Woman ‘ruins people’s childhoods’ after showing how you’re actually supposed to play iconic computer game

I think it's safe to say we all spent hours of our lives on Minesweeper that we will never get back.

Cast your mind back to being sat in front of your PC for hours on end trying to conquer the classic computer game.

Most of us grew up believing it was a game of chance, but it turns out there is actually a strategy to dodging the 'mines'.

Take a look here:

That's right - all those times you blew your chances by setting off one of the pesky booby traps could have been avoided.

I'm kicking myself too.

A woman shared a video breaking down the method to becoming a Minesweeper champion - but not everyone is happy about it.

People have complained that the TikTok user has 'ruined their childhoods' by divulging the secret behind the annoyingly addictive game.

Paisley - who goes by the handle @p.hops - posted the video detailing how to successfully play the game.

She began: "I am about to make all your middle school dreams come true because I am going to tell you how to play this stupid game called mine something or other.

TikTok/@p.hops

"You just touch something, touch anything ok. Now, you need to figure out where the little bombs are."

This is where it gets interesting.

After you pluck up the courage to take a chance on a random square, its neighbours will then begin to display numbers.

If you haven't ever taken any notice of these digits, this is where you've been going wrong - because they actually indicate how many mines that square is touching.

This means that you can then deduce which un-clicked squares are containing a mine, based on how many mines the squares next to it are touching. Magic.

You can also add a flag or a question mark to the squares which you suspect are hiding a bomb to help you keep track.

Paisley signed off her tutorial saying: "That's how you play it. You're welcome!"

Some people weren't rushing to thank her though after they stumbled across the video on social media.

TikTok/@p.hops

One wrote: "No honey. You're supposed to randomly pick them. I will not allow you to ruin my childhood with this nonsense!"

A second said: "I'm kind of mad that she explained it."

A third fumed: "That's not how you play. You just click randomly and hope for the best. That's the rules!"

Another laughed: "A whole generation played this game without understanding it."

Others couldn't believe that so many people still didn't know how to play Minesweeper after all these years.

I admit, it is quite embarrassing. You'll find me in the corner playing a game.

Topics: Gaming, Retro Gaming, Technology, TikTok

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_