Microsoft Minesweeper
Microsoft Minesweeper
October 8, 1990
Companies
Genres
Add Trivia

subdirectory_arrow_right Microsoft Minesweeper (Game), Microsoft Minesweeper (Game)
1
Attachment The "Flower Garden" mode of Minesweeper was created to be more sensitive towards users in countries, such as Italy, where landmines are a common cause of death rather than seen as a war movie trope. It was originally only available to Italian players, but became a customization option in 2007's remake of Minesweeper, with Flower Garden being the only option for Italian players. in 2012's Microsoft Minesweeper, the Flower Garden mode would also be the only aesthetic option on Siberian and Chinese players.
person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month October 30, 2023
Article on the origins of Flower Garden:
https://www.instantfundas.com/2010/02/minesweeper-controversy-how-flower.html

The Cutting Room Floor articles on regional differences:
https://tcrf.net/Minesweeper_(Windows,_2007)
https://tcrf.net/Minesweeper_(Windows,_1990)#Regional_Differences
https://tcrf.net/Microsoft_Minesweeper
This trivia has been marked as "Not Safe for Work".
It may not be appropriate for all visitors and definitely isn't appropriate for work or school environments.
Click here to unhide it.
1
1
Bill Gates became so addicted to Minesweeper that he had to delete it off of his PC to focus on work. He would then go to then-Microsoft president Mike Hallman and borrow his PC when he wanted to play the game, and eventually got a record of 5 seconds. Following this, Microsoft development manager Tom Reeves would cheat at beating Gates' time by building a macro to automatically complete the game. Gates would respond in an email:

"My critical skills are being displaced by a computer. This technology thing is going too far. How can one retain human dignity when computers do the important stuff better than people?"

Related Games