Minesweeper Game Development: Features, Tech Stack, and Cost TechTricks365

Remember Minesweeper? The frustrating game that we used to play on Windows XP. It is one of the most popular types of puzzle games available across many platforms. The game rose to popularity after Microsoft equipped it with the earlier versions of its operating system. But have you ever wondered how Minesweeper was developed?

The game is fairly straightforward. Players have to navigate a square board and uncover tiles without mines. Sounds easy enough but it’s definitely not. First of all, players do not know where the mines are. And secondly, they have to strategize and flag tiles constantly to avoid revealing one.

In this blog, we will explore Minesweeper game development and discuss how you can use the C language to develop a Minesweeper game from scratch. But before that, let’s learn more about the game.

What is Minesweeper Game?

Minesweeper is a popular type of puzzle game that consists of cells, mines, 1~8 numbers, flags, question marks, etc. The objective of the game is to identify all the hidden mines in the cells randomly without exploding. The minesweeper gameplay may seem simple but it requires a lot of strategy and forward thinking to master. Moreover, the game is timed and players have to beat the game board within the specified time limit.

Nowadays, the game is available across many platforms including Windows, Android, iOS, and even some major web browsers.

Minesweeper Game Rules: How Does It Work?

Before we can learn how to develop Minesweeper, it is crucial to learn how the game functions and its rules. Here are the typical Minesweeper game rules:

Objective: Clear all non-mine squares without triggering any mines.
Board Layout: A grid of cells (9×9) or A fixed number of mines
Clicking a Cell: If you uncover a mine, game over. If it is not a mine, it either shows a number (1 to 8), which shows the count of adjacent mines. If there are 0 adjacent mines, it clears nearby empty cells.
Flagging: Right-click to place a flag on a suspected mine.
Winning Condition: The objective of the game is to reveal all non-mine cells.
Losing Condition: Uncovering a mine

The game has three levels- Beginner, Advanced, and Intermediate.

Beginner: 9×9 board layout with 10 mines
Intermediate: 16×16 board layout with 40 mines
Advanced: 24×24 board layout with 99 mines

How to Develop a Minesweeper Video Game?

There are numerous steps involved in the development of a Minesweeper puzzle game. The complete development process goes through the following steps:

Step 1: Understanding the Game

First and foremost, it is essential to understand the game before diving into the coding process. Minesweeper is a logic-based game where players uncover cells on a grid with the goal of revealing all non-mine cells. If the players reveal a mine, the game is over. Each non-mine cell displays a number indicating how many mines are adjacent to a given cell. These numbers guide the player’s decisions to avoid the mines.

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Step 2: Define Constants and Structures

We define a 9×9 board with 10 mines (adjustable). Each cell has properties to track its state.

isMine: Whether it is a mine
isRevealed: whether it is uncovered
isFlagged: whether the player marked it as a mine
adjacentMines: Count of nearby mines

#include #include #include
#define SIDE 9#define MINES 10
typedef struct { int isMine; int isRevealed; int isFlagged; int adjacentMines;} Cell;

Step 3: Initialize Boards

We initialize the board by setting all cells to their default states. Typically, we create two boards- a Real Board that stores the mine’s locations and a Player Board that the user sees.

void initializeBoards(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE]) { for (int i = 0; i < SIDE; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < SIDE; j++) { board[i][j].isMine = 0; board[i][j].isRevealed = 0; board[i][j].isFlagged = 0; board[i][j].adjacentMines = 0; } }}

Step 4: Place Mines Randomly

The next step is to randomly distribute mines across the board to make it unpredictable.

void placeMines(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE]) { int count = 0; while (count < MINES) { int x = rand() % SIDE; int y = rand() % SIDE; if (!board[x][y].isMine) { board[x][y].isMine = 1; count++; } }}

Step 5: Calculate Adjacent Mines

For each non-mine cell, count the number of adjacent mines. This number will be displayed when the player reveals the non-mine cell.

void calculateAdjacency(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE]) { for (int i = 0; i < SIDE; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < SIDE; j++) { if (board[i][j].isMine) continue; int count = 0; for (int dx = -1; dx <= 1; dx++) { for (int dy = -1; dy <= 1; dy++) { int ni = i + dx, nj = j + dy; if (ni >= 0 && nj >= 0 && ni < SIDE && nj < SIDE && board[ni][nj].isMine) count++; } } board[i][j].adjacentMines = count; } }}

Step 6: Handle User Moves

Players can either reveal a cell or flag/unflag a cell.

Reveal a Cell: (r x y)
Flag/Unflag a Cell: (f x y)

void reveal(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE], int x, int y) {    if (x < 0 || y < 0 || x >= SIDE || y >= SIDE || board[x][y].isRevealed || board[x][y].isFlagged)        return;
    board[x][y].isRevealed = 1;
    if (board[x][y].adjacentMines == 0 && !board[x][y].isMine) {        for (int dx = -1; dx <= 1; dx++)            for (int dy = -1; dy <= 1; dy++)                reveal(board, x + dx, y + dy);    }}
void flag(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE], int x, int y) {    if (!board[x][y].isRevealed)        board[x][y].isFlagged = !board[x][y].isFlagged;}

Step 7: Display Board to Player

The player board is displayed to the user, showing different symbols based on cell states (flagged/unflagged/revealed)

void printBoard(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE], int gameOver) { printf(” “); for (int j = 0; j < SIDE; j++) printf(“%2d “, j); printf(“n”);
for (int i = 0; i < SIDE; i++) { printf(“%2d “, i); for (int j = 0; j < SIDE; j++) { if (board[i][j].isRevealed) { if (board[i][j].isMine) printf(“* “); else printf(“%d “, board[i][j].adjacentMines); } else if (board[i][j].isFlagged) { printf(“F “); } else { printf(“- “); } } printf(“n”); }}

Step 8: Check Win Condition

The objective of the game is to reveal all the non-mine cells while avoiding the mines.

int checkWin(Cell board[SIDE][SIDE]) { int safeCells = SIDE * SIDE – MINES; int revealed = 0; for (int i = 0; i < SIDE; i++) for (int j = 0; j < SIDE; j++) if (board[i][j].isRevealed && !board[i][j].isMine) revealed++; return revealed == safeCells;}

Step 9: Add Timer Functionality

The game is timed and the total time taken by played to clear the board if tracked.

#include
In the main function:time_t start = time(NULL);// After game ends:time_t end = time(NULL);printf(“Time taken: %ld secondsn”, end – start);

Step 10: Main Game Loop with Restart Option

Include the restart option to ensure replayability.

int main() {    Cell board[SIDE][SIDE];    char choice;
    do {        initializeBoards(board);        placeMines(board);        calculateAdjacency(board);
        time_t start = time(NULL);
        int x, y;        char move;        int gameOver = 0;
        while (!gameOver) {            printBoard(board, 0);            printf(“nEnter move (r x y for reveal, f x y for flag): “);            scanf(” %c %d %d”, &move, &x, &y);
            if (x < 0 || x >= SIDE || y < 0 || y >= SIDE) {                printf(“Invalid coordinates. Try again.n”);                continue;            }
            if (move == ‘r’) {                if (board[x][y].isMine) {                    printf(“n Game Over! You hit a mine!n”);                    board[x][y].isRevealed = 1;                    printBoard(board, 1);                    gameOver = 1;                } else {                    reveal(board, x, y);                    if (checkWin(board)) {                        time_t end = time(NULL);                        printf(“n Congratulations! You won in %ld seconds!n”,

The Latest Tech Stack Used in Mine Bomb Game Development

While we have provided a step-by-step guide to develop a Minesweeper game in C programming language, you can also use other languages. However, keep in mind that the core technologies of a game determine the overall performance. Here is a tech stack that is commonly used in the Minesweeper video game development process:

Programming Language	Java, HTML, CSS, Python (Desktop), JavaScript (Web) for Minesweeper Game Code
Graphical User Interface	HTML5 canvas, CSS, JavaScript, Swing, JavaFX
Generating Events Without Prearrangement	Random Number Generator
Game Logics	Minesweeper Game Rules
Determining Winning & Losing	Logic Implementation using Logic Gates
Deployment	DMG files for macOSWeb Server (Web), Inno Setup (Windows)

Features of a Minesweeper Video Game

The features of a game are integral in driving player engagement and retention. There are a ton of Minesweeper applications on the market. However, if you want yours to stand out, it is crucial to integrate features that the user wants.

Grid Setup

The Minesweeper game board features a 2D grid that either contains mines or nothing. The grid size is dependent on the game mode you are playing.

Multiple Game Modes

Typically, a Minesweeper game features 3 game modes. These are Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, each with a gradual increase in difficulty.

Immersive Animations

The animations of a mine bomb game should be seamless and blend with the gameplay. A seamless transition between clicking a tile and the reveal will ensure a satisfactory gaming experience.

Mine Counter

A number counter that displays how many mines are left on the board. This affects the overall strategy of the players.

Sound Effects

Incorporate sound effects (SFX) that match the gameplay. For example, you can add various types of sounds such as mine exploding, flag placement, or revealing a safe mine.

Undo Button

A limited-use Undo button that can be used in case of misclicks. The final game score also displays how many times you used the Undo button. This greatly enhances the gaming experience as users can undo misclicks in case they accidentally reveal a mine.

Cross-platform Compatibility

A minesweeper game that is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, and web browsers allows users to access the game on their preferred platform. Also, introduce a cross-play feature where players from different platforms can play against each other.

Save and Resume Game

Integrate a save and resume game from the last save state to allow players to continue where they left off. This will allow players to save their progress and resume whenever they feel like it.

Custom Game Mode

Players can set their own game rules like grid size, number of mines, undo limits, etc. This offers a personalized experience and is great for 1v1 matches.

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Minesweeper Video Game Development Cost

While we have provided a step-by-step coding guide to develop Minesweeper, most operators or business owners choose to hire a game development company to undertake the development process.

In this case, it is beneficial to understand the costs associated with developing a Minesweeper game from scratch.

The cost of developing a Minesweeper game is not fixed and is dependent on various factors. The overall cost depends on these factors and your own business requirements. For example, if you want an advanced cross-platform Mines game, it will be significantly more expensive than a basic Minesweeper game.

These are the major factors that affect the overall development cost of the Mine Bomb game:

Location of the Development Team
Experience and Expertise of the Developers
Technology Stack
Complexity of the Platform
Features of the Game
UI/UX Design, and more

On average, it costs around $10,000 to $15,000 to develop a rudimentary Minesweeper game with basic features. However, if you want to develop an advanced gaming platform with custom features, you will have to invest around $20,000 to $25,000.

Final Words

At first glance, Minesweeper might seem like a simple game, but its development process requires a combination of logical thinking, strategic design, and a deep understanding of programming concepts. Whether you are a business owner who wants to take advantage of its popularity or an experienced developer planning to launch a fully-fledged gaming application, building Minesweeper is both a challenging and rewarding experience. With a modern tech stack and custom features, your Minesweeper game can stand out above the rest and help you scale your business.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

Q. What is the objective of the Minesweeper video game?

Ans. The objective of the Mines game is to uncover all the squares on the grid that are empty and do not contain any mines. If a player accidentally uncovers a mine, the game ends immediately.

Q. How to win in Minesweeper?

Ans. While there is no surefire strategy to win in Minesweeper, players can utilize a common strategy. Players can randomly click the squares on the grid until they get their desired opening with numbers. After that, you can use those numbers to avoid the mines.

Q. Is Minesweeper a good brain game?

Ans. Yes, Minesweeper is considered a good brand game as it improves multiple cognitive skills like pattern recognition, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

Q. Is Minesweeper hard to code?

Ans. If you already have decent programming skills, Minesweeper is a simple game to code. This game is often used as a project by beginners to practice their coding skills.

Q. How much time does it take to develop a game like Minesweeper?

Ans. On average, it takes around 1.5 to 3 months to develop a basic Minesweeper app with basic features. However, if you want to develop an advanced game app, it will take around 4 to 6 months.