I disagree with the overall thesis here-- that somehow abstracting away all the randomness of minesweeper makes it less "mechanical." Oftentimes, 1 square's outcome is less likely or even much less likely then another. Even better, sometimes 2 outcomes will be equally plausible, but 1 of them might be expected to reveal more information or to reduce entropy more. After playing enough, most plays become ingrained in you and mechanical-- the problem solving element comes in comparing probabilities.