Along with Solitaire, SkiFree and that Space Cadet pinball program, Minesweeper has long been sweet salvation for Windows users for who want to get their game on when the Internet is down. Of those four, Minesweeper is probably the least understood. Basically, it works like this: Click a tile. The number on the tile indicates how many mine tiles surround it. Click on a mine tile, and it’s game over.
That’s actually simple enough. The most basic layout of the Windows version has a field of either 64 or 81 tiles with 10 mines to avoid, and yet not blowing yourself up can still be really tough. Now get ready to throw up: A company called CineMassive has created a version of Minesweeper that has, on its hardest setting, 38,799 mines to avoid. We’re not positive if that many mines have been used in actual wars (probably).
The game takes place on 24 high-definition screens that work as a single display — it has a combined resolution of 11,520 x 4,320 pixels. Nobody who worked on making the game has even come close to solving it, but it seems like they’d love to see somebody crack it: CineMassive has created a contest called the Minesweeper Super Challenge, and the application is on their website. The company will choose ten players to give a go at solving the game that seems to be functionally impossible.
For context: The biggest Minesweeper field ever beaten, according to this YouTube video, had 1,412 mines in its 58×118 grid. That accounts for not even four percent of the mines challengers will have to avoid in the Minesweeper Super Challenge.
For now, we’re going to stick to avoiding the abominable snowman in SkiFree.