Minefield was originally written for the VIC 20 in 1983 by Terry Barrett.

According to the VIC-20 release: "You must destroy as many mines as possible with the aid of a detonator. Your task however is made more difficult, because whilst you are busy moving the detonator around the field, your assistant moves in the opposite direction. You are under a time limit of 2 minutes..."

Accordinf to the C64 release: "Minefield is a game of logic and strategy. You are in control of the mine detector and must destroy as many mines as possible in three minutes. Unfortunately, your assistant, Copy-Cat Kenneth mirrors your every move. Don't let him stand on a mine or you will both be blown to kingdom come! To destroy the mines first position the detector over a mine then press the fire button. Each mine successfully destroyed scores you 100 points."

The game ends when time runs out or Kenneth walks onto a mine.

The following attributes can be used to map the evolution of Minesweeper. Blue cells are confirmed attributes for official versions of Minefield. Yellow cells are unknown.