The Authoritative Minesweeper Guestbook

Feel free to chat, make suggestions, or tell your scores!


01/08/01 05:53:07 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Comments: Another thing I like about beginner, Marc, is that there's never any guessing!
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01/08/01 05:50:39 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 81
Best intermediate: 17
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Hey Marc, congrats on the 59......Im not sure but I think expert has my number. My next best score after that 81 is a 90. I barely finish any games and I have problems with marking so many more mines than on intermediate. That's why I concentrate on intermediate because I like the speed aspect better. Going along with that, and your quest to attain the holy grail of the beginner level, I can say that the more you play beginner, the more common those 3's and 4's become. I can never better my 1s, but racking up the 2's, 3's and 4's is quite rewarding. The way I play beg. is to have my mouse over one of the squares near the middle of the board, and just keep doing F2-click-F2-click, in the same spot. I do this until I get a workable opening, which I then play. I think this works much better than playing every single board, in some aspects..... Good luck with the 1 sec. I've gotten two.
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01/08/01 04:51:30 PM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 19
Best beginner: 3
Comments: I should definately start using fewer smileys...

01/08/01 04:50:26 PM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 19
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Thanks, Dan! I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I was lucky to finish this game, as I got so nervous towards the end that I made a few unnecessary guesses. It seems to me, though, now that I've broken 60s, that I can play more freely. The difference between 63 (my previous record) and 59 looks greater than the difference between 59 and 55. I could be wrong, of course :) Anyway, I'll be testing that assumption later. Right now I'm trying to get a 1s in beginner. If I never play a beginner board again, it'll be too soon :) Of course, if you look at how my other records have improved (65->59, 21->19) over the past 3 weeks, a 1 should be coming shortly...

01/08/01 03:55:10 PM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: To add support to my last post, I've gotten 59 three times and 60 four times yet have been unable to finish below 59. It is inevitable that I'll break 59, but I've been very frustrated with my inability to do it thus far.
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01/08/01 03:51:53 PM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Welcome to the minute club, Marc. I've found it most difficult to continue to better my time after breaking 60. Whenever I'm going fast I start thinking about it and that just messes me up...every time. I've almost achieved mid 50's countless times, but it is not easy to finish a game with that kind of score.
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01/08/01 05:13:56 AM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 19
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Oh, just another thing: I didn't record my 59 with Camtasia, because for some reason, the program has suddenly begun to slow down my computer. One day, it was running smoothly, the next I couldn't play expert with it running. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, did you fix it? How? The speed of my computer shouldn't be an object, as I have an Athlon 700... For now, the good old screenshot will have to do.

01/08/01 05:08:38 AM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 59!
Best intermediate: 19
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Yes, finally! After 4 years I've finally been able to break the 1-min barrier. I think I woke up my neigbors at 3am this morning when I got 59 seconds :) I knew I was going terribly fast from the start and this actually slowed me down a bit, especially towards the end where it became apparent that I would beat my record. If I hadn't messed up a few squares, I would have gotten at least a 57. Oh well... Leave something to do, I guess... Next goal: 2 mines/second for my combined records. This means taking off another 5 seconds. I'm hoping for 1/19/56 some time soon.

01/06/01 01:49:54 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 81
Best intermediate: 17
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Well, nevermind about me being the youngest guy to go under 100. According to posts in the guestbook, Wen Gao was 3 months away from being 15 when he broke 100 at the age of 14. Oh well, I'm still, hopefully, the youngest guy to go under 20 in intermediate...... I found my first post in the gusetbook (when my times were 9-75-247) and I was asking how it was humany possible to get 1 sec. in beginner.....It just goes to show, the more you play, the times you thought were fakes become your best......
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01/05/01 11:12:39 PM  
Name: Jordan Hartline
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 29
Best beginner: 6
Comments: I love this game. I play it at least 2-3 hours a day. This site is great.
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01/05/01 11:46:16 AM  
Name: Benny Benjamin
Best expert: 86
Best intermediate: 23
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Seriously Authoritative Minesweeper Site. Well done....

01/05/01 07:22:36 AM  
Name: Andrew Washburn
Best expert: 83 (Yahoo!)
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 4
Comments: I finally broke my expert time of 97...significantly too. The problem was only that I never played expert. I knew all along that if I mustered up the patience, I could and would do much better. I took about a two-week layoff from minesweeper in England, and when I came back I couldn't even break 40 in int. I got a 43, my worst time (in a serious game) since sometime in the middle of summer.
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01/04/01 04:56:22 PM  
Name: Joe Nuss
Comments: *ahem* are you really gitty? perhaps giddy, though, right? ;)
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01/04/01 01:07:42 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 81
Best intermediate: 17
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Yes, I was stunned, amazed and baffled when I got that 17. I got it the same day as my 81 too. I still am gitty at the fact that that's the 8th fastest time. But the fact that my board required at least 6 LESS clicks to clear it then Gernot's 12. That 12 board needed about 25-26 clicks to clear it while my 17 needed only 19. Maybe I spent too much time looking around the board only to find the areas already cleared. Maybe, if I do like Gernot and get that board AGAIN, then....well, I think I'd have a pretty good shot at the world record
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01/03/01 05:45:10 AM  
Name: Joe
Best expert: 96
Best intermediate: 28
Best beginner: 4
Comments: looks like i spoke too soon. finally, after a barren month (during which, admittedly, i spent far too much time futilely trying to lower my beginner time), i broke 100. it is truly a weight off my shoulders. just 29 more total seconds and ill be on the best players list...
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01/02/01 09:23:37 PM  
Name: David Barry
Best expert: 53
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Matt, I had a 99 when I was 15... so you are a few months ahead of me. I'm 16 now, 17 in April.
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01/02/01 04:59:29 PM  
Name: Joe Nuss
Comments: oh yeah, im 17. forgot to put that in.
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01/02/01 04:57:19 PM  
Name: Joe Nuss
Best expert: 104
Best intermediate: 28
Best beginner: 4
Comments: damn, matt, good job. one more second and youll be on the best players list. too bad mike's retiring after moving into third place on the combined scores list, he's right on lasse and gernot's tail. lotta news for the new year, it seems. too bad i havent broken my records in a month....
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01/02/01 11:54:18 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 81
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: WOOHOO!!! 81!!!!! But, once again, I have no video.....damn...
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01/02/01 11:12:45 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 90
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: I'm 15 and probably one of the youngest sweepers here. I also think from looking at other people's ages and thier posts from a while ago, that I am the youngest person to get under 100, or if not that, under 20 in intermediate. Anyone who got under 100 or 20 when they were 15, tell me.
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01/02/01 09:45:57 AM  
Name: Mike Lowder
Best expert: 53
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 2
Comments: Finally!!! After 3 years of trying to beat 60 seconds I did it!! I just hoping for a 58 or 59, but when I saw a 53 I thought I was dreaming. I can't count how many times that I have been at 57, 58 or 59 and had one last guess and missed. It was driving me crazy. And I did it without marking a single bomb. Well, I'm now officially retired and I'm not going to play again. Well, at least for a while anyway. But I'm definitely not going to spend as much time as I used to playing. So the scores I have now will probably be the best I will ever get to. I do have a question for all of you. I'm wondering what the average age is for all us minesweepers. I'm 38 and I think I'm one of the older players. I think it would be interesting to see if most of the players are younger or if there are some older players out there.
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01/01/01 05:35:56 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 90
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Aaaaahhhhhh.... A new year, a new expert record......Now I just need some new shoes.....
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12/31/00 08:51:38 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Hmmmmmm.....I say go for the Microsoft, Jaguarz. A couple of my friends have one and they havent had any complaints. As for my mouse, it is a cheap, no-name brand that came with my computer. I think it's called an "ice mouse". Ive never heard of it either but it sure works swell!!!!!
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12/31/00 07:08:51 AM  
Name: jaguarz
Comments: Thanks for all of you!! Now I am decide to choose from these ones: Logitech MouseMan Wheel Optical $43.24 Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical $39.57 Logitech Wheel Mouse Optical $24.64 all the prices is showed on amazon.com Anyway, I like the Microsoft's best.
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12/30/00 11:31:21 PM  
Name: Damien Moore
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 16
Best beginner: 1
Comments: I just bought a logitech optical wheel mouse...it was awesome for an hour, but now it starts trembling and jerking around periodically. It works fine for solitaire (today I got 97 sec with 7917 points), but as soon as I start clicking a minesweeper game the trembling starts again. So, I think I'll return it and see if it's just mine that's the problem. Happy new year y'all.
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12/30/00 07:23:06 PM  
Name: Lasse Nyholm
Best expert: 51
Best intermediate: 16
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Hi Jaguarz - I can't give you a mouse-advice, cause I use a Logitech Wheelmouse - it works for me.
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12/30/00 11:35:35 AM  
Name: David Barry
Best expert: 53
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Lasse, congratulations on the 51! Jaguarz, I used to use a Genius Netmouse, now I use a Trekker two-button. I don't think the type of mouse matters, just as long as it moves slowly and clicks easily - this is really a matter of buying a mouse and hoping you get one that you like.
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12/30/00 09:40:26 AM  
Name: jaguarz
Best expert: 69
Best intermediate: 20
Best beginner: 4
Comments: I want to know what mouse do you use when you play the game.I am now using a Logitech Wheelmouse.But I don't like it.Any good tips or another choice?
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12/29/00 05:22:48 PM  
Name: Lasse Nyholm
Best expert: 51
Best intermediate: 16
Best beginner: 3
Comments: I'm out of words - 51 - it feels amazing!
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12/29/00 10:55:33 AM  
Name: David Barry
Best expert: 53
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Bret: The other possibility is that the minesweeper boards are seeded the way Freecell games are - only between 1 and 32000, but this is essentially the same thing - only using integer values for seeds. I don't think anyone would want to invalidate all the current records just because a few million more boards have been created. Anyone who can get 12 seconds in intermediate deserves to have the record, regardless of what board it was played on.
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12/28/00 05:08:05 AM  
Name: Bret Piatt
Best expert: Slow
Best intermediate: Not very fast
Best beginner: I'm not here for the speed
Comments: I was reading the discussion on the random number theory behind minesweeper posted on this page. Looking at it from a programming perspective when it was first released the 'seed' for the pseudo-random number generator (prng) is probably an 16 bit number giving us a maximum of 65535 boards for each difficulty level. I would guess its a fairly simple single seed prng because it was written for 80268/10s and 12s with no fpu. Maybe someday Microsoft will update and make it really random (use a prng with a repeating pattern > total number of possible boards for X by Y with Z mines). If they did would that invalidate all of the "world records"?
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12/27/00 04:47:01 PM  
Name: Chloe B.
Best expert: 141
Best intermediate: 36
Best beginner: 8
Comments: I thought 141 was invincible until I found your site today. I am so glad, though, that I am not the only addict out there. And, because I thoroughly love the challenge, I will ever read or use the "Cheats".

12/26/00 11:19:12 PM  
Name: A. Farley Howl
Best expert: 139
Best intermediate: 44
Best beginner: 6
Comments: Now that I've read the tips, I'm really going to freak out a few people!!! Though I've played a bunch, I'd never even read the rules of the game until today. :-)
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12/26/00 07:57:52 PM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 64
Best intermediate: 19
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Damn! I just beat my 18-month old expert record and I don't have a movie or a screenshot. I was just playing a few games before going to bed and (as usual, I guess) didn't know I was going fast at all... Well, anyway, I'm extremely glad I broke my record and I'm confident now that I'll break 60s in the not-so-far future. I'll be back...

12/25/00 08:29:48 PM  
Name: man kin tse
Best expert: 77
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: I am trying to improve myself. I know one day I can appear on the world records.
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12/24/00 07:48:59 AM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 65
Best intermediate: 19
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Hey Matt, guess what: I've just returned from a skiing trip to France where I took off 2 seconds of my int. record on a laptop with a crappy mouse in a freezing chalet. So there's always hope :) Damn... If only I had gotten that board here on my trusty old desktop & Logitech with Camtasia running...

12/20/00 09:08:06 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: AAARGGGGGHHHHHH!!! I'm so close to busting my 91 and now I have to leave to Michigan for a week with no computer with a descent mouse to be found........... I'll be back with a new expert record.
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12/16/00 01:20:02 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: For some odd reason, the recorder doesnt slow down my computer at all anymore. It works perfectly fine and smooth. I recorded 4-19-106, but I havent played much lately.... Man, I thought beating 91 was going to be a breeze, but Im not getting any good boards. That 106 has been my fastest time after I got that 91....pathetic.
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12/16/00 12:10:52 PM  
Name: Aaron Woolf
Best expert: 237
Best intermediate: 57
Best beginner: 8
Comments: Well, I'm no speed demon yet but I'm still pretty new. Give me a while and I'll be up there with the best of them!
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12/16/00 06:05:51 AM  
Name: emma mosley
Best expert: 70
Best intermediate: 26
Best beginner: 3
Comments: downloaded camtasia but it slows down my playing :( so i'm not sure whether i'll use it... nice idea though if it didn't make it so slow!
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12/15/00 12:26:17 PM  
Name: rob mcneilly
Best expert: 205
Best intermediate: 95
Best beginner: 8
Comments: First time on this site. i am humbled.will have to see tip page.
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12/15/00 03:11:33 AM  
Name: David Barry
Comments: I've fixed the problem with the mouse - something wrong with the pointer - had to set it back to Windows Standard. Works fine now.
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12/14/00 09:57:17 PM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 65
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Hi, Camtasia runs perfectly on my computer too. For those of you who have doubts as to whether you're able to beat your records with the program running: I've just equalled my best time with the program running. Movie soon at a theatre near you :)

12/14/00 12:14:03 PM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: I have not had any problems at all using the video recorder with minesweeper. Everything runs perfectly smooth.
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12/14/00 07:54:40 AM  
Name: David Barry
Best expert: 53
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: With the movie recorder thing, has anyone else has the problem of the mous flickering very badly? I find that the flickering slows me down by at least 15sec on my PII 450 (though the computer's reliability may not be what it should - lots of computers in this part of the world - Middle East - are not quite as good as they should be).
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12/13/00 09:30:57 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Wow those videos are cool. Only my computer lags when I have the reocrder going while Im playing mines. That means only about half the clicks I make appear on the board. I have recorded a 19 sec. intermediate game and a 4 sec. beginner 'dough. They're really cool to watch...... Now, I hope, if everybody downloads that shee-ot, we can have videos for all the records as well as screenshots. That would be boss! Damn the weather here is awesome! It's about 0 degrees celcius with freezing rain and 30 mph winds...anyone else live in GA, USA?????
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12/13/00 06:10:36 AM  
Name: Remco Braak
Best expert: 114
Best intermediate: 45
Best beginner: 8
Comments: Hi. I once read somewhere on the Web a story about someone who solved a 16x30 board with 137 mines. Since I'm getting frustrated over not being quick enough, I'm often using the Custom option. I'm up to 135 mines now, so I'm closing the gap with this unofficial record. Anyone have a better score than that? I'm surprised to find only one entry in this guestbook (Lance V on 11/3/00) about this variant. He says he scored 202 on a 24x30 board, so I guess that'll be my next objective!
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12/12/00 10:58:26 PM  
Name: Joe
Best expert: 104
Best intermediate: 28
Best beginner: 4
Comments: breaking 100 is a bitch. so is breaking 4, for that matter. well, i hope to have records of 1-28-98 by the end of the year. then i can be on all three lists. yes. im sure you all care. ok, ill be on my way now.
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12/12/00 08:24:11 AM  
Name: Daniela
Best expert: 159
Best intermediate: 38
Best beginner: 10
Comments: Before checking out this site I always thought I am good at playing Minesweeper. I hate the beginner level. My intermediate and expert times change nearly every day. But my beginner time is the same since two years.

12/09/00 09:52:36 PM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Ryan, to submit your scores send an email to thefinerminer@hotmail.com. That is the mailbox of Damien, the guy who runs this site. Be sure to tell him where you are in the world and the approximate date you got your scores. By the way, double clicking is very necessary if you want any shot at the expert world record. It is not necessary for beginner or intermediate, although it can help sometimes in intermediate.
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12/09/00 04:59:26 PM  
Name: Ryan Peckyno
Best expert: 97 seconds
Best intermediate: 29 seconds
Best beginner: 2 seconds
Comments: All of these scores are without using cheats...and by only clicking the left mouse button. I have never played by clicking the middle or holding them both in at the same time. I'm not sure exactly how much of a difference this makes...but I am sure that it makes a pretty big difference. I will try playing that way from now on and I will crush all of your scores. I talked to one person the other day who couldn't break the 40 second barrier on intermediate playing the way I play...but could get under 20 by "clicking with both buttons." How do we submit our scores anyway??????
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12/08/00 05:53:04 AM  
Name: Stubbe
Best expert: 68
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Finally...
...after getting an intermediate score of 22 five times I broke my record today!!!

I'm 20 years old. I live in a town called Bagsværd in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. I've recently dropped out of the university of Copenhagen, where i studied mathematical economics. Instead I'm starting a two year millitary education in februrary.

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12/08/00 03:26:04 AM  
Name: Joe
Best expert: 104
Best intermediate: 33
Best beginner: 4
Comments: what up. im 17 from san diego. ive been playing minesweeper caring about my times for about a year, but i didnt find out about the left-right click method till august, so ive only really been serious since then. that being as it may, i would like to tout myself as "rookie of the year", since ive brought my scores down from 9/85/250 to what they are now in 4 months. :)
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12/07/00 02:29:37 PM  
Name: David Chan
Best expert: 88
Best intermediate: 31
Best beginner: 5
Comments: I am 17 and my brother, Jackson, who is 22 just got a 97s in expert. Anyway I want to know if we are the first brothers that both get under 100s in expert.
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12/07/00 12:46:19 PM  
Name: Clément AMZALLAG
Best expert: 90
Best intermediate: 25
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Hello, I'm a maths teacher, 28 yo from Israel, born in Paris (France). I hope I'll improve my performances. Glad to see I'm not that bad. Greetings to all!
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12/07/00 02:24:46 AM  
Name: Khor Eng Tat
Best expert: 66
Best intermediate: 20
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Hey ppl. Friends call me ET. I'm 21, a chinese male from Malaysia, a Computer Scientist. Been playing Mines since....14 I think. But got serious when I was about 18 really.

Initially, I got about 200+ at expert, and I thought I was God (just like everyone else), when one day, I found out through the Internet that ppl were doing sub-60s! That spurred me to go "professional".

Haven't been playing recently. Records have been stagnant for quite awhile. Hope that changes.

Hey Damien, I think the "Best 20 Players" thing is a great idea! Good job!


12/06/00 06:09:18 PM  
Name: Marc Schouten
Best expert: 65
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Hi. 23/m/Netherlands here. I've been playing since I was 19; seriously since I was 20. I got down to 3/21/65 and really on my way to breaking the 1-min barrier when Carpal Tunnel Syndrome hit. I stopped playing for a year, but picked it up again a few weeks ago after having been introduced to the minesweeper mailgroup on e-groups. I haven't had any CPS-problems yet, luckily, so I'm hoping to start beating those records soon. I'm somewhat amazed at how quickly I got back to my former level. When I started again, I was finishing expert in 90-100s (if at all). Today I finished a 69s game and I've been on schedule for 66-67 several times. My "new" records are 4-24-69. On a different note: it occurred to me recently that a prerequisite for getting really fast times is that when you open up squares, numbers appear that have either zero bombs next to it, or that have bombs in all the available squares next to it. This way you can follow a smooth path through the playing field, without having to resort to "higher-level" logic to clear squares. Any ideas on strategy that ensure the occurrence of this type of situations? Or on other advanced clearing strategies, for that matter... I'll be checking back, of course... :) Marc

12/06/00 11:40:18 AM  
Name: Andrew Washburn
Best expert: 97
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 4
Comments: I'm 17, a junior in high school. I've been playing for just under a year now, but only 6 months or so seriously. I remember jumping up and down from finishing under 40 in int...now virtually 100% of my games are under 40, with about 2/3 under 30 recently.
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12/06/00 09:09:46 AM  
Name: Damien Moore
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 16
Best beginner: 1
Comments: I'm 17 and have been playing seriously for two years....I don't want to think about how much time I've put in, but it has paid off. W'd be nice to find a job like that, Dan.
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12/06/00 07:18:36 AM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: I'm 26...got started playing minesweeper four years ago when I had a job in which I had a computer and a lot of free time. At that time I thought it was impossible to get these kinds of scores.
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12/06/00 04:37:25 AM  
Name: Emma
Best expert: 70
Best intermediate: 26
Best beginner: 3
Comments: I'm 21 & from England... been playin minesweeper for too many years!
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12/05/00 04:46:41 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Hmmmm.....I wonder if I am the first person ever to go under 20 in intermediate before breaking the 100 barrier in expert. Any one else who has done that, tell me..... And how old is everybody here? I'm 15.
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12/05/00 01:25:45 PM  
Name: Andrew Washburn
Best expert: 97
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 4
Comments: I'm in Germany, but, alas, I'm just another bloody Auslander Ami.(Ami=German slang for American), so I can't provide a German version. While I'm on the subject, has anyone else wondered why seemingly way over half of us aren't in America now? Looking at the record page, I see almost everything BUT American locations. INT. RULZ!!!!!
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12/04/00 08:56:08 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 98
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: I can not in any way break any of my records in the next 2 months or so, since i'm on a trip to China right now and where i'm staying there's a computer (it has Minesweeper in it) and a very very crap mouse. (it hardly moves)

12/03/00 01:23:31 AM  
Name: Joe
Best expert: 104
Best intermediate: 33
Best beginner: 4
Comments: (no comment)
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12/02/00 10:11:33 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Is there anywhere I could downlaod a german or other language veriosn of minesweeper, but it still looks like the 3.1 windows version? Anyone from germany who has the german version, could you e-mail it to me or something? One of my teachers would like to see it.....thanks.
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12/01/00 01:30:53 PM  
Name: Emma
Best expert: 70
Best intermediate: 26
Best beginner: 3
Comments: used to have that prob.. i now tend to clear the board from left to right.. and make sure i do them all... to prevent dissapointment *s* still waiting to break me 70 barrier though!!
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12/01/00 01:03:04 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Does anyone else have expert boards where you are ahead of record pace and you finish expecting the clock to stop and the "congratulations" screen to pop up, but instead nothing happens? Instead of setting a new PR, you spend precious seconds searching for the one square you forgot to clear! I hate that! Today I was on pace for a 78 second expert game and when I thought I had finished I looked up at the clock and it kept going from 78 all the way to 102. Just one mine screwed me up. Reply to this if you have had a similar experience...
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12/01/00 01:57:25 AM  
Name: Andrew Washburn
Best expert: 97
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 4
Comments: Well, I broke my record in int by a second...whoopdeedoo. OK Matt, you win, I give. I thought of a good analogy to the whole int. vs. expert thing...Being a minesweeper isn't ALL about spped or ALL about pattern recognition, etc., etc...Just like me as a track athlete...You see, I will always lose a 100 meter sprint, but will kick ass in the mile; therefore I'm still a good athlete, right? Just the same way, one can kick ass in int/expert and lack in the other, and still be a good sweeper. It's all based on what areas you're good at.
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11/30/00 09:28:23 AM  
Name: David Barry
Best expert: 53
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: Broke my best expert time today, 53 now, just 3 more to go....
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11/29/00 06:00:34 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: http://www.egroups.com/group/minesweeper-addicts Go there and talk.....about anything......about minesweeper, eh?
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11/29/00 01:34:44 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 98
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: I'm wondering if any of u got records on your friend's computer. I went to my friend's house the other day and wiped his previous record of "10, 63, 245" down to "7, 36, 111". offcourse He became really angry and reset the scores and he never allowed me to touch his computer again

11/28/00 05:42:07 PM  
Name: Paul Kerry
Best expert: 63
Best intermediate: 17
Best beginner: 3
Comments:

Congrats Wen and Matt. Do you realise every day as I think about loading this page I sit and wonder if either of you have broken the 100 barrier! Now I'll have to find something different to think about.

Keep up the playing guys!
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11/28/00 03:01:25 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 98
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: Heehhe, thanks Matt, and congratulations to u too! I think it'll be a while before i break 90 though. But still, I will keep trying. HAahahahhaHA....98sec!....AHAHhahaaah ...98..HAHA.. aaaahhhaah....ugh..

11/28/00 12:03:10 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 91
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Okay, expert and I made up and we are planning to exchange recipes again (he makes the greatest pumpernikel pie!) Congrats Wen
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11/27/00 11:32:28 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 98 Muhhaahahhahahhaaaaaaah.....
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: I have finally done it! Damn i feel so good right now! It ain't no joke, this under-100 thing's really getting to me. NOW i can go to sleep without those weird dreams of numbers and sqaures, or clockes ticking, or the yellow smiley face turning into a phantom and eating me........ugh, scary stuff
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11/27/00 01:14:14 PM  
Name: Emma
Best expert: 70
Best intermediate: 26
Best beginner: 3
Comments: whilst we're on the subject.... expert is far better than intermediate! can't seem to get the good scores on intermediate, all seems down to luck, with expert if you're skillful then you can carry on breaking your records!
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11/26/00 04:47:35 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: In my opinion, one can obtain more CONSISTANT scores on expert then on Intermediate. For that right now my expert times never go above 125, (roughly) but in intermediate, i sometimes get a 51, or 53 when i'm in top speed. It either that or does it prove i have the potential to get a far better time in expert? Stupid 101...

11/26/00 04:21:30 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I had an expert board finished with 88 seconds on the clock....88 seconds!!!!!!!! The only bad thing was that I didnt have all the mines cleared. I frantically searched the board for the ONE....remaining.....square I forgot to clear. I watched as the clock SLLLLLOOOOOWLLLLLY inched forward towards 100. 93..94..95..96....97......98...............99 ALAS! I had found the uncleared square I clicked and the clock stopped at 105. I HATE expert. I will be back with a sub-100
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11/26/00 09:05:54 AM  
Name: Khor Eng Tat
Comments: Hey Dan, you're right. Marking less mines saves time, and has much room for improvement. I once had my right button spoilt. As I didn't bother to get a new mouse, I wasn't able to mark any mines. Of course, the times I recorded were slow. But then, when i finally got my new mouse, I realised I played considerably faster as i was marking less mines.

It's just a matter of selective marking, cause sometimes it does help to mark those bastards cause u can use the left-right click thing.


11/26/00 08:09:26 AM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 5
Comments: After thinking about it for a bit, I do have to agree that intermediate requires less marking of mines. That is a skill in which I still have some decent room to improve.
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11/26/00 08:02:17 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Hmmmmmm, I feel kind of guilty for starting this thing. I wasnt trying to stir up a contraversy betweeen intermediate and expert. I was just saying that Im not playing expert right now and concentrating on intermediate because intermediate really tests your speed as well as some limited pattern recognition. Yeah, as soon as I begin to not get below 25 on inter. for a couple days, I'll start playing expert and try to sub-100, but until then, I like to test my speed on intermediate. I agree that expert takes more SKILLS and pattern RECOGNITION, but I like the speed factor in intermediate. Sue me.
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11/26/00 07:14:58 AM  
Name: David Barry
Best expert: 54
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 3
Comments: On intermediate v expert... I think the greatest difference between the two is that in intermediate the skill is in learning when to flag and when not, to the point where you may only flag 50% or less of the mines (none at all?). In expert, you flag most of them (roughly 80%). So, I think that we should look at intermediate needing only one extra skill than expert (There is still pattern recognition in intermediate, and speed and co-ordination in expert). However, expert does not rely on luck as much as intermediate does. So, we should not treat one or the other as being "minesweeper".
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11/26/00 03:10:43 AM  
Name: Andrew Washburn
Best expert: 97
Best intermediate: 22
Best beginner: 4
Comments: Well...In response to Dan's comment on int. vs expert, I think both measure minesweeping skill pretty well. But you must remember that there are many aspects of minesweeping skill, the biggest two being pattern recognition and mouse speed/coordination. I think intermediate is a good test of speed and coordination with the mouse, and expert tests pattern recognition (beginner is a good measure of luck). Whichever area you find yourself lacking in, you should work on. I got a couple 23's the other day in which I could easily have gone faster had I been aware that I was on record-breaking pace. Oh well.
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11/25/00 05:40:35 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 101 Muhh................
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: Well, not quite there yet, but it is nice just to lower the record anyway. I know it's not hard for me to get a 95-100, but i just never manage to DO it, that's all.

11/25/00 08:30:14 AM  
Name: Erez Hershkowitz
Best expert: 73
Best intermediate: 25
Best beginner: 1
Comments: (no comment)
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11/24/00 12:04:42 PM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 4
Comments: I see a lot of posts on here by people who concentrate on intermediate and don't give much attention to expert level. In my opinion, expert is the best test of minesweeping skill. That is why I concentrate on expert.
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11/23/00 10:51:47 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 103
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: man, with your intermediate speed i think u only need to FINISH expert a 6th time to break your current record. For me it is unimaginable to go below my current intermediate record of 27sec (clap, clap!) so i believe breaking 100 sec on expert will be a far easier task.

11/23/00 08:22:25 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Yeah Wen, I'm kind of neglecting expert now and fully concenttrating on intermediate. I know I can go faster than 18. I had a board where I lost w/13 seconds and 4 squares left. However three of those were guessing so I probably wouldn't have gotten it anyways. The only reason I play expert now is to warm-up for intermediate. I play expert w/o flags until I feel my brain has warmed-up then I go to intermediate and play with flags and go for a fast time. So far it has payed off. Last night I got a 20 and a 21. I know most of you dont play beginner but it's fun for me. Im getting a lot faster there also. Before last night, the most 3's I had ever gotten in one day is 1, but last night I got 5! I also got another 2. I could probably get under 100, but Ive only finished expert five times...EVER! Too much guessing....
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11/22/00 06:56:29 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 103
Best intermediate: 27
Best beginner: 5
Comments: Hey Matt, congratulations on that 18sec int job. (so many new personal records today...) I can't believe u haven't broken 100 yet, or are u just refusing to play expert? Man, i can sense myself breaking that 100mark any day now. I am THAT confident. (the fastest i got was a 89sec pace but stuffed up when there are 13 mines left)

11/22/00 11:01:09 AM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 103
Best intermediate: 27 MUHAAHAHAHAAH....
Best beginner: 5
Comments: How come i never get what i want...Yesterday, i was going for a sub-100 on expert, and only played intermediate during breaks and i broke my int. record again!

11/22/00 10:22:07 AM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 18
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Wow, Im so excited about my 18. I was thinking that if I were to have the same rankings on expert a I do on beg. and inter., I would have to have about a 63-64 in expert..... Feels great to be one of the fastest sweepers ever.....not counting expert :)
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11/21/00 06:29:28 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 18 YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Yes! Finally under 20. Significantly under 20 also! That brings up another point. My scores are some of the most lopsided scores I have ever seen. David Barry who has an 18 like me has an expert score of 54! Almost half of my 101. I dont like expert anyways.
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11/21/00 09:26:17 AM  
Name: Khor Eng Tat
Comments: Hey Matt, well, I haven't tried using an optical mouse yet. Can't afford it. Besides, my current mouse is very well (Ms Intelli).

But I do know one thing, Microsoft mouse is the best mouse for Minesweeping, in my opinion that is.


11/21/00 08:47:18 AM  
Name: Dan Cerveny
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 21
Best beginner: 4
Comments: Way to go, Damien. Welcome to the minute-breaker club.
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11/20/00 11:15:59 PM  
Name: Joe
Best expert: 133
Best intermediate: 33
Best beginner: 4
Comments: i dont know if any of you guys still care about beginner, but my friend got another 1 second game. i think he's going to email you, damien. well, broke my expert...need to get lower...
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11/20/00 06:57:00 PM  
Name: Damien Moore
Best expert: 59
Best intermediate: 16
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Yeehoo! I finally joined the minute-breaker club today. It is harder to do than I thought. I began to try in earnest two weeks ago and have been playing +6 hours a day. Man, that box still gives me the same ride it did when i started playing two years ago.
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11/20/00 06:03:00 PM  
Name: Wen Gao
Best expert: 103
Best intermediate: 30
Best beginner: 5
Comments: It's really not that easy to go under 100. Hope today will be my lucky day.
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11/20/00 04:41:01 PM  
Name: matt mcginley
Best expert: 101
Best intermediate: 22
Best beginner: 1
Comments: Hey Khor , have you tried the Microsoft optical mouse yet? I NEED a BIG mouse and I hear that that one is bigger then the average mouse. An optical mouse would be a very good investment seeing as it will never skip over a piece of dust or jump over some lint. I also equalled my 22 in inter. for the third time. It's aboot time I get below 20. Right Andrew?
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11/20/00 12:55:06 PM  
Name: Khor Eng Tat
Best expert: 66
Best intermediate: 20
Best beginner: 1
Comments: hey, do you know what else minesweeper is useful for? ..... To test your mouse. Everytime I need to get a new mouse, the first thing I do is to sweep 'em mines! And if it feels good, then darn, it's a good mouse.

PS - I'm always pleased to offer my assistance to anyone who needs to test their mouse!




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