Minesweeper Beginnings

So, where did minesweeper come from?

Minesweeper was programmed by Robert Donner. Previously there was a game in which
you clicked on a grid of squares and tried to cross from one side to the other without
being blown up. There was a similar version available on the net a few years ago called
BombSweeper, but I can not find it anymore.

In 2000 I was able to contact Donner, and this was his reply:
   
            "Yep, you found the right guy. Very cool web site! 
            I'm originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba and started work at Microsoft in 1989. 
            Minesweeper was my first Windows program. 
            The original version was written over a weekend and had "coins" which you
            could collect. I seem to have lost the version with a foot cursor to stomp on the
            squares. It changed into a bloody stump with dripping blood when you stepped
            on a mine. For some reason, they didn't want to ship with that feature..."

            "Curt Johnson and I started at Microsoft about the same time. He had a program
            for OS/2 with the original grid/number graphics and was involved in some of the
            inital random ideas we had for the game. The boards are created randomly, but I
            haven't checked what was used to seed the random number generator. (I'll send
            more info on this later.) The cheat was added so another friend of mine could
            impress people with his "psychic" abilities. The last time I checked it didn't work in
            some versions of Windows... I wasn't very good at the game initially. After I had
            first given out the program, I saw a friend quickly clicking on squares. He was much
            better/faster than me. I had to play the game a bit more, work out some of the
            "obvious" rules and add the "big step" feature before I thought I could compete with
            him. The copyright date is probably coming from Windows. Or the last person who
            updated it decided to be consistent with the other applications. Bill Gates was a
            pretty good minesweeper player. I think I have email somewhere from him stating
            he got 4 seconds on the beginner grid. 

            Later! - Rob"

Since losing initial contact, I was able to find Donner again in Autumn, 2005. I will
eventually be writing an indepth article on the creation of Minesweeper. Hope this has
been enough to whet your appetite!