Basic Patterns / Hints

While I do consider part of the charm of this Minesweeper variant to be figuring the nuances out for oneself, guides save time and offer insight.  I posted this soon after this page was created on speedrun since nothing had been posted yet, and may update later. I did not include rules and basic gameplay.

You are viewing guide version 1.2.
Edited guess about how the gnome's placement works.  Also revised assumption regarding purple slime placement rules.


# Dragonsweeper by Daniel Benmergui

Browser game is playable at

https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper

- The Mimic[10] appears as a normal treasure chest, but is still properly accounted for in the surrounding numbers (indicator tiles).

![](/static/blob/5nggjx4n.png)

- The Rats[1] hint to the location of the Rat King[5], assuming he is not yet slain.  
When in the same column, the rats stand at attention.
(The rat on the left In the image is standing on its hind legs.)
When in a different column, the rats will face their King.

- The Rat King is one of the leader tiles.  After claiming the points of a slain leader, the position of related enemies are revealed all at once (assuming there are any left to be revealed) with the exception of the Mines[100].  
- In the case of Mines, they are deactivated once the Mine Wizard's scroll is claimed[11].
Since only active threats are represented in the numbers of adjacent indicator tiles, claiming their scroll subtracts their value from all revealed totals.  Unless flagged, the deactivated mines that have not been revealed by a blue sphere will take on the appearance of an unidentified tile.
Claiming a deactivated Mine is worth 2 diamonds.

The Slime Wizard follows specific placement rules. It will only appear on an edge.  The slime Wizard will not appear on a corner (at least not that I have ever seen).  It is always surrounded by the higher level Purple Slime[8]. Purple Slime only appear in tiles adjacent to the Slime Wizard and CAN include a corner of the board.
Claiming the Slime Wizard's scroll reveals the location of all Green Slime[5], as well as any remaining Purple Slime.
![](/static/blob/qzppk6rz.png)

In this picture, I have enough information to deduce the location of both the Slime Wizard[1] and the Bomb Wizard[11].

*Side Note:*
*Why can we see them in this screenshot?*
*By coincidence, one of the blue sphere's happened to spawn by a corner.*
*I had planned to use that run for screen captures when I started it.  I kinda wished I had been using it for a speed run because that would have been a sweet setup.*

![](/static/blob/oeo0oq0e.png)

## Other placement rules

- The Bomb Wizard[11] can only appear in a corner tile. There is only 1 per game.
- Purple Slime[8] only appear in a halo around the Slime Wizard[1].
- Skeletons[4] are always in pairs (can be vertical or horizontal).
In the image below, the marked 4 and the tile to the left are both
4 point tiles.  The tile above the Bat[2] has nothing in it.
Even though different number combinations can add up to 10, since the tile
above the brick wall that is just left of the 9 indicator tile has to be
worth 4, and tiles that are worth 4 ALWAYS appear in adjacent
pairs, the tile above the 10 is also worth 4.
![](/static/blob/1n7jxk5n.png)

In this second example,

![](/static/blob/7n63yoxn.png)

Since tiles worth 4 points ALWAYS appear in adjacent pairs, thanks to the 6, the 2nd 4 has to be above the Gargoyle[4].

- I originally thought (as posted in version 1.0)
The Gnome[0/rewards diamonds] is the only tile that does not exist in the beginning of the game. It can only appear on a tile with no indicators.  There is a limited number of those.
It can only be 'caught' after a certain number are revealed.
The game keeps track of how many tiles without indicators there are when the game is generated.  Upon revealing an empty tile there are occasions where 'the gnome is running' sound effect is played. You may have heard it play and wondered why since nothing happens, but that's the game playing with you ;) Alternatively, perhaps the gnome really is on the board and it really is moving, since the player is prevented from catching them until it is 'cornered', but from a programming perspective, this is less likely.  At some point, I may actually look at the code and update.

![](/static/blob/rnq20dmn.png)

After having a gnome revealed when clicking a blue sphere in a treasure chest with a large portion of the board left, I have to assume the gnome really is moving around.
![](/static/blob/yzrmwlre.png)

The order in which tiles are claimed combined with the use of leveling up Jorge vs using a heart scroll is the factor that determines whether the player will have enough available health for a full clear.  The final points at the end are determined by how much is completed before slaying the Dragon.  Timing of speed runs may not be related to a 'perfect' clear since the game can be completed as a win as soon as the player accrues 15 hearts necessary for slaying the Final Boss.

Running old versions locally

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itw7PBYqlqE

Biksel

eqp8wpk5

shellymek

Dragonsweeper

Fuugarlu

rin_is_anxious

1.1.10 1.1.13/1.1.15

1.1.16

1.1.17

1.0.0

1.1.18

1.1.12

The version the game was played on, as major changes happened between v1.0 and v1.1.

Nome	Autore
Basic Patterns / Hints	shellymek 5 months ago
Running old versions locally	Biksel 4 months ago