| The object of the game is to locate and mark all hidden land mines with a skull sign. Clicking on any cell will reveal its contents. A cell can hide an empty space, a number, or a mine. If you expose a mine, the game is lost. If you uncover an empty cell, a section of the mine field is automatically cleared. A field is cleared by exposing all neighboring squares until the area is bordered by a fence which can contain a number, a skull, or the edge of the board. When a number appears, the number indicates how many surrounding mines are present in the eight neighboring squares of that cell. If there are no neighboring mines, the cell is empty. eg.
X X X Three of the surrounding
X 3 X cells contains a
X X X a mine
To mark a hidden mine, place a skull sign there by right clicking on the cell and selecting 'Skull'. When all mines are marked with a skull sign, and all other cells have been uncovered, the game is won. If you place a skull and later decide to remove it, you can either click on it to expose the underlying cell or right click and select 'Empty' to restore the cell to its previous state. The numbered cells offer clues, so focus on areas which have a high concentration of these cells. The game is mostly one of deduction. although in some cases guessing is required. In some cases the very first move explodes a bomb, but in other cases the first move exposes a large area, so keep trying. If the game is lost, the hidden mines are displayed and if there were skull signs placed over cells which do not contain a mine, a mine with a red 'X' is now displayed. Note that this is an Axiom game which uses hidden information. At the start of each game, a new random setup of land mines is produced and hidden from the user. As the game progresses, additional information is revealed. Variations of land mine games have been implemented on a variety of platforms going as far back as the game 'Cube' for the PDP-11. It is now available for Zillions via Axiom technology. |
