Board Constraint and Support
The game uses a four-by-four board with a selected number of mines. The board is not chosen from all possible configurations. Instead, it is drawn uniformly from the legal board support defined by the following rule:
- For each prefix length from one to four, the number of mines in the top k rows must be at least the number of mines in the left k columns.
This constraint creates a finite set of valid boards (the support). The draw is uniform over this support, meaning every valid board in this set has an equal probability of appearing.
Payout and Gross Quote
The payout is determined by the reduction of the legal support as safe cells are revealed. The gross return includes the original stake; net return is gross return minus that stake. The formula is:
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross Quote | 0.96 × Captured Stake × (Initial Support / Current Compatible Support) |
The factor of 0.96 represents the gross return to player (RTP) baseline. The ratio is the reciprocal of the probability that the specific revealed path is safe under the initial uniform board distribution.
Controls and Mode
- Board Size: Four-by-four grid.
- Mine Count: Choices are limited to the exact non-empty support configurations available in the source.
- Betting: Captured stake and mine count are locked for the duration of the round.
- Banking: Manual bank is available only after at least one safe reveal.
- Auto Queue: No automatic queue; actions are manual.
Stopping Rules and Caps
A covered cell is disabled if its conditional safe probability is zero or if its potential safe gross return would exceed 1000 times the fixed stake. A cell that is certainly safe remains eligible when within the cap. Automatic settlement occurs after all safe cells are revealed or when no eligible reveal remains; one disabled cell alone does not end the round. Manual cashout becomes available after at least one safe reveal. Stake and mine count remain fixed until settlement.
Wallet and Persistence
The wallet starts with 1000 virtual coins. Available stakes are 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200; the selected stake is debited and saved when a round starts. Stake and mine count stay fixed during that round.
At settlement, the game credits floor(gross return + previously saved fractional carry), then saves the remaining fraction. A mine returns zero. The carry survives settlement, refill and reload.
When idle with fewer than 10 coins, manual refill sets the integer balance to exactly 1000; it does not add 1000. Reloading abandons an unfinished round without refund or resume. The saved balance includes its already-debited stake. Clearing cached files alone may leave localStorage intact.
Mathematical Evidence
The exact gross RTP is 0.96. Simulation measurements support this but are not the mathematical law. For example, with 3 mines:
- Safe path [0]: Remaining support 204, Gross multiplier 1.2.
- Safe path [0,1,2]: Remaining support 101, Gross multiplier 2.4237623762376237.
Longer paths reduce the support count significantly, increasing the multiplier. The maximum multiplier observed in the data is 887.04 with 5 mines.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official AA555 game?
This independent browser demonstration uses virtual coins with no cash value. It does not establish the rules or identity of an outside product.
How does the refill work?
When idle and the balance is below 10, a manual refill sets the integer wallet to exactly 1000. It preserves fractional carry. It does not add to a running total.
What happens if I refresh the page?
An unfinished round ends without refund. The current balance and fractional carry are preserved locally, but the current board state is lost.
