Minesweeper Console Game (Java)

This is a text-based version of Minesweeper written in Java. It was developed as a personal and academic project to apply core programming concepts like arrays, loops, user input, and game logic in a console environment.

Features

• Custom board size (1x1 to 10x10)
• Choose the number of bombs (1–30, validated to avoid overfilling)
• Random bomb placement
• Input validation for coordinates and setup
• Displays adjacent bomb count for each safe tile
• Game ends on bomb reveal or when all safe spaces are cleared
• Option to restart or exit at the end of each game

How It Works

The game initializes two boards:

• A hidden board containing bomb locations and number placeholders
• A visible board shown to the user, initialized with x for unexplored tiles

Each turn, the player selects coordinates. If a bomb is revealed, the game ends. If the tile is safe, the number of adjacent bombs is calculated and displayed. The game continues until the player wins or hits a bomb.

Technologies Used

• Java (Java SE, written and tested using IntelliJ IDEA)
• Scanner for console input
• 2D arrays and nested loops for board logic
• Basic terminal UI output

What I Learned

• Designing and managing 2D arrays for stateful game logic
• Randomized bomb placement and input validation techniques
• Structuring code into modular, reusable methods
• Building a simple console-based game loop
• This was also my first time using Git and GitHub. I used this project to learn how to structure a repository, write commit messages, and push code from IntelliJ to a remote repo. It gave me a better understanding of version control and how teams manage code in real-world software development.

Potential Improvements

There are several features that were considered during planning but not implemented in this version:

• Recursive reveal of empty tiles (auto-clear 0-bomb zones)
• Tile-flagging system for suspected bombs
• High score tracking (e.g., win streak or time taken)
• GUI implementation using JavaFX or Swing
• Difficulty presets (Easy/Medium/Hard)
• Better formatting and coordinate grid display

These ideas were deferred to keep the scope of the project manageable and focused on core logic.

How to Run

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Open the project in IntelliJ IDEA (or another Java IDE)
3. Run the MineSweeper class
4. Follow the console prompts to play

Contact

Wesley Deir
Email: deir0006@algonquinlive.com