Minesweeper

A fully functional clone of the classic Windows Minesweeper with precise mechanics, a high-score table, three difficulty levels and MVC architecture.

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Content

• Features
• Technologies
• MVC Architecture
• How to Run

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Features

• Exact original behavior

  • Left-click to reveal a cell, right-click to place/remove a flag.
  • First click never hits a mine – mines are placed after the first move.
  • Flags can be placed even before the first click.
  • Automatic flood-fill for empty areas.

• Advanced mechanics

  • Mouse wheel click on an open number – reveals all neighbours if the correct number of flags is placed around it.
  • Dynamic mine counter: remaining mines = total mines - flags placed.

• Graphics & UI

  • Custom images for mines, flags, numbers, and cells (loaded via Swing).
  • Responsive layout using GridLayout for the game board and GridBagLayout for the control panel.

• Persistence & records

  • Stopwatch starts after the first click on the board.
  • High-score table saved between sessions (serialized to records.json).
  • Menu with: New Game, High Scores, Settings, About, Exit.

• Three standard difficulty levels

  • Beginner: 9×9, 10 mines
  • Intermediate: 16×16, 40 mines
  • Expert: 16×30, 90 mines

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Technologies

• Java 21+ (Core)
• Swing (javax.swing) – GUI framework
• MVC (Model-View-Controller) – separates logic, presentation and control
• Serialization – for saving high scores

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MVC Architecture

The project strictly follows the Model-View-Controller pattern:

• Model (GameModel)

  • Stores the board state: mine locations, flags, revealed cells.
  • Contains pure business logic: reveal cell, check win/loss, place mines after first click.
  • No UI dependency.

• View (GameView)

  • Renders the game board, mine counter, and timer.
  • Uses JButton for each cell.
  • Delegates user input to the Controller.

• Controller (GameController)

  • Handles mouse events (left, right, wheel).
  • Updates Model and refreshes View.
  • Manages timer, menu actions and high-score logic.

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How to Run

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Juanoff/minesweeper.git
cd minesweeper

2. Open in IntelliJ IDEA

File → Open → select the project folder.

Wait for the project to load (no external dependencies).

3. Build and run

The easiest way to run the game is directly from your IDE: locate the Application class and run it.

Alternatively, run via Gradle:

./gradlew run