Video Game Meta

Mined Out

Mined Out

Console: Dragon 32/64
TV Standard: Region Not Set
Developer(s): QuickSilva
Release Date: 1983-05-07
Players: 1
Co-op: No
ESRB: E - Everyone
Type: Puzzle, Strategy

Mined-Out was a video game released for the Sinclair Spectrum in 1983 by Quicksilva. It is conceptually similar to the later Minesweeper, where a player must cross a minefield successfully using logic. Although Mined-Out was not the first game in the style of Minesweeper, it was the first to be released on a personal computer, and to display how many mines are adjacent to the player.

The game was written by Ian Andrew, an early adopter of the ZX81 and Spectrum. He learned to program BASIC in his spare time, and sent a copy of Mined-Out to Quicksilva after they published an advert wanting programs to publish. It received a positive reception, with Home Computing Weekly describing it as "excellent fun to play".

The game was later ported to other home computers, including the Dragon 32, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, while Andrew founded his own company, Incentive Software.