# The &kmines; Handbook

Nicolas
Hadacek

    &Nicolas.Hadacek.mail;

Michael
McBride

    mmcbride@ematic.org

Anton
Brondz

    dinolinux@gmail.com

Nicolas
Hadacek

    &Nicolas.Hadacek.mail;

Developer
Lauri
Watts

    &Lauri.Watts.mail;

Reviewer
2000
&Nicolas.Hadacek;, Michael McBride
&FDLNotice;
2007-11-13
3.0

&kmines; is the &kde; version of the classic minesweeper game.

KDE
game
minesweeper

## Introduction

### Gametype:

Strategy, Board

### Number of possible players:

One

&kmines; is the classic Minesweeper game. The idea is to uncover all the squares without blowing up any mines. When a mine is blown up, the game is over. Numbers indicate how many mines there are nearby.

## How to Play

### Objective:

Locate all the mines hidden on the minefield.

To play &kmines;, you need to use the mouse and its three buttons to uncover or to flag the squares (with two-buttoned mice, clicking the &MMB; is generally achieved by simultaneously pressing the &LMB; and the &RMB; buttons).

Clicking the &LMB; on your mouse will uncover a square. If there is a mine there, it will detonate, and the game will be over. If there is not a mine under the square, the square is cleared and if there aren't other mines nearby, the square will disappear including any nearby squares without mines. If there are mines nearby, a number will appear showing how many neighboring squares contain mines. For each square (excluding edge and corner squares), there are eight neighboring squares.

&LMB; clicking a flagged square is safe and does nothing.

The &RMB; will mark a square as containing a mine (by placing a red flag on it). Clicking the button twice will set it as being uncertain (by placing a question mark on it). The uncertain tag can be useful when you are puzzled about the positions of mines. The &MMB; will clear the surrounding squares if the right number of squares is already flagged. It is very useful since it is much quicker than uncovering all individual squares. Make sure your flags are correctly placed, if not, you might detonate a mine.

## Game Rules, Strategies and Tips

### Rules

- All the mines have to be cleared before a player can win a game.

- The player cannot know the exact location of the mines before the game is over.

- If a mine is detonated, the game is over.

- Numbers will indicate nearby mines.

### Strategies and Tips

- Use the numbers to find out where nearby mines are.

- Place flags where you suspect there are mines. Note that even though the indicated number of mines goes down when you place a flag, there might not be a mine under the flag.

- Think before you click, a wrong click could detonate a mine.

- When you suspect that a square contains a mine, work around the square to uncover any numbers which might help.

- Try to clear the board as quickly as possible, the less time you spend, the higher your score will be.

## Commands/Keyboard Shortcuts

The following sections briefly describes each menubar option.

### Game Menu

The Game menu consists of 4 options.

&Ctrl;N Game New

  Starts a new game.

&Ctrl;H Game Show High Scores

  This shows you the high score (the shortest time) for each difficulty level.

&Ctrl;Q Game Quit

  Quits &kmines;

### Settings Menu

Settings Show Toolbar

  Toggle on or off the display of the toolbar. The default is on.

Settings Show Statusbar

  Toggle on or off the display of the statusbar. The default is on.

Settings Difficulty

  Lets you set the difficulty level from a sub-menu.

  There are three default levels of difficulty: Easy (9x9 squares, 10 mines), Medium (16x16 squares, 40 mines), and Hard (30x16 squares, 99 mines). There is also a Custom level settings.

  If you select Custom, then the settings you have configured in the Configure &kmines; dialog will be used.

Settings Configure Shortcuts...

  This item lets you change the keyboard shortcuts used by &kmines;.

Settings Configure Toolbars...

  Configure the toolbars provided by &kmines;.

Settings Configure &kmines;...

  Allows you to adjust game options. For more detailed information, see the section entitled Game Options.

### Help Menu

&help.menu.documentation;

### Default Keyboard Shortcuts

The following table shows you the default keyboard shortcuts.

#### Keyboard Shortcuts

Key Combo | Action
--- | ---
&Ctrl;N | New Game
&Ctrl;Q | Quit &kmines;
F1 | &kmines; Handbook
&Shift;F1 | What's This Help
&Ctrl;H | Show High Scores

These shortcuts can be changed by selecting Settings Configure Shortcuts... from the menubar.

## Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the way the game looks?

Yes, click on the Settings menu and select Configure &kmines;....

Is there a way to add more mines and squares?

Yes, the easiest way is to use the drop down box in the lower right corner.

## Game Settings

The game settings can be configured by selecting Settings Configure &kmines;... from the menubar. A dialog will appear.

On the first tab, you can set the theme. Select a theme from the list to see a preview of it on the right. You can set it by clicking Apply and OK.

On the second tab, you can set the height and width of the board and the number of mines in your custom level.

## Credits and License

&kmines; Copyright 1996-2007

### Authors

- &Nicolas.Hadacek; &Nicolas.Hadacek.mail;

- Mikhail Kourinny

- Mauricio Piacentini mauricio@tabuleiro.com

- Dmitry Suzdalev dimsuz@gmail.com

Documentation copyright 2000 &Nicolas.Hadacek; &Nicolas.Hadacek.mail;

Documentation updated for &kde; 2.0 by &Mike.McBride; &Mike.McBride.mail;

Some changes for &kde; 3.2 by &Philip.Rodrigues; &Philip.Rodrigues.mail;

&underFDL; &underGPL;

## Installation

### How to obtain &kmines;

&install.intro.documentation;

### Compilation and Installation

&install.compile.documentation;