Matt McGinley

I guess you could say I'm retired now (Dec 04); I haven't played for well over two years. I was forced to quit by a lack of suitable equipment, then I just lost interest. I first started June 23, 2000 when I first broke 10 on beginner. About five weeks later I got a lucky 1 sec., then by November I got my first sub-20 (18) while my first sub-60 didn't come until after I got my 10 the following June 22nd. I always played more int. than anything.

My 10 was achieved on the dreamboard, as was my 14 before it. I had captured my 14 with Camtasia (am I dating myself here?) and watched the video several times. This led to some memorization of how the board is laid out, although I never believed that I would get that board again. I was just watching game film, so to say. I guess this started off a huge wave of perhaps one of the biggest issues in minesweeper: Board memorization. Right about the time an acceptable clone was in the works I bowed out of the scene.

I was notified that my 10 was discredited, and I was awarded my 11 which was achieved on a shift of a very popular board, I think. That's fine with me. Technically I did have prior knowledge, so...Seeing my number 5 ranking fall down to 11 has inspired in me a little bit of competitive fire, and I just might take this silly little game up again, with all the new technology and such. I know I stopped with somewhere around 1300 sub 20s, and, adjusting my last known totals for that, I get roughly 10*, 11, 12x7, 13x18, 14x30, 15x60, 16x130, 17x250, 18x350, 19x550. My best on expert was a 51, with a 53 and a few 55s after that.

I'm in my second year of studies (aerospace engineering) at Georgia Tech. I am on the varsity swim team as well, which is probably what I shifted my attention to when I quit sweeping. I'm 6'8" (203 cm) tall, spend most of my free time collecting music, and have a passion for cigars.

-Matt