Game 8 Unit 12 of 16 1 hr learning time

Win Condition

Track safe cells remaining and detect when the player wins.

75% of Minefield

Mark as complete Completed!

The game needs an ending beyond “you hit a mine”. If the player reveals every safe cell without triggering a mine, they win.

The Program

10 CLS
20 DIM m(8, 8)
30 DIM s(8, 8)
40 LET r = 1: LET c = 1
50 LET s(1, 1) = 1
60 LET f = 0: LET w = 53
70 REM place 10 mines (64 cells - 10 mines - 1 start = 53 to reveal)
80 FOR i = 1 TO 10
90 LET y = INT (RND * 8) + 1
100 LET x = INT (RND * 8) + 1
110 IF m(y, x) = 9 THEN GO TO 90
120 IF y = 1 AND x = 1 THEN GO TO 90
130 LET m(y, x) = 9
140 NEXT i
150 GO SUB 500
155 LET r = 1: LET c = 1
160 GO SUB 600
170 GO SUB 700
180 REM game loop
190 PRINT AT r + 2, c * 2; INK 4; BRIGHT 1; "[": PRINT AT r + 2, c * 2 + 2; "]"
200 LET k$ = INKEY$
210 IF k$ = "" THEN GO TO 200
220 GO SUB 600
230 IF k$ = "q" AND r > 1 THEN LET r = r - 1
240 IF k$ = "a" AND r < 8 THEN LET r = r + 1
250 IF k$ = "o" AND c > 1 THEN LET c = c - 1
260 IF k$ = "p" AND c < 8 THEN LET c = c + 1
270 IF k$ <> " " THEN GO TO 310
280 IF s(r, c) <> 0 THEN GO TO 310
290 LET s(r, c) = 1: LET w = w - 1: BEEP 0.05, 15
300 IF m(r, c) = 9 THEN GO TO 400
310 IF k$ = "f" AND s(r, c) = 0 THEN LET s(r, c) = 2: LET f = f + 1: BEEP 0.05, 5
320 IF k$ = "f" AND s(r, c) = 2 THEN LET s(r, c) = 0: LET f = f - 1: BEEP 0.05, 5
330 GO SUB 700
340 IF w = 0 THEN GO TO 450
350 GO TO 180
400 REM game over - mine
410 FOR y = 1 TO 8
420 FOR x = 1 TO 8
430 LET s(y, x) = 1
440 NEXT x
442 NEXT y
444 GO SUB 600
446 PRINT AT 13, 6; INK 2; "BOOM! Game Over"
448 BEEP 0.2, 0: BEEP 0.2, -3: BEEP 0.3, -7
449 STOP
450 REM win
460 CLS
470 PRINT AT 8, 8; INK 4; "YOU WIN!"
480 PRINT AT 10, 6; "All safe cells revealed"
490 BEEP 0.15, 12: BEEP 0.15, 16: BEEP 0.3, 19
495 STOP
500 REM === calculate counts ===
510 FOR r = 1 TO 8
520 FOR c = 1 TO 8
530 IF m(r, c) = 9 THEN GO TO 590
540 LET n = 0
550 FOR i = r - 1 TO r + 1
560 FOR j = c - 1 TO c + 1
570 IF i < 1 OR i > 8 OR j < 1 OR j > 8 THEN GO TO 582
580 IF m(i, j) = 9 THEN LET n = n + 1
582 NEXT j
584 NEXT i
586 LET m(r, c) = n
590 NEXT c
595 NEXT r
598 RETURN
600 REM === draw grid ===
610 FOR y = 1 TO 8
620 FOR x = 1 TO 8
630 IF s(y, x) = 0 THEN PRINT AT y + 2, x * 2 + 1; INK 5; "."
640 IF s(y, x) = 1 AND m(y, x) = 0 THEN PRINT AT y + 2, x * 2 + 1; " "
650 IF s(y, x) = 1 AND m(y, x) > 0 AND m(y, x) < 9 THEN PRINT AT y + 2, x * 2 + 1; INK 6; m(y, x)
660 IF s(y, x) = 1 AND m(y, x) = 9 THEN PRINT AT y + 2, x * 2 + 1; INK 2; "*"
670 IF s(y, x) = 2 THEN PRINT AT y + 2, x * 2 + 1; INK 3; "F"
680 NEXT x
690 NEXT y
695 RETURN
700 REM === draw HUD ===
710 PRINT AT 0, 0; "Safe:"; w; " Flags:"; f; "  "
720 RETURN

How It Works

Line 60 calculates how many safe cells need revealing:

60 LET f = 0: LET w = 53

64 total cells, minus 10 mines, minus 1 (the starting cell is already revealed) = 53 cells to reveal.

Line 290 decrements w on each reveal:

290 LET s(r, c) = 1: LET w = w - 1: BEEP 0.05, 15

Line 340 checks for victory:

340 IF w = 0 THEN GO TO 450

When w reaches zero, every safe cell has been revealed.

Win Screen

Lines 460-490 display the victory:

470 PRINT AT 8, 8; INK 4; "YOU WIN!"
480 PRINT AT 10, 6; "All safe cells revealed"
490 BEEP 0.15, 12: BEEP 0.15, 16: BEEP 0.3, 19

Green text and an ascending three-note fanfare — the opposite of the descending game-over melody.

Counting Down vs Counting Up

You could count revealed cells upward and check IF revealed = 53. Counting down is simpler — you just check for zero. It also means the HUD can show “safe cells remaining” without calculating the difference.

The Flow

Start → w = 53 (safe cells remaining)
  ↓
Reveal → w = w - 1
  ↓
w = 0? → YES → Win!
  ↓ NO
Continue playing

The game has two exit paths: hit a mine (game over at line 400) or reveal all safe cells (win at line 450). Both paths display a message, play a sound, and stop the program.

Try This

Move counter. Add a variable v that increments on every reveal. Show it on the win screen: PRINT AT 12, 6; "Moves: "; v. Fewer moves = better play.

Both endings. Play until you trigger each ending. The game-over reveal shows you where all the mines were — useful for learning.

What You’ve Learnt

Win detection — count safe cells down to zero
Two exit paths — game over (mine) and victory (all revealed)
Countdown tracking — decrement on each successful reveal
Victory feedback — ascending melody as the inverse of defeat