Bill Gates was so hooked on Minesweeper… that he was kicked out of the game

When it comes to fame and obsession, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t necessarily… a video game minesweeper. However, the famous American businessman Bill Gates, the former head of Microsoft, was really addicted to this game when he was at the helm of the multinational IT company.

The iconic strategy game, available to users of Windows, Microsoft’s operating system, from its 1990 version quickly became a cult. The goal of this puzzle game: to discover mines hidden in a grid that represents a virtual minefield, with the only indication of the number of mines in the vicinity.

A game that is quickly becoming addictive for those who are not yet the richest man in the world, as revealed by Kyle Orland, Journalist from the Arstechnica website, in an upcoming book. “It was addictive,” said Charles Fitzgerald, product manager at the time.

Break game records

Bill Gates goal? Beat game records, such as 10 seconds to complete a beginner level. But his obsession would turn out to be such that the engineers decided to remove the minesweeper from the computer of their superiors, who were then to revert to the computers of his colleagues.

The journalist even admits that one Saturday evening, Bill Gates had called product managers to bring employees into his office to see his new Minesweeper record.

Melinda Gates intervenes

Melinda French, future Melinda Gates and entrepreneur’s wife, took matters into her own hands: “Bill has a lot of important decisions he has to make, and shouldn’t have. [son] Time!” she would say.

Bruce Ryan, the product manager, then had the idea of ​​creating an unbeatable record to discourage Bill Gates. For this purpose, the former Microsoft employee used a computer program to surpass the 5-second record set by the president.

Racing score: The record is down to 1 second. “Sorry, your five-second record has been permanently obliterated,” he sent to the CEO.