Not sure how easy/hard the older versions were, though I do now get a clear on almost every run, and those come with max clears rather easily. If I don't clear, it is typically because I made a calculation mistake and stumbled onto an unintended high level monster.
It does feel quite balanced to me in the sense that in the beginning it felt hard ("how is it even possible"), but after mastering the decisions to make, it becomes easy. Very much like FTL or Into the Breach. At this point I wish there was a Hard mode.
For anyone wanting to download and launch the game locally, you will need to install a web server.
One way to do this is to download the Python programming language for your OS, open a command prompt window in the Dragonsweeper folder, and type "python -m http.server --bind 127.0.0.1 8000".
I have a nit about the game. I played the original a lot and liked the music, but I find that the music cuts out and is silent for awhile before anything happens. It would be more enjoyable to have the music going on.
I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable that the music was paced like that, since it added to the calm paced tone of the game. And it really helped avoid the music from becoming so repetitive as quickly as it would, had it played on a loop.
Look like v1.1.18 fixed the "full clear" stamp. The maximum score is now 365. And when you get a full clear you get an ominous poem, which ends with a suspiciously purple question mark. I wonder if it's yet another hint...
Interestingly I tried a run without a full clear and still got that ominous poem. Perhaps it's just level-based. In that run I left both gazers alive which had no special effect.
Given how important, or is it? Preserving healing scrolls are, healing scrolls that come from chests should have some mark for it, given how monsters behave because of chests?
I think I messed up once because I forgot one of the scrolls came from a chest instead of being initially there?
Wow, this is such a cool concept. Being a long time minesweeper dude I got hooked immediately. And although I didn't really get it at first, after many tries it clicked and eventually I got through. Also, very nice pixel art!
Does Rat Pacifist require you to not kill any rat, or can you kill them if you don't collect the gold? I can't work out how to not hit them by accident why exploring. If there are 2 squares which have 5 power between them I can't see if it is 5 and 0, or 4 and 1, or 3 and 2.
Looks like you're not allowed to even touch the rats, except the rat king. So you have to be very lucky and find him near the start, kill him, and leave all the others be.
Oh, that's so good to know, without that info it's near impossible to do with sparing the rat king too. That should be clearer in the stamp description
I love the 1.1.17 update, including all the new monsters and new behavior. I like the current level of challenge, but I'm stuck on two of the achievements (stamps).
The "board clear" seems like it's just bugged -- I cleared the entire board including the dragon at the end, got max score, but nothing happened.
For rat pacifist... I made a dozen attempts already and none of them succeeded. I already learned the secrets of the rat king, but they seem useless if I'm not allowed to touch any of the rats. Is there any consistent way to get this done, even a tenth of the time, without being extraordinarily lucky?[Update two hours later]: I got it! The name was apparently confusing, and killing the rat king is still allowed.
For context (and vague spoilers) -- I already know the secrets of the... rats, gargoyles, minotaurs, guardians, purple slimes, lovers, mine king, rat king, beholder, purple mage, chests, gnome (maybe). I hope there's something to discover about skeletons, bats, or green slimes, but so far they seem completely random to me (identical except for their power level, before the slime scroll).
Even more info about the last one
Chests are always *behind* the minotaur, in the 3 squares to the left or right of the minotaur, depending on his facing.
just a suggestion - I love the music to the game, and there's a part where it cuts out and goes silent for a couple minutes. Would appreciate if the music looped more smoothly.
Does the clear the board stamp not trigger on v1.1.17?, because I finally got the maximum 365 points for this version and it didn't happen for me. (The other stamps are working.)
I think the website is from him but I might be wrong, lets wait for his response though because the one in appstore is definitely not by Daniel Benmergui
Won the updated version with 349 instead of the complete 362. Not having played the previous version would've helped, because I thought killing the dragon would've ended the game. I almost won once, after killing everything but the walls but not enough HP for the dragon! heh
I also checked out the updated version. Well; it's even harder. Are there some good tips here?
Yeah there are some patterns, I see now, but I don't think I would notice many of them without diving in comments or something, I guess minesweeper-like games are too hard for me
It only looks like RNG because you’re not observing enough of the hidden patterns. Those things provide you with the additional information you need to make logical deductions.
For instance, below is a spoiler about Gargoyles..
Spoiler
Gargoyles always (unless bugged) appear in pairs and face towards each other
Or a question you could ask yourself about Guardians
Spoiler 2
How many Guardians are there? Notice anything about their shields? Where do they appear?
Or a question you could ask yourself about mice
Spoiler 3
Is there any significance in the direction the mice face in?
Last night I was playing in my bed on my iPad, and I was getting that dog to appear in the corners several times. I didn't understand what the dog did, couldn't observe any effect. Finished the game eventually, but did not get max score clear.
Today I played on my desktop PC, and improved my play to do several max clears, but I never saw the dog. I wonder what happened to it and where it lurked throughout my play :(
I freaking love this game. I can't stop playing it even after winning! Also, are you distributing/selling the soundtrack? Every time the BGM kicks in, I can't help but stop and dance. I don't know how you came up with such genius rockin' ambience, but you got me head boppin'!
By the way, how do you run the offline version? I don't know what to do with these files.
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Is it harder to get a perfect score on the new version? I can beat the game but I'm struggling to perfect it.
Not sure how easy/hard the older versions were, though I do now get a clear on almost every run, and those come with max clears rather easily. If I don't clear, it is typically because I made a calculation mistake and stumbled onto an unintended high level monster.
It does feel quite balanced to me in the sense that in the beginning it felt hard ("how is it even possible"), but after mastering the decisions to make, it becomes easy. Very much like FTL or Into the Breach. At this point I wish there was a Hard mode.
Where can I find the newer version for download? When I click on the "Download Now" Button it shows me only the version 1.0.0.
For anyone wanting to download and launch the game locally, you will need to install a web server.
One way to do this is to download the Python programming language for your OS, open a command prompt window in the Dragonsweeper folder, and type "python -m http.server --bind 127.0.0.1 8000".
Then point your web browser at http://127.0.0.1:8000.
Been thoroughly enjoying the game! I see people talking about achievements, and I managed some of them, but is there a full list anywhere?
check the second page on the almanac
Oh whoah wait update? 8D Oh damn we have a P9 now oh no!! [excited]
Finally! I've been playing this game for weeks, and to finally beat it feels so good. It's so challenging, yet so addictive. Great job!
Thanks for fixing the max score stamp and nice touch with the new endgame screen for it!
Super game, great work! - still discovering clever details
This is a lot of fun. Really enjoy this game. Thanks for sharing.
I have a nit about the game. I played the original a lot and liked the music, but I find that the music cuts out and is silent for awhile before anything happens. It would be more enjoyable to have the music going on.
I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable that the music was paced like that, since it added to the calm paced tone of the game. And it really helped avoid the music from becoming so repetitive as quickly as it would, had it played on a loop.
Can it only run in browser? Download doesn't include an exe.
If no, you can't save your progress (stamps)?
I guess you need itch.io app
It saves them in local storage, you can toggle them in your browser's dev tools.
Really enjoyed this and have been playing on and off all day. Love the riff on classic Minesweeper!
as you dig towards them they make more ?s though
love it! great art, great concept :)
Look like v1.1.18 fixed the "full clear" stamp. The maximum score is now 365. And when you get a full clear you get an ominous poem, which ends with a suspiciously purple question mark. I wonder if it's yet another hint...
Interestingly I tried a run without a full clear and still got that ominous poem. Perhaps it's just level-based.
In that run I left both gazers alive which had no special effect.
The poem changes if you have a full clear stamp, whether it's on this run or not.
The background image also changes, from Jorge slaying the dragon to him standing on a pile of corpses.
amazing game. I love minesweeper, and you managed to make it more fun and exciting. It's brilliant!
I need a version that is easy to play on my Steam Deck immediately, please.
Given how important, or is it? Preserving healing scrolls are, healing scrolls that come from chests should have some mark for it, given how monsters behave because of chests?
I think I messed up once because I forgot one of the scrolls came from a chest instead of being initially there?
Wow, this is such a cool concept. Being a long time minesweeper dude I got hooked immediately. And although I didn't really get it at first, after many tries it clicked and eventually I got through. Also, very nice pixel art!
This game is great!!
Phenomenal game. Add some difficulty levels, maybe keep the unit count on screen, and start selling!
Nice! It's not as hard if you get the rat king early but I still had to guess on where the gnome was in the end.
Does Rat Pacifist require you to not kill any rat, or can you kill them if you don't collect the gold? I can't work out how to not hit them by accident why exploring. If there are 2 squares which have 5 power between them I can't see if it is 5 and 0, or 4 and 1, or 3 and 2.
Looks like you're not allowed to even touch the rats, except the rat king. So you have to be very lucky and find him near the start, kill him, and leave all the others be.
Oh, that's so good to know, without that info it's near impossible to do with sparing the rat king too. That should be clearer in the stamp description
"rat pacifist" was the name given by the community for the challenge run, but I wonder if "rat liberation" or something would be more apt
Great game!
I love the 1.1.17 update, including all the new monsters and new behavior. I like the current level of challenge, but I'm stuck on two of the achievements (stamps).
The "board clear" seems like it's just bugged -- I cleared the entire board including the dragon at the end, got max score, but nothing happened.
For rat pacifist...
I made a dozen attempts already and none of them succeeded. I already learned the secrets of the rat king, but they seem useless if I'm not allowed to touch any of the rats. Is there any consistent way to get this done, even a tenth of the time, without being extraordinarily lucky?[Update two hours later]: I got it! The name was apparently confusing, and killing the rat king is still allowed.For context (and vague spoilers) -- I already know the secrets of the... rats, gargoyles, minotaurs, guardians, purple slimes, lovers, mine king, rat king, beholder, purple mage, chests, gnome (maybe). I hope there's something to discover about skeletons, bats, or green slimes, but so far they seem completely random to me (identical except for their power level, before the slime scroll).
What is the rule for gargoyles, minotaurs, guardians and chests? I havent noticed anythkng for them
Spoiler
Gargoyles come in pairs
Minotaurs are always guarding a chest
Guardians are in 4 corners represented by there shields
Chest are always close to a minotaur exept the mimic
Even more info about the last one
Chests are always *behind* the minotaur, in the 3 squares to the left or right of the minotaur, depending on his facing.I started noticing everything except the guardians shortly after asking lol
skeletons bats and green slimes are filler afaik
just a suggestion - I love the music to the game, and there's a part where it cuts out and goes silent for a couple minutes. Would appreciate if the music looped more smoothly.
I will come back for every update.
Does the clear the board stamp not trigger on v1.1.17?, because I finally got the maximum 365 points for this version and it didn't happen for me. (The other stamps are working.)
It's fixed on v1.1.18. Yay!
I managed to get a full clear with 7 hp remaining too!
So close!
You got a Ars Technica article! Congrats! https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/02/dragonsweeper-is-my-favorite-game-of-2025...
great game!
Would be awesome if there were a way to mark tiles on iPad (where no shift click or right click is available).
thanks!
Yeah, long press works on my android phone in Chrome but not on my Kindle Fire 10 with Chrome 🤷
long press works on my iphone, haven't tried ipad
Thanks. You're right, the long press works for me on iPhone, but alas not on iPad.
Is this you? It looks like someone has reserved an iOS app for this game. If it was not you, you might want to submit a complaint to Apple
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dragonsweeper-a-stratergy-game/id6739958486
There's also a different website that comes out #1 in a Google search. 😡
I think the website is from him but I might be wrong, lets wait for his response though because the one in appstore is definitely not by Daniel Benmergui
That, and the description is copied fron vanripper’s Awaria
clearly a rip. weird developer name, incorrect description, outdated graphics
Cool game, I've been playing it a lot when I got some time to kill. Managed to get a good time too.
Won the updated version with 349 instead of the complete 362. Not having played the previous version would've helped, because I thought killing the dragon would've ended the game. I almost won once, after killing everything but the walls but not enough HP for the dragon! heh
I also checked out the updated version. Well; it's even harder. Are there some good tips here?
Yeah there are some patterns, I see now, but I don't think I would notice many of them without diving in comments or something, I guess minesweeper-like games are too hard for me
It only looks like RNG because you’re not observing enough of the hidden patterns. Those things provide you with the additional information you need to make logical deductions.
For instance, below is a spoiler about Gargoyles..
Spoiler
Gargoyles always (unless bugged) appear in pairs and face towards each other
Or a question you could ask yourself about Guardians
Spoiler 2
How many Guardians are there? Notice anything about their shields? Where do they appear?
Or a question you could ask yourself about mice
Spoiler 3
Is there any significance in the direction the mice face in?
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
Thanks for the update, Daniel!
This is a big hit with my discord friends. Surprisingly deep and addictive!
phew took me ages to get the max score on this version! It's getting hard!
Last night I was playing in my bed on my iPad, and I was getting that dog to appear in the corners several times. I didn't understand what the dog did, couldn't observe any effect. Finished the game eventually, but did not get max score clear.
Today I played on my desktop PC, and improved my play to do several max clears, but I never saw the dog. I wonder what happened to it and where it lurked throughout my play :(
What does the dog do?
I noticed the dog had gone, it's been replaced with an egg I think. I think the game was updated last night.
nice :) i like the new version! i play your game a lot and hope you stick with it!
I freaking love this game. I can't stop playing it even after winning! Also, are you distributing/selling the soundtrack? Every time the BGM kicks in, I can't help but stop and dance. I don't know how you came up with such genius rockin' ambience, but you got me head boppin'!
By the way, how do you run the offline version? I don't know what to do with these files.
Oh, and is this your website? I just wanna make sure it's legit because I didn't see your name anywhere: https://dragonsweeper.com/New-Dragonsweeper-Version