Confession: I only understood how to play Minesweeper over the last week because of a puzzle in a video game. For years, I decided that I hated Minesweeper. It was one of those free web browser games you found as a kid, kept losing, and wrote it off for years afterward. I thought it was entirely chance-based. But, as it showed back up in my life as a small offering in a demo, it clicked. “Wait… oh, this is logic-based.” Then, conveniently, the internet told me about the free game sweeping itch.io: Dragonsweeper. Now, I’m addicted.
Let’s rewind before I explain Dragonsweeper. If you’ve never played Minesweeper, I’ll explain it quickly. You have a big grid full of covered tiles. You click one, and it reveals a number, a blank tile, or you find a mine immediately and blow up. The number directly correlates to the number of mines surrounding it. So, if you uncover a two, then there are two mines and six other empty (or numbered), safe tiles. The goal is to flag all of the mines without accidentally clicking on one and clearing the board. Look, it’s less complicated than I’m probably making it sound. Perhaps that explanation will make more sense if I show you a screenshot of one of my Dragonsweeper runs.
‘minesweeper’ has never been so brilliantly tactical
Dragonsweeper is Minesweeper times 1000. Except, instead of clearing the board (which you can do and receive a nifty achievement), your mission is to slay the dragon smack-dab in the middle of the grid. However, you need 13 hearts to do that. You start with five. To strengthen Jorge, our intrepid hero, you must take out the other creatures roaming the “dungeon.” But, you can only go after targets with numbers either equal or fewer than your total number of hearts.
So, that skeleton up there with the 3 below him? In the beginning, I attack him, and the cost is three of my hearts — with a gain of three gems. Once you grab a certain number of gems, Jorge levels up, gaining an additional heart and increasing the gem count needed to keep leveling up. …You see what I mean by “Minesweeper, but crazier?” Unfortunately for me, I learned many Dragonsweeper lessons the hard way. That brick wall at the bottom of the grid? That takes three hits to break — with each blow costing you a heart. Your reward? One measly XP point. If you’re impatient or reckless? You lose. Every. Time.
a lesson in observation
This Minesweeper homage has depth. If you don’t show up ready to respect it, it’ll keep embarrassing you. Dragonsweeper gives you the “Monsternomicon” to assist your dragon-slaying ventures. It tells you how many of a particular enemy are left in the grid, as well as how many hit points they have. You must watch enemy tiles carefully. If you don’t, you won’t see the patterns. And on top of the basic Minesweeper rules you have to abide by, your ability to notice certain small changes will make all the difference!
That’s all the advice I’m willing to give you. If you want to join in on the Dragonsweeper action, you can follow this link to itch.io. It’s entirely free! The only thing you’ll pay with is your time — which Dragonsweeper is damn near guaranteed to steal from you! (Thank you for such a wonderful experience, Daniel Benmergui! Gaming needs more Dragonsweepers!)
The post ‘Minesweeper’ Variant, ‘Dragonsweeper,’ Is a Free Roguelike I’m Hopelessly Addicted to and Endlessly Fascinated By appeared first on VICE.
