Minesweeper turns 35 – the camouflaged office drug

Martin Jud

8/10/2025

Translation: Elicia Payne

Pictures: Martin Jud

35 years of Minesweeper. The recipe for success? A few clicks and a whole lot of risk. You had to take risks in the game, but also in the workplace.

Anyone who played Minesweeper will know, it wasn’t just the grid you were playing against – but the clock, your conscience and your boss. Every click was a risk. The risk of losing and the risk of being caught by your boss. That’s why the fingers on my left hand were always resting on Alt+Tab, ready to turn the game into an Excel document that was never saved. Minesweeper wasn’t just a game. It was a reflection of reality: the bomb could go off at any time and your cover could be blown.

A grid of grey fields – a digital minefield. With one click, you’re exposed. Numbers show how many mines are adjacent. You need logic to survive. One step wrong, you’re out. It’s that simple. That brutal. And so addictive.

Once you’d started, you didn’t want to stop. Another click, another number, another pattern – and the next round was there. Minesweeper wasn’t a game with levels. It was a state. And in some cases, it still is today.

Even after 35 years, Minesweeper lives on – quieter than ever, but always ready to ruin your concentration. Miss playing it? You can find it in the Microsoft Store. Click. Count. Risk. And sometimes… boom!

Martin Jud

Senior Editor

martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.ch

I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.

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