Archaeosweeper is not a minesweeper clone. It is a minesweeper inversion — and the inversion was deliberate.

In standard Minesweeper, numbers warn you away from danger. In Archaeosweeper, numbers point you toward value. Every digit on the grid tells you how many artifacts are hiding in adjacent cells. The grid is not a minefield to survive — it is a site to read. That is how real field archaeology works.

Every click costs budget. Find artifacts to replenish it. Run out of money or time and the dig is over. Three difficulty tiers: Surface Survey (8×8), Trench Excavation (12×12), and Deep Excavation (16×16). Twelve artifact types drawn from real archaeological periods — Bronze Age ceramic vessels, Roman denarii, Palaeolithic lithic points, Mesopotamian inscribed bricks. A field journal records every discovery.

The game has Web Audio sound design synthesized entirely in the browser — no files, no downloads. It installs as a PWA on iPhone, Android, and desktop and works fully offline after the first visit.

It was made by one person. I am a Brazilian archaeologist with a doctorate in Prehistoric Archaeology from the University of Freiburg. I built this game because I wanted to think about what it means to excavate — the budget pressure, the incomplete information, the way a number on a grid can reorient your entire strategy. It is also just a good browser game.

Everything I make is self-funded. If you pay something for this — even €1 — it goes directly toward open-access publishing, research costs, and keeping the writing going. You can read more about the work at de-medeiros.com.

More information