C# Minesweeper Game
By Fons Sonnemans (29 June 2003)
Download
Minesweeper.zip
Introduction
I have always wondered how hard it would be to write a game in C#. I picked
Minesweeper for my first try. Made an OO design and then went programming.
See the result in the downloadable zip file. The whole program is less then 400
lines of code!
Screenshot
I have reduced the complexity a bit by eliminating the flag-icon and all menu
options.
Design
The application is build using 3 objects: a Form, a Game which holds an array of
Square objects.
UML Class Diagram (Visio)
MinewsweeperForm class
This class creates a Game object when the Start button is clicked. It also
updates the Timer and Mines display. It contains a Panel control in which the
Game object generates the Squares.
Game class
This class contains a multidimensional array of Square objects which is
initialized in the constructor. The mines are randomly placed in the squares.
It has a Timer which is used to calculate the elapsed gametime. The events
DismantledMinesChanged and Tick are used to notify the MinesweeperForm that is
has to update the GUI.
Square class
This class contains a normal WinForm Button object which Click and MouseDown
events are captured. These events trigger the real game logic. The number of
surrounding mines is calculated (cascading). Mines are dismantled (marked) or
explode which is reported to the Game object using events.
Conclusion
Writing the Minesweeper game was a lot of fun. It demonstrates how object
orientation really makes it easy. Examine it by stepping trough the code using
the VS.NET debugger. I hope you enjoyed this article and sample.
Any suggestions and feedback for improving this article is most welcome. Send
your suggestions and feedback to Fons.Sonnemans@reflectionit.nl