Hex Mines

Alternate Versions of Minesweeper

A game as popular and successful as Minesweeper was always going to spawn a large number of imitations and alternatives. There are many different versions of the Windows classic, some are much better than others; it must be said than none match up to the original, but a unique take on the Minesweeper "hide and seek" gameplay can sometimes be fun to play.

Flower-sweeper

Probably the most common alternative of minesweeper was born out of controversy. You may be thinking "how can such an innocuous game cause controversy?" well it did in 2001 from a group known as the International Campaign to Ban Winmine. The focus of the campaign was to force Microsoft into choosing a theme other than mines, which are associated by some people with pain and suffering. Microsoft did eventually conform and opted for a flower-based version of Minesweeper which ran alongside the original the game. Fortunately for Minesweeper fans, apart from not exploding, flower-sweeper plays exactly the same as its alternative, making it a handy option when the exploding mines become frustrating. Read more about it in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minesweeper.

Crossmines

Crossmines is one of the best advancements of Minesweeper ever created. It offers a chance to play the original game, or a clever variation known as Crossmines. The biggest achievement of Crossmines is the fact that it offers more depth and requires a new way of thinking. Unlike the original, Crossmines is made of more than purely square tiles. Tiles can be connected with other tiles in different shapes; this completely tears up any strategy a player may have hoped of carrying over from the original game. Crossmines offers a high-score table allowing you to challenge yourself and others and a timed game that has a clock that counts down instead of up. Failing to complete the game within the designated time period will result in the minefield exploding; this adds extra pressure to the game - as if any was needed!

3D Minesweeper

Since Minesweeper was created in 1990 it has changed very little in its design, sticking to the 2D platform and relying on it’s a gameplay to win over fans. This has not stopped others producing graphically enhanced versions, the most successful being 3D Minesweeper. The aim of the game is the same as is the gameplay; the 3D variation, however, does add a heightened level of logical thinking. There are 45 different shapes to tackle in 3D Minesweeper, so boredom is never a factor. The game also adds an extra level of difficulty, a "hint" option for struggling players and an integrated solver which allows you to watch the computer play the game on its own.

BeTrapped

If you took the original version of minesweeper and crossed it with the classic board game Cluedo, BeTrapped would be the result. BeTrapped is set in a Cluedo style house and mines are replaced by booby traps and clues and the aim is to crack a mysterious murder case. Although the setting does not resemble Minesweeper in anyway, the gameplay does not stray too far from the original. No matter what the alternative, players of all ages will still come back to the original game, a game that has stood the test of time like no other.