NeggSweeper Guide
By, L621
Last Updated 12/15/02 (Version 2.0)
*Search this document with Control-F*
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Table of Contents:
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~*~ Introduction
~*~ Getting Started
~*~ Past the Luck
~*~ Flags
~*~ Practice
~*~ Scoring/Bonuses
~*~ Level Differences
~*~ Tips
~*~ Cheats
~*~ Version History/Updates
~*~ E-mail Guidelines
~*~ Copyright Information
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Introduction - NeggSweeper?
---------------------------
NeggSweeper is a variation of the game Minesweeper. You start with a grid of
gray Neggs; behind each Negg is one of three things: a bomb, a number, or a
blank square. The object is to uncover all of the numbers and blank spaces
leaving only the bombs. NeggSweeper costs 30NP per play no matter which
difficulty setting you play on (Easy, Medium, or Hard) and you are limited to
3,000NP winnings a day.
There are two numbers at the top of the grid. The number on the left tells you
how many Neggs you still have to uncover; bombs are not included in this total.
On the right is the Jackpot, this is your score; you only get the points if you
win. Depending on your logic skills this can be fun and lucrative. Depending on
luck it can also be costly and frustrating, but once you get past the first
part you're on your way.
To win the Jackpot you need a little luck, the ability to count to at least 8
(though I've never had to go higher than 6) and a lot of reasoning. In this
guide I'll try to help you fine-tune your brainpower and show you what to look
for. For you veterans I might have some strategies you haven't considered, so
why not check it out anyway? Even when you think you're stuck you probably
aren't.
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Getting Started - What's Luck Got To Do With It?
------------------------------------------------
First thing you have to do is click one of the Neggs. Since you don't have any
uncovered you're flying blind for this first part. Logic won't help you here;
it's all about luck. It's possible that the first Negg you click will turn out
to be a bomb. 30NP is a small price to pay when you can turn it into 1,000NP
(give or take 100) per game. But losing 30NP before you really even get started
might put some people off this game. I suggest you stick with it for a bit and
if you continue to bomb out right from the start either go to a lower
difficulty or try NeggSweeper another time.
You can clear a lot of spaces in one click. This is the best possible scenario.
This is what you want to find because it's the best way to get past luck and on
to logic. If at any time you click a Negg with a blank square underneath it you
will also uncover all the other blank spaces that are touching it and the
numbers bordering it. The diagram below shows an example of this. Step 1 is a
section of the Negg grid. Step 2, you pick a place to click (marked by an X).
Step 3, the blank place is uncovered and with it the rest of the blank spaces
and some numbers. Click around a bit and try to find this first.
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
######## ######## ########
######## ~~> ######## ~~> #111111#
######## ######## #1 1#
######## ####X### #1 1#
######## ######## #1 1#
######## ~~> ######## ~~> #1 111#
######## ######## #1111###
######## ######## ########
If you're having a hard time finding a blank square and you start getting
nervous about bombs you can work with what you have. Either start from a place
you've already uncovered or pick a different square, hope it's not a bomb, and
try to start from there. If you get anything higher than a two leave it alone
and click somewhere else. If you get a 1 (first diagram below) then you know
that one of the eight squares around it is a bomb (second diagram below). You
have a one in eight chance of getting a bomb if you click a square that touches
the 1. That would be a good place to start simply because the odds are in your
favor. Of course your chance of getting a bomb goes up each time you click
another square bordering the 1.
######## ########
######## ~~> ##???###
###1#### ##?1?###
######## ##???###
Now if you uncovered a 4 (diagram below) you had better just call yourself
lucky and click somewhere else because you have a 50% chance that a bordering
Negg hides a bomb.
######## ########
######## ~~> ##???###
###4#### ##?4?###
######## ##???###
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Past the Luck - What You Know
-----------------------------
Once you've uncovered enough Neggs to use logic you're on track to winning.
There may be times that you have to revert back to guessing for a Negg or two
but that won't happen often (unless you are on Hard). If it seems like you're
stuck go to the Tips section and be sure before you randomly click. Below are
examples of easy bomb-spotting number patterns. (I've left some numbers out to
make this first example clearer.)
1 #####
#######
##### 11
##### 1#
Top left: There will probably be a lot of times where you see something like
this. Since there is only one Negg touching the 1 you know that it has to be a
bomb. Mark it and move on (go to the Flags section to learn how to mark bombs).
1 #####
o######
##### 11
##### 1#
Bottom Right: At first glance it may seem that you have to work on some other
areas before you can find the bomb. The two 1's in the third row down are
touching more than one Negg. But the 1 in the bottom row is only touching one
Negg. This tells us that the bottom right Negg has to be a bomb.
1 #####
o######
##### 11
##### 1o
And since the numbers represent how many bombs are bordered by its square we
know that those other Neggs touching the 1's can't be bombs.
Now let's try something that seems a little harder.
##11#12#
#324#13#
111##12#
########
3 on the Left: Whenever you have a 3 in a corner like this and not touching any
other Neggs you know you've found your bombs. That also means that any other
Neggs the 1 in the leftmost row borders can't be bombs, so you can click them
safely. The same goes for the 1 below the 3. (Bombs are marked with o's, safe
to click places are marked with x's.)
oo11#12#
o324#13#
111##12#
xxx#####
Now focus on the 4 in the center. It is only touching 4 Neggs so all four of
them must be bombs. And none of the other Neggs bordering the 1's can be bombs.
oo11o12#
o324o13#
111oo12#
xxxxxxx#
Right side: If you look at the bottom 2 first you'll see that it is touching
three Neggs along the rightmost row. If that was all we had to work with we'd
be back to guessing, but since there is a 3 above it and the 3 is only touching
three Neggs we know where the bombs are.
oo11o12o
o3 4o13o
111oo12o
xxxxxxxx
After you have played a few times spotting patterns like this will become
second nature. If you get to a point where you don't know what's a bomb and
what isn't then leave it alone for the time being and come back after you've
worked on other areas. If you don't have any other areas to work on check the
Tips section.
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Flags - Mark Where You've Been
------------------------------
The above would have been confusing without me marking the bombs with o's,
right? Well, fortunately the game lets you mark a bomb when you find it.
Marking bombs is vital to discovering what is safe and what is not quickly. In
NeggSweeper your flag is actually a big red X that marks the bomb for you.
After you find a bomb press control (or shift) and hold it while clicking the
Negg you want to mark. To take a flag off just control + click again.
It's best not to flag Neggs unless you know for sure that there is a bomb
beneath them. It might be tempting to flag Neggs you have your suspicions about
but it will probably mess you up later on.
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Practice - If You Don't Think You've Got It Yet
-----------------------------------------------
Check the games area of your computer for Minesweeper first. If you have it,
and you probably do, practice on that for a while. A few minor details are
different but the game is the same. If you don't have Minesweeper and you don't
mind spending 30NP to practice start on the easiest or medium setting. Which
level you choose to start on should be based on how sure you are of what you're
doing. I recommend one play on Easy just to try it out if you think you need
it. After that switch to at least Medium because you make very little NP on
Easy. Also, if you want to try your hand at Hard start with at least one game
of Medium to practice.
The number of bombs increases as well as the size of the grid the higher-level
difficulty you choose. But the points and bonuses also increase so it's better
to switch to a higher level once you've got it down. Which brings me to my next
section.
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Scoring - How You Make the Big NP
---------------------------------
Unless you beat the game you get nothing. You get 1 point for each Negg you
uncover. There are also bonuses hidden throughout the grid at random. You
collect them simply by clicking bomb-free Neggs. You'll know when you've gotten
one because a message will come up above the grid to let you know. When you
clear a lot of spaces at once you will also get a message telling you how many
you cleared and how many points it was worth; you still only get 1 point per
Negg. The secrets to making upwards of 1,000NP a game are the bonuses and the
hardest level.
These are the Negg Bonuses I've found. As far as I know these are the only
one's you can get.
Fish Negg: 500NP (Very, very rare)
Crystal Negg: 300NP (Very rare)
Rainbow Negg: 150NP (Rare)
Purple Negg: 100NP (Common)
Blue Negg: 50NP (Common)
There are also extra bonuses for Medium and Hard. Check their sections for
details.
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Levels - Differences and Difficulty
-----------------------------------
Easy:
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Details - Your grid is 9X9 and there are only 10 bombs total. This one is very
easy to beat but you only get 1NP per Negg you clear and since there are a lot
fewer Neggs that doesn't add up to much.
Scoring - If you're lucky you'll get a few bonuses to boost up your score. On
average I'd say you normally win from 150 to 300 unless you get one of the
bigger bonuses. And remember that there is still a chance you'll get a bomb
early on. Check the cheats section for a way to get double or triple the points
on large clears.
When to play - If you're just starting you might want to play on Easy until you
get everything figured out. The low number of bombs makes finding a big area to
clear much easier and bomb spotting is a breeze. The largest number I have
gotten is a 4 and even those are usually few and far between.
Since you are limited to 3,000NP winnings a day it doesn't matter how you get
there. Playing on Easy will take longer and your total winnings will actually
be less because you have to pay to play more games.
But there are times when Easy is best. If you can't seem to catch a break on
Medium or Hard you should play a few games of Easy to get back the points you
lost. Or play a few to gain some points before you try the harder levels. If
you're low on NP you should always start with Easy and build up some NP to
spare for higher levels.
Medium:
-------
Details - The grid is 12X12 and there are 25 bombs. As you would expect this
level is a little harder, but nowhere near hard. Points are doubled when you
clear a large number of spaces at once.
Scoring - I believe the most I've ever made on Medium is around 800NP with a
few bonuses. 300NP to 500NP is probably what you'll normally get. Bomb-free
Neggs are still only worth 1NP each but you'll have a good chance of getting
large areas cleared with one click and that means double NP. Negg bonuses are
not doubled.
When to play - Medium is where you should spend most of your NeegSweeper time.
It's not that hard and after you've cleared one area you usually won't need to
revert back to guessing. If you have 100NP to 200NP starting out don't bother
with Easy unless you lose three or four games in a row (in that case play a
game of Easy to get your points back). In the long run Medium is most
profitable. Unless you're psychic you will most likely lose half of your Hard
games and Easy is really very easy but the loss you take in NP and time for
playing it isn't worth it. Fluctuate between the levels if you like, but stay
on Medium for most of your games.
Hard:
-----
Details - The Hard grid is 14X14 and there are 40 bombs. Points for clearing a
large area are tripled. This setting is pretty damn hard.
Scoring - You can build up a ton of NP on Hard. Individual Neggs are worth 1NP
as always, but with the area clear bonus tripled, and the sheer number of Neggs
total, your Jackpot will easily reach 800NP to 1,000NP with a couple bonuses.
Plus, more Neggs equals more opportunities for a random Negg bonus. Negg
bonuses are not tripled.
When to play - Building the Jackpot is easy enough; it's getting the Jackpot in
the end that's hard. You have a good chance of hitting a bomb before you clear
an area to start. If by chance you happen to make it past that stage you will
still have some guesswork to do later on. Hard takes a lot of time and a lot of
concentration. Losing after you've invested so much and built up a huge Jackpot
is very frustrating. Basically you will be lucky to win even half the games you
play on Hard.
Still, profits are big. If you have time to kill and NP to spare, or if you're
feeling lucky and want a challenge, Hard might be right for you. By no means is
it impossible to win on Hard. I suggest you try it every now and then between
your games of Medium and Easy. Good luck.
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Tips - So You Think You're Stuck
--------------------------------
Sometimes the answers are there but hard to recognize. By process of
elimination you can get yourself out of some grim situations. Here are some
tips to help you out when you don't think you can find the remaining bombs.
1. Don't guess unless you have to. Even if you're clueless at the time you
might be able to work around that particular area and find the bombs from
another angle. Always make sure you don't have other areas to work on before
taking that big of a risk.
2. Just because you don't know where a bomb is doesn't mean you don't know
where a bomb isn't. Take this situation for example:
########
####
### 111
########
Ignore the fact that there would be other numbers for a moment; I want you to
focus on just the numbers I have here. The rightmost 1 is touching two Neggs
and we know one, and only one, of those Neggs is a bomb:
########
####
### 111
######??
Now look at the middle 1. It is touching three Neggs but since it is a 1 we
know that only one of the three Neggs can be a bomb. And since we've already
figured out that the bomb has to be where one of the two ?'s are we know that
the Negg beside the question mark cannot possibly be a bomb and therefore it is
safe to click:
########
####
### 111
#####x??
Click the safe Negg where the above x is. Depending on what you get, you might
be right back to not knowing where the next bomb is, or you might clear a bunch
of spaces and save yourself from having to take any guesses in that area for
the rest of the game. Either way you didn't have to take a guess yet, and
that's good.
3. You can find bombs with the same process you use to find where they aren't.
Another common number combination is 121. Using the same theory as above your
grid would look like this:
########
####
### 121
######??
That 2 must be touching two bombs and only one of them can be where the ?'s
are. With that information we know the other Negg that 2 is touching has to be
a bomb:
########
####
### 121
#####o??
Now our 1 on the left is touching a bomb. That means the ? and the other Negg
that 1 borders can't be bombs:
########
####
### 121
####xox?
The remaining ? has to be the bomb because it is the only other Negg our 2
borders:
########
####
### 121
####xoxo
Always check for these types of number combinations before you guess.
4. Pay attention to the Remaining counter on the top left of the grid. There
might come a time when there's just nothing else you can do. You've cleared all
the areas as much as logic will allow and none of the above tips will help.
That situation almost never happens until you're soooooo close to winning. All
is not lost, however.
The Remaining counter tells you how many bomb-free Neggs you have left in the
grid. Say the counter tells you there are five bomb-free Neggs remaining. And
say you are down to six Neggs total. You know that only one of the Neggs in
your grid is a bomb. If you've been marking your bombs (and you really should
be) then this can make finding the bomb quite simple.
Find the place where one bomb would fulfill all your number combinations. Let's
assume you have a 2 beside three Neggs but you've only found one bomb. You also
happen to have a 4 beside two Neggs but you've already found three of the bombs
for it. If you only have one bomb left it has to be on a square that touches
the 2 AND the 4. You've just found your last bomb and can safely click the rest
of the Neggs.
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Cheats
------
If you find others send them to me and I'll be sure to give you credit. Please
tell me what the cheat does and how you found it.
Getting double/triple points on Easy:
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Cheat - If you click a bomb on either Medium or Hard hit the back button. You
should be back on the screen where you messed up. Now click any Negg on the
grid (preferably one that would cover the smaller grid on Easy) and it doesn't
matter if it was a bomb. If you happen to have clicked on a large clear area
you get double the points (if your previous game was on Medium) or triple the
points (if your previous game was on Hard).
How it works - If you don't pick a difficulty setting the game automatically
starts you on Easy. When you go back you're basically starting a new game of
Easy but the screen still shows you a picture of the game you were playing.
When you click a Negg on this screen you're actually clicking a Negg on the
Easy game you just started. For some reason you will still get the point bonus.
If it isn't a large clear area you simply get a number or a bomb like you would
on any game.
How I found it - Completely by accident. I don't even remember why I went back
to begin with but out of curiosity I clicked one of the Neggs. When the game
re-loaded I was on a game of Easy and had gotten a large clear bonus worth
triple points because the place I clicked on the previous game just happened to
be a blank square on the Easy game.
Free game:
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Cheat - After you've reached your max winnings for the day start a new game.
Click a couple Neggs until you have a large clear area. If you lose just start
over and try again. Then go do something else. The next day play NeggSweeper
again and your game will still be where you left it. You didn't have to pay for
it.
How it works - They don't keep track of when you started your game, and when
you quit in the middle of a game it stays the way you left it until you come
back. After 24 hours you can start winning NP again.
How I found it - I first discovered this accidentally while playing
Cliffhanger. There are a few other games this works on so try it out.
Free game = big NP:
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Cheat - Use the same cheat as the free game, but instead of leaving it after
you start, keep playing. Towards the end if you've built up a lot of NP just
leave it alone and come back the next day to collect your Jackpot. This is the
best time to play on Hard because you're not out anything if you lose.
How it works - Same as above but with the added bonus of knowing you'll get
tons of NP when you're done.
How I found it - My brain told me. :p
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Version History
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Version 2.0 12/15/02 - Added two new cheats.
Version 1.0 12/10/02 - First.
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E-mail Guidelines
-----------------
You can find my e-mail address at the top. If you would like to e-mail me about
this game go ahead, but put NeggSweeper or something similar as the subject or
I will probably delete it without checking to see what it is. If you see
something that needs to be corrected please let me know. If you have something
to contribute be sure to tell me what name you would like me to use when
crediting you.
Please don't ask me other Neopets questions. Unless it's about NeggSweeper in
some way you won't get an answer. Read this guide before asking me questions
because if I've already answered I'll just tell you to read the guide.
If you want to ask me if you can use my guide on another site the answer is no;
this guide is only to appear at www.GameFAQs.com and nowhere else. If you see
it anywhere else please let me know.
Finally, my e-mail address is L621Juggalette2@aol.com
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Copyright Information
---------------------
This guide is for personal use only. You can print it or parts of it for that
reason only. Do not copy any part of this document and claim it as your own or
you will be guilty of plagiarism, which is punishable by law. If you post it on
your site, publish it, use it in any kind of promotional way or use it in any
way for personal gain, civil and/or criminal charges can and will be pressed
against you. This guide is only to appear at www.GameFAQs.com and nowhere else.
Document (c) L621; 2003
