the way, zwald, it is sometimes possible to get through the expert game without any guessing.
No, but your best bet is to try to open two or more disconnected areas near the corners from the outset rather than work through a whole puzzle and get stuck.
the way I start my games is, I click on my 4 corners… if I die, I start a new game, if I don’t, I play from there…
I was just wondering how you guys start your game…
my record was dying at the 0 second mark… hehe
but I was able to get consistent scored in the <30 range, in beginner… I’ve only solved expert once or thrice…
then again, I’m not a junky
Gaston
Try searching the SDMB archive for SD’ers best scores. There was a recent thread in either MPSIMS or IMHO.
I’m a FreeCell man myself.
I do a custom screen – largest size possible, with 135 mines, though I have gone up to 165 during particularly boring meetings. Keeps me from being productive. I usually start at an edge.
I don’t know if I agree with Chas. E’s statement that the randomness eliminates the possibility of fair competition. I think if everyone played several games at the same level, the minor fluctuations of difficulty (assuming they even exist) would even out.
The most interesting phenomenon I have noticed is that the world seems to be divided into Minesweeper players and Solitaire players, and rarely do you meet an individual who plays both, let alone is good at and/or enjoys both. Anyone else notice this?
I suck at MineSweeper, so I cheat.
My friends are amazed at my record of 0 seconds for Expert.
(Just edit the winmine.ini file.)
Ask and ye shall receive. “Professional Minesweeper” was written by some Croatian guy, and features 16 different shaped playfields (and tiles within them), including hexagons, parquet floors, and triangles. The triangle ones are super difficlt, since the point of the triangle can touch three other tiles. Unfortunately, that results in a lot more guessing, which takes away from the skill factor of the game.
The program is nagware, so you’ll either want to register or find some way to hack it to get rid of the “register now” reminders. But the fee is only a few bucks and probably worth it if you are really a hardcore fan of Minesweeper.