pymines

Infinite minesweeper game

About

This game implementation uses sets instead of arrays:

# array logic
if grid[x][y].is_mine:
    ...

# set logic
if (x, y) in coordinates.mines:
    ...

The result of this simple change is that the game can progress indefinitely without the need to explicitly resize arrays.

C++ Rant Comparison

I originally prototyped this game in Python, then wrote it in C++, and then rewrote it here in Python.

This program was much easier to write in Python than in C++. For such a bloated language, C++ lacks many useful features.

1. C++ std::unordered_set cannot be used directly with std::pair. I had to write a hash function that basically treated std::pair<long, long> as a string.
2. Python integers have unlimited precision whereas C++ has no such data type. Expect to see integer overflow once you move the cursor past LONG_MIN or LONG_MAX.
3. It took until C++20 for std::unordered_set to get the contains method. Previous versions of C++ had to use the iterator syntax.

Installation

This project requires Python 3.10 or newer and uses only the standard library. You do not need to install anything else, unless you are on Windows:

The Windows version of Python doesn't include the curses module. A ported version called UniCurses is available.

Usage

Use the -h flag to see the help text.

python3 -m pymines -h

Controls

Key	Action
Arrow keys	Move cursor
Enter	Uncover cell at cursor
Space	Flag or chord cell at cursor
w s a d	Scroll window (fine)
W S A D	Scroll window (coarse)
0	Scroll to (0, 0)
c	Center window to cursor
r	Refresh window
q	Quit

Have fun! ♾️