Thread Tools
Old August 30, 2003, 21:41   #1
Elok
Scenario League / Civ2-Creation
Emperor
 
Elok's Avatar
 
Local Time: 04:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Having tea with the Third Man...
Posts: 6,169
Minesweeper scores?
Ah, minesweeper: probably the best program Microsoft ever made. I've killed SO many hours just sitting there clicking and staring until I felt like my eyeballs were about to spontaneously extrude. The best I've managed to do, on my current computer at least, is:
12 seconds beginner
76 seconds intermediate
246 seconds expert
How well have you guys done? I know somebody here has to have beaten the 246; until recently I couldn't beat expert at all. Obviously this isn't really anything to brag about, but I'm just asking out of curiosity...
__________________
"May I be forgiven for the ills that I have done/Friends I have forsaken and strangers I have shunned/Sins I have committed, for which others had to pay/And I haven't met the whiskey that can wash those stains away."
-Brady's Leap, "Wash."
Elok is offline  
Old August 30, 2003, 21:59   #2
MichaeltheGreat
Apolytoners Hall of Fame
Apolyton Grand Executioner
 
MichaeltheGreat's Avatar
 
Local Time: 00:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Fenway Pahk
Posts: 1,755
My best four on expert: 54 seconds, 57 seconds, 62 seconds and 64 seconds.

I've heard about a cheat, but never been able to remember what it supposedly is, or find anything that works as a cheat. Obviosly luck is a big factor, but there were a few things I did:

I had a 21" monitor, 6 x 8 pen tablet and trackball for my standard comp setup - the only thing I did was change resolution to 800 x 600.

Next thing, make sure the damned question mark option is off, and I used the pen tablet hand to select, the right click on the trackball hand to identify.

Then I got lucky breaks that didn't leave me with any ambiguous areas.
__________________
Bush-Cheney 2008. What's another amendment between friends?
*******
When all else fails, blame brown people. | Hire a teen, while they still know it all.
MichaeltheGreat is offline  
Old August 30, 2003, 22:01   #3
BustaMike
The Courts of Candle'Bre
King
 
BustaMike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 00:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: You think you're better than me? You've been handling my ass pennies!!!
Posts: 1,101
I posted a thread about this not too long ago. Currently my best is 160 on expert, but several people here have said they've broken 100. MtG even claims to have had scores in the 50's on expert. There is NO WAY I will get a time in the 50's on expert, ever.
__________________
"Luck's last match struck in the pouring down wind." - Chris Cornell, "Mindriot"
BustaMike is offline  
Old August 30, 2003, 22:12   #4
MichaeltheGreat
Apolytoners Hall of Fame
Apolyton Grand Executioner
 
MichaeltheGreat's Avatar
 
Local Time: 00:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Fenway Pahk
Posts: 1,755
If you have a normal mouse/trackball set up, you can barely break 100 with luck. The way I did it was two handed - not cheating, but a definite mechanical advantage when you have a lot of squares to clear.
__________________
Bush-Cheney 2008. What's another amendment between friends?
*******
When all else fails, blame brown people. | Hire a teen, while they still know it all.
MichaeltheGreat is offline  
Old August 30, 2003, 22:26   #5
MattH
King
 
MattH's Avatar
 
Local Time: 08:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Go sneer at that cow creamer!
Posts: 1,305
Oh, god.
__________________
cIV list: cheats
Now watch this drive!
MattH is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 00:10   #6
vovan
Apolyton UniversityCivilization IV CreatorsSporeApolyton Storywriters' GuildC3CDG Blood Oath HordeC4DG The Horde
Emperor
 
vovan's Avatar
 
Local Time: 02:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 5,725
I did 1 second on Beginner. Once. With fast clicking. And a LOT of luck. No cheating or anything. Other than that, my normal score would be about 10-15 on beginner, 60 on intermediate, and 180 on expert.
__________________
XBox Live: VovanSim
xbox.com (login required)
Halo 3 Service Record (I fail at FPS...)
Spore page
vovan is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 00:37   #7
geeslaka
Prince
 
geeslaka's Avatar
 
Local Time: 01:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: of the purple hand
Posts: 585
20x20 board, 50 mines, 130 seconds.
Just started playing again.
It's been too long.
__________________
American by birth, smarter than the average tropical fruit by the grace of Me. -me
I try not to break the rules but merely to test their elasticity. -- Bill Veeck | Don't listed to the Linux Satanist, people. - St. Leo | If patching security holes was the top priority of any of us(no matter the OS), we'd do nothing else. - Me, in a tired and accidental attempt to draw fire from all three sides.
Posted with Mozilla Firebird running under Sawfish on a Slackware Linux install.:p
XGalaga.
geeslaka is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 01:01   #8
Urban Ranger
NationStatesApolyton Storywriters' GuildNever Ending Stories
Deity
 
Urban Ranger's Avatar
 
Local Time: 16:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 1999
Location: The City State of Noosphere, CPA special envoy
Posts: 14,606
I got like a 92 second record on expert level a long time ago, but I have stopped playing Minesweeper for years.

BTW, trackball is better, though you need to get used to it.
__________________
(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."
Urban Ranger is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 04:58   #9
BustaMike
The Courts of Candle'Bre
King
 
BustaMike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 00:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: You think you're better than me? You've been handling my ass pennies!!!
Posts: 1,101
The cheat was with old versions of windows you could simply edit the text file that keeps the scores. Kinda defeats the purpose of playing though.
__________________
"Luck's last match struck in the pouring down wind." - Chris Cornell, "Mindriot"
BustaMike is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 07:29   #10
DrSpike
Civilization IV: MultiplayerApolyton University
Deity
 
DrSpike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Enthusiastic member of Apolyton
Posts: 30,342
I used to play this incessantly. My expert time was 61, which is pretty much unbeatable unless you have spent hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours playing. The world record was 48. So my hat off to MtG if he is serious about his time in the 50's............we used to keep a worldwide list and the number that broke 60 seconds was small, only a couple of hundred.
DrSpike is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 07:34   #11
DrSpike
Civilization IV: MultiplayerApolyton University
Deity
 
DrSpike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Enthusiastic member of Apolyton
Posts: 30,342
Oh, if you used 2 devices then the time would have been inadmissable.
DrSpike is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 07:34   #12
Eli
Civ4 SP Democracy GamePtWDG Vox ControliC4DG VoxCiv4 InterSite DG: Apolyton Team
Emperor
 
Eli's Avatar
 
Local Time: 11:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Israel
Posts: 6,480
Beginner - 3 (pure luck)
Intermediate - 39
Expert - 136
__________________
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master" - Commissioner Pravin Lal.
Eli is offline  
Old August 31, 2003, 22:18   #13
Urban Ranger
NationStatesApolyton Storywriters' GuildNever Ending Stories
Deity
 
Urban Ranger's Avatar
 
Local Time: 16:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 1999
Location: The City State of Noosphere, CPA special envoy
Posts: 14,606
Quote:
Originally posted by DrSpike
we used to keep a worldwide list and the number that broke 60 seconds was small, only a couple of hundred.
On expert level though luck is always an issue, so keeping a record wouldn't mean anything.
__________________
(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."
Urban Ranger is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 05:02   #14
DrSpike
Civilization IV: MultiplayerApolyton University
Deity
 
DrSpike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Enthusiastic member of Apolyton
Posts: 30,342
Sure you can't go sub-sixty without a good grid. But the skill in speed minesweeper lies in not making any mistakes in the fastest time possible when the chance is there.

Ultimately the nature of the game is that there may be a 50/50 at the end. If you get it right you could call that luck I guess, but it evens out. There is no way you can say players that beat 60 seconds (something which always eluded me - actually I have checked the old lists now and below 60 was nothing like 200, more like 50 tops worldwide, and this was at a time when minesweeper was more popular) are lucky. They are the best players, period.
DrSpike is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 07:00   #15
FrustratedPoet
PtWDG Gathering Storm
Emperor
 
FrustratedPoet's Avatar
 
Local Time: 08:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: All Glory To The Hypnotoad!
Posts: 4,223
Isn't Minesweeper the ultimate Sunday gamers' game Spike?
__________________
If I'm posting here then Counterglow must be down.
FrustratedPoet is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 07:19   #16
DrSpike
Civilization IV: MultiplayerApolyton University
Deity
 
DrSpike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Enthusiastic member of Apolyton
Posts: 30,342
How dare you try and pigeonhole me with such an evil group! Minesweeper (for sub 90 second times anyway) requires a great deal of skill, far more than that possessed by any Sunday gamer.
DrSpike is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 09:19   #17
Skanky Burns
Alpha Centauri Democracy GameACDG The Cybernetic ConsciousnessC4DG Team Alpha CentauriansApolytoners Hall of FameACDG3 Spartans
 
Skanky Burns's Avatar
 
Local Time: 19:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Skanky Father
Posts: 16,530
Clicking on boxes versus controlling the life of your own sim. Gee, which is more difficult?
__________________
I'm building a wagon! On some other part of the internets, obviously (but not that other site).
Skanky Burns is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 09:30   #18
Elok
Scenario League / Civ2-Creation
Emperor
 
Elok's Avatar
 
Local Time: 04:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Having tea with the Third Man...
Posts: 6,169
When you have to click on those boxes at a ludicrously high speed without making a single mistake?
__________________
"May I be forgiven for the ills that I have done/Friends I have forsaken and strangers I have shunned/Sins I have committed, for which others had to pay/And I haven't met the whiskey that can wash those stains away."
-Brady's Leap, "Wash."
Elok is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 09:42   #19
FrustratedPoet
PtWDG Gathering Storm
Emperor
 
FrustratedPoet's Avatar
 
Local Time: 08:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: All Glory To The Hypnotoad!
Posts: 4,223
Clearly you've never tried to get your Sim to work on time in the morning. It requires planning and split-second precision of the highest degree.
__________________
If I'm posting here then Counterglow must be down.
FrustratedPoet is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 09:53   #20
DrSpike
Civilization IV: MultiplayerApolyton University
Deity
 
DrSpike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Enthusiastic member of Apolyton
Posts: 30,342
Yeah and it's especially tricky when you are worrying about overcooking the sunday roast at the same time.
DrSpike is offline  
Old September 1, 2003, 10:46   #21
Elok
Scenario League / Civ2-Creation
Emperor
 
Elok's Avatar
 
Local Time: 04:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Having tea with the Third Man...
Posts: 6,169
If I wanted to do that crap I would get an actual life. Geez.
__________________
"May I be forgiven for the ills that I have done/Friends I have forsaken and strangers I have shunned/Sins I have committed, for which others had to pay/And I haven't met the whiskey that can wash those stains away."
-Brady's Leap, "Wash."
Elok is offline  
Old September 2, 2003, 10:21   #22
Spaced Cowboy
Emperor
 
Spaced Cowboy's Avatar
 
Local Time: 03:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Dallas TX
Posts: 6,939
My best ever was only 69 (get it), but I can pretty easily break 100. I've noticed that it seems harder now than back on my old 486. I wonder if comp speed has anything to do with it, or I'm just getting way to old for this.
Spaced Cowboy is offline  
Old September 2, 2003, 15:50   #23
Shadowstrike
Emperor
 
Shadowstrike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 03:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: The Glorious Land of Canada
Posts: 3,234
Beginner: 6 seconds
Intermediate: 37 seconds
Expert: 128 seconds

This game is pure evil when you're trying to get anything done..... My biggest gripe is that Expert is usually very difficult to win, because of the mine to square ratio, you usually end up with quite a few dubious ones and end up hitting a mine guessing. Still... 60 seconds on expert? Dear lord....
__________________
*grumbles about work*
Shadowstrike is offline  
Old September 2, 2003, 17:25   #24
Spaced Cowboy
Emperor
 
Spaced Cowboy's Avatar
 
Local Time: 03:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Dallas TX
Posts: 6,939
Yeah, you'll need to put the comp on the lowest resolution (which makes playing it now rather tedious) (640*480) and turn off the question mark option.

Then it is right click to mark. Right and left click to blow open spaces around marked bombs.

And as for the "dubious mines," don't save them for last. Go ahead and guess while you are there. Also don't mark obvious mines out by themselves in the middle of no where.
__________________
We're sorry, the voices in my head are not available at this time. Please try back again soon.
Spaced Cowboy is offline  
Old September 2, 2003, 17:28   #25
DrSpike
Civilization IV: MultiplayerApolyton University
Deity
 
DrSpike's Avatar
 
Local Time: 09:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Enthusiastic member of Apolyton
Posts: 30,342
All that is true, but if you want regular sub 100 second times there is only one real piece of advice. Play more.
DrSpike is offline  
Old September 2, 2003, 20:21   #26
Merlin
Settler
 
Merlin's Avatar
 
Local Time: 08:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Manchester
Posts: 8
My mum set the fastest genuine beginner level minesweeper time I've ever seen - 16 seconds. My own best is about 35.
__________________
"Pointless Sig Quote"
Merlin is offline  
Old September 3, 2003, 09:52   #27
Elok
Scenario League / Civ2-Creation
Emperor
 
Elok's Avatar
 
Local Time: 04:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Having tea with the Third Man...
Posts: 6,169
It's all a matter of learning to recognize patterns so quickly and respond to them so instinctively that conscious thought gets left out of the loop. For example, 1-2-1 against a wall is obviously bomb-clean-bomb, because any other configuration would have the ones be lies. That setup is sufficiently frequent that if you learn to just right-click, left-click, right-click in a row the second you see it you save a lot of time. Having to actually think is your enemy in minesweeper. While you're thinking you're not clicking as fast as you could be. Sometimes you have to so it's a necessary evil.
And not saving ambiguous cases for later is a good policy PROVIDED there is no way the situation could be made less ambiguous by clearing the mines in a line towards it from another direction, e.g. if it's in a corner. If you have several ambiguous cases on one unresolved mass, it's of course best to just go for the one that offers the best odds and start clicking. Thank god for ones in a situation like that.
__________________
"May I be forgiven for the ills that I have done/Friends I have forsaken and strangers I have shunned/Sins I have committed, for which others had to pay/And I haven't met the whiskey that can wash those stains away."
-Brady's Leap, "Wash."
Elok is offline  
Old September 3, 2003, 18:30   #28
Kropotkin
Emperor
 
Kropotkin's Avatar
 
Local Time: 10:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Ivory tower
Posts: 3,511
13, 65 and 183 seconds on my girlfriends computer. I'm not sure if those are my bests. My own computer is turned off, so I can't check.

I'm not really trying to break the records anymore. I'm just playing for distraction and leasure. I'm not planning to get a heart-attack over minesweeper.
__________________
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer
In GAIS we trust!
Kropotkin is offline  
Old September 4, 2003, 13:30   #29
Garth Vader
King
 
Garth Vader's Avatar
 
Local Time: 02:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Saskatoon, SK, CA
Posts: 2,632
I got a 126 on expert, Although I haven't got better than 150 since that time.
__________________
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi Wan's apprentice.
Garth Vader is offline  
Old September 6, 2003, 17:36   #30
Zero
PtWDG Glory of WarInterSite Democracy Game: Apolyton TeamACDG The Human HiveC3C IDG: Apolyton TeamACDG3 SpartansPtWDG2 Monkey
King
 
Zero's Avatar
 
Local Time: 03:02
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Halloween town
Posts: 2,969
40-50 second on expert. Simply with mouse.

No, I wouldnt be able to do that at all. Its my friend's record. And he clicks NON STOP. I wonder how he has time to think about where the mines are.... :scary:


so what about me? I think I beat expert mode once in my life. Rest of the times I just get impatient, bored, and click random buttons until either mouse breaks or i hit mine. (How do you people play this game!!!??? )
__________________
:-p
Zero is offline  
 

Bookmarks

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:02.


Design by Vjacheslav Trushkin, color scheme by ColorizeIt!.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Apolyton Civilization Site | Copyright © The Apolyton Team