Execution
This agent not only included the important “chords” feature, but also included on-screen instructions for using it on both PC and mobile browsers. I was even more impressed by the ability to cycle through the “?” characters. signs when marking squares with flags is an esoteric feature that I feel even in most people Minesweeper Cloners may miss it.
On mobile devices, the ability to hold your finger on a square to mark a flag is a nice touch that makes this the most enjoyable portable version we've tested.
Presentation
The old-fashioned smiley button is quite attractive, especially when you explode and get a red “X(“. I was less impressed with the game board's “graphics”, which use a simple “*” for detected mines and an ugly red “F” for marked tiles.
The beep-and-beep sound effects reminded me of my first old-school computer from the late 80s, before the Sound Blaster. Overall this is good, but I still appreciate that the game gives me the option to turn them off.
“Fun” function
“Surprise: Luck Bonus” listed in the corner of the UI explains that pressing the button will give you a free safe tile if one is available. This can be very useful in situations where you would otherwise have to guess between two tiles that are equally likely to be mines.
Overall, however, I found it a little strange that the game only gives you this bonus after you've found a large cascading field of safe tiles with a single click. It mainly functions as a “win more” button rather than a feature that offers a good balance of risk and reward.
Programming experience
OpenAI Codex has a nice terminal interface with features similar to Claude Code (local commands, permission management, and cool animations to show progress) and is quite nice to use (OpenAI also offers Codex via a web interface, but we didn't use it for this evaluation). However, Codex took about twice as long to write a functional game as Claude Code, which may have contributed to the good outcome.
