_____ _                                       
|     |_|___ ___ ___ _ _ _ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 
| | | | |   | -_|_ -| | | | -_| -_| . | -_|  _|
|_|_|_|_|_|_|___|___|_____|___|___|  _|___|_|  
                                  |_|          

🧨 Minesweeper (C++ & ncurses)

A classic Minesweeper implementation written in modern C++, featuring a fully playable ASCII-based UI built on ncurses.

This project cleanly separates the game logic (build/lib/minesweeperlib.a) from the terminal interface (build/bin/minesweeper), allowing both easy testing and option to leverage the core gameplay in other graphical formats besides the default ASCII based experienced provided with this project.

RUBRIC COMPLIANCE - This project was created as the Final Project for a programing course at Duke University for the Game Design Development and Innovation (GDDI) Master program. The full compliance with the rubric of the assignment can be found in the RubricReport.md.

IMPORTANT - For instructions on how to build this game for your platform, see BuildReadme.md

📖 Backstory

Deep beneath the rolling meadows of the Forgotten Fields lies a network of ancient mines left behind after a long-forgotten war. The villagers who once tended these lands vanished centuries ago, leaving behind a deadly puzzle. You, a daring explorer, have arrived to chart the fields and uncover what remains. Each step you take risks uncovering a hidden explosive relic. With patience, logic, and a bit of luck, you may clear the land and restore peace to the valley — or vanish into legend like those before you.

🧭 Primary Goal(s)

The primary goal of Minesweeper is to clear a rectangular grid of hidden tiles without detonating any mines. Players must use logic and deduction to identify which tiles are safe and which contain mines, marking suspected mines with flags and revealing all safe spaces to win the game.

Victory Condition: - Reveal all non-mine tiles on the board.

Loss Condition: - Reveal a tile containing a mine.

⚙️ Core Game Features

1. Grid-Based Playfield

   • The board is a grid of tiles (e.g., 9×9, 16×16, or custom size).
   • Each tile is initially hidden.

2. Mines Placement

   • A fixed number of mines are randomly placed on the board at the start of each game.
   • The number of mines remains constant throughout the game.

3. Tile States

   • Hidden: Not yet revealed.
   • Revealed: Shows either:
     • A number (1–8) indicating how many adjacent tiles contain mines, or
     • A blank space (if no adjacent mines).
   • Flagged: Marked by the player as suspected to contain a mine.

4. Revealing Behavior

   • Revealing a mine ends the game.
   • Revealing a tile with 0 adjacent mines automatically reveals all contiguous safe tiles (a recursive reveal).

5. Save / Load (optional feature)

   • Player progress can be saved and restored.

6. Configurable Layout and Difficulty

   • Custom grid sizes (row x cols) and number of mines can be set by user

🎮 Instructions for Play

1. Starting the Game

   • The player is presented with a hidden grid.
   • The first tile clicked is guaranteed to be safe.

2. Revealing Tiles (spacebar)

   • If it contains a mine → Game Over.
   • If it contains a number → Display adjacent mine count.
   • If it’s empty → Automatically reveal adjacent safe tiles recursively.

3. Flagging Tiles

   • F Key: Toggle a flag on or off to mark a suspected mine.
   • Flags are used to help track dangerous spots.
   • Once Flagged, tile cannot be accidentally revealed. Must be unflagged to reval

4. Winning the Game

   • Continue revealing safe tiles until all non-mine tiles are uncovered.
   • The number of flags should ideally match the total number of mines.

5. Losing the Game

   • Revealing a tile with a mine immediately ends the game.
   • All mines are revealed to show where they were located.

6. Optional Controls

   • Reset / New Game: Start a new randomized board.
   • Save / Load: Preserve or restore game state.

🧩 Controls

Key	Action
⬆️ / ⬇️ / ⬅️ / ➡️ or H/J/K/L	Move cursor
Space / Enter	Reveal tile
f	Toggle flag / question mark / off
r	Restart current board
s	Save current game as saved_game.txt
q	Quit

▶️ Usage

IMPORTANT - For instructions on how to build this game for your platform, see BuildReadme.md

Start a new default game (16×30, 99 mines)

./build/bin/minesweeper

Start a custom game

./build/bin/minesweeper <rows> <columns> <mines>
# Example:
./build/bin/minesweeper 10 20 40

Resume from a saved game

./build/bin/minesweeper path/to/savefile.txt

🖋️ Author

Rodney Aiglstorfer
Graduate Student – Duke University, Game Design, Development & Innovation
GitHub: @ra9r

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🧾 License

MIT License © 2025
Feel free to use, modify, and distribute this project for educational or personal purposes.