Thrill Digger Solver (Skyward Sword)

A browser-only JavaScript solver for the Thrill Digger minigame in
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

This tool analyzes the visible rupee clues you reveal in-game and recommends the best next move using exact probability calculations, similar to a Minesweeper solver.

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✨ Features

• Exact probability solver

  • Computes the chance each unrevealed square is a bad spot (Bomb or Rupoor)
  • Uses constraint satisfaction and weighted enumeration (not heuristics)

• Best Move button

  • Picks a single recommended square
  • Minimizes risk first
  • Breaks ties by maximizing information gain

• Supports all difficulties

  • Beginner (5×4, 4 bombs)
  • Intermediate (6×5, 4 bombs, 4 rupoors)
  • Expert (8×5, 8 bombs, 8 rupoors)

• No dependencies

  • Single HTML file
  • Runs entirely in your browser
  • No tracking, no storage, no network calls

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🎮 How Thrill Digger Is Modeled

Thrill Digger behaves like Minesweeper with range-based clues:

Rupee	Adjacent Bad Spots
Green	0
Blue	1–2
Red	3–4
Silver	5–6
Gold	7–8

Bad spot = Bomb or Rupoor
Bombs end the game; rupoors subtract rupees, but both count as “bad” for clue purposes.

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🧠 How the Solver Works

1. Manual input

   • You enter the results of each dig (rupee color, rupoor, or bomb)

2. Constraint extraction

   • Each revealed rupee generates a numeric range constraint on adjacent cells

3. Exact enumeration

   • Unknown cells touching clues (“frontier”) are exhaustively enumerated
   • Remaining unknown cells are handled combinatorially

4. Probability calculation

   • For each unknown cell:

     P(cell is bad)
     

5. Best move selection

   • Primary: minimize probability of a bad result
   • Tie-breaker: maximize expected information gain
     • More adjacent unknown cells
     • More adjacency to existing clues

This mirrors optimal Minesweeper-solving strategies.

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🖱️ How to Use

1. Clone or download the repository
2. Open thrill-digger-solver.html in any modern browser
3. Select the game difficulty
4. Click cells to enter what the game revealed: ? → G → B → R → S → ★ → Ø → 💣 → ?
5. Use the controls:

• Solve / Update probabilities — highlights safest and riskiest cells
• Best move — highlights the single recommended click

Hover over unknown cells to see their exact bad probability.

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⚠️ Limitations & Assumptions

• The solver does not optimize rupee payout
• Thrill Digger does not publish a rupee distribution
• The solver focuses on survival and information, not expected rupees

Assumes:

• Correct user input

• Standard Thrill Digger rules

• No hidden modifiers or scripted boards

• With no revealed clues, probabilities default to uniform.

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📂 Project Structure

'''text thrill-digger-solver.html # Entire application (HTML + CSS + JavaScript) README.md # Documentation LICENSE # GNU General Public License v3.0 text '''

🤖 Code Generation & Attribution

This project’s code was generated by ChatGPT 5.2 through an iterative, conversational design and refinement process.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0-only).

See the LICENSE file for the full license text.