the cutting room mirror

Microsoft Minesweeper

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To do:
Document more of 4.x's UI overhaul, maybe even have a separate page for it. That, and a Garden theme seems to be in the 4.x.

Minesweeper, now for the new age of mobile apps except for computers.

Debug Menu#

This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: Can this be accessed?

Download Microsoft Minesweeper Debug Files

File: MicrosoftWindows8Games-DebugFiles.rar (9 KB) (info)

Like the other Microsoft games developed by Arkadium, in /Common/DebugModule/ there are 5 .xbf files containing data for a debug menu. There is a sixth debug file, AdModuleDebug.xbf, stored in /Arkadium.Advertisement/View/.

Regional Differences#

Note: this section only applies to version 3.1.9160 (and possibly earlier). Version 4.x doesn't have a garden theme at all.

When the game is in Italian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, or Traditional Chinese, "modern theme" disappears, and only "garden theme" is available. The tile image is also changed to depict the garden theme. (Note that Metro apps follow the "preferred languages" list, and not the "Windows display language")

English

Italian

Modern

Garden

LargeTile

MediumTile

SmallTile

WideTile

Version Differences#

Version 4.x is a rewrite that brings it closer to the current (as of 2022) version of its cousin Microsoft Solitaire Collection.

Version 3.x and older are made with .NET and XAML (they have dependencies `Microsoft.NET.Native.Framework.2.2` and `Microsoft.NET.Native.Runtime.2.2`). Version 4.x onwards are made with Unity.

Like Microsoft Solitaire Collection, version 4.x of Microsoft Minesweeper comes with a redesign that matches Windows 11 visual styles, along with a UI overhaul.