Minesweeper Clone Cheats

The cheats, codes, bugs, scripts and solvers on this page are for Minesweeper clones.

Clones are versions of Minesweeper accepted for world rankings but not published by Microsoft. The current official versions are Arbiter, Minesweeper X and Viennasweeper. These versions save videos of your games and can save your playing history.

Microsoft Minesweeper Cheats

01. Pause Timer (Minimise Game)

Version: MSX

Minimise the game and the timer will pause until the game is maximised.

CommentThe game timer pauses but the video file records timestamps.

02. Steal Videos

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Upload videos made by a different player.

CommentVideos contain checksums and can be matched to history files.

03. Edit Highscores (History File)

Version: MSX, Viennasweeper

MSX history is stored in a *txt file and Viennasweeper history is stored in a *csv file so you can easily edit scores.

CommentThe world ranking requires videos as primary evidence for records.

04. Edit Highscores (Hack History File)

Version: Arbiter, Clone

Arbiter history (stats.dat) and Clone history (history.inf) are protected with obfuscation and checksums but both file formats can be reverse engineered to insert and change scores.

CommentThe world ranking requires videos as primary evidence for records.
CommentThe world ranking banned all versions of Clone on 2013-06-30.

05. Attack Clock (WinAPI)

Version: All versions

Download a program that modifies WinAPI time functions. Set the game timer to increment slowly so you can click more times per "second". Your video will play each "second" as a real second making your game faster.

CommentClones use several methods to record time and advanced players can tell when amateur solving has been speeded up.

06. Attack Clock (System)

Version: All versions

Download a program that modifies the system clock to run at a slower speed. You will be able to click more times per "second". Your video will play each "second" in a real second making you appear faster.

CommentClones use several methods to record time and advanced players can tell when amateur solving has been speeded up.

07. Unfair Prior Knowledge (Bug)

Version: Arbiter 0.43 demo3

Load a saved board and play it in Classic mode instead of UPK mode.

CommentBug fix was released on 2006-04-24 with Arbiter 0.44 demo.
TriviaA cheater using this method achieved World Rank #2 before being banned.

2007-09-25InvestigationUnincluded Features: An Arbiter Investigation

08. Unfair Prior Knowledge (Funny Mode)

Version: Clone 0.97 beta

Edit minesweeperclone.inf and change "Show 3BV Stats" from "After End" to "Before Start". You can now see the 3BV of each game in advance and play only the easy games.

CommentBug fix was released on 2006-04-29 with Clone 2006 release 1.

2009-04-08Minesweeper WikiFunny Mode

09. Unfair Prior Knowledge (Density Manipulation)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Increase the number of mines to reduce the number of unique boards. Create a high density Custom level and save pictures of easy boards then use a macro to cycle through minesweeper to find (and play) the same boards again.

CommentThe world ranking limits custom density to (X-1)(Y-1).

10. Unfair Prior Knowledge (Read Memory)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Use a debugging program to locate the memory block storing the current Minesweeper game. Improve user experience by writing a program to show mine locations.

2008-05-20saolei.netClone 0.97 hacked to show mines in legal mode
2013-10-23saolei.netArbiter 0.50.1 memory reader published

11. PRNG Attack (Multiple Instances)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, Viennasweeper

Open two instances of Arbiter, Clone or Viennasweeper simultaneously. The same seed will be used and both instances will produce identical sequences of games.

CommentBug fix was released on 2012-03-15 with Arbiter 0.49.3.
CommentBug fix was released on 2012-03-22 with Viennasweeper 3.0H.
CommentThe world ranking banned all versions of Clone on 2013-06-30.

12. PRNG Attack (Seed Selection)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Use a debugging program to edit assembly language and choose the PRNG seed. The same seed will always generate the same board. However, official versions since 2012 seed the PRNG before every game and the seeding process is obfuscated.

CommentThe world ranking banned all versions of Clone on 2013-06-30.

13. Hack Minesweeper (Edit Program)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Use a debugging program to edit assembly language code. For example, pause the timer or flag all mines.

CommentVideos record the time of each mouse click which makes this cheat useless.

14. Hack Video Formats

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Reverse engineer a video file format. You could write a program to edit existing video files or you could write a minesweeper game that allows UPK and saves to this format. Remember also to hack a history file format to support your altered videos.


15. Clicking Macro

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Program a macro to start Beginner games and click randomly. You will eventually win a game in one second.

CommentThe world ranking banned 1 click games on 2005-11-07.
CommentThe world ranking banned lucky (random clicking) games on 2011-04-06.

16. Solver (Automatic)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Program a solver to play minesweeper using logic.

CommentAutomated solvers struggle to imitate human solving behaviour.

2014-06-05sourceforge.comPython solver (Clone 2007)
2017-02-07github.comPython solver (MSX)
2017-09-27github.comPython solver (MSX)
2019-03-18github.comPython solver (MSX)
2018-04-20github.comPython solver (MSX)
2018-09-21kylecui.comJava solver (MSX)
2019-04-24github.comC# solver (MSX)

17. Solver (Human Assisted)

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Program a solver to play minesweeper using logic but include options for human interaction to make videos more realistic.


18. Illegal Clicking Techniques

Version: Arbiter, Clone, MSX, Viennasweeper

Change your mouse settings to reduce effort and save time. For example, a cell normally opens when you press and release the left mouse button but "Elmar Technique" is a NF method where you change the mouse to open cells on both pressing and releasing. Other methods involve modifying your mouse or your machine to automatically perform certain moves.

2008-04-20Minesweeper WikiElmar Technique

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