Childhood dreams come true: How to cheat at Minesweeper and more.

Microsoft Games.
Everyone has played them at least once, with varying results.
Some claim to be masters of Solitaire, some take great pride in their advanced status on Minesweeper, and some may even venture a boast in regards to their Pinball score. However, there will always be those who are absolutely hopeless.
Maybe it's due to a lack of lateral thinking, luck, or perhaps some of the games don't seem to actually make any sense (I'm looking at you, Freecell).
Regardless, this post is for you.

Let's begin with a childhood favourite: Minesweeper.
It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, or how great you think you are at games: if you have ever played Minesweeper, you have lost at least once.
The deceased smiling face now wears a frown, and you know that you are directly responsible for his brutal demise.

After reading this, there is no need to worry further.
Here's a fool-proof way to keep him smiling/alive:

1) Minimize or close all running applications.
2) Open Minesweeper.
3) Type xyzzy
4) Press Shift.
5) Now when you move your cursor over a square in the game, keep an eye out on the top-left part of your desktop screen. You should see a white pixel.
This white pixel means that a square is safe to click - if the pixel is black, it is a mine.
Congratulations, you'll never lose at Minesweeper again.
You're also a shameless cheater.

Next up is Pinball - A favourite among those looking for flashing lights and sounds.
Whatever your motives for cheating are, the next hint will prove to be very useful if you have an ongoing pinball rivalry with a sibling, friend, or mortal foe.
At the start of your game, type hidden test.
You may not think anything has happened - you're wrong.
Click and hold the left mouse button, dragging the cursor across the pinball screen.
Surely enough, the ball follows your every movement.
While this is exciting at first, you will soon realise that you're cheating at Microsoft Pinball. You have reached a new low.

The final part of this post is devoted to Solitaire.
Perhaps the most well-known of all standard Microsoft Games, Solitaire has managed to take playing card games by yourself to a whole new level.
It's easy to play but involves quite a significant amount of time, making it even more satisfying when you win a game.
The next cheat will remove that genuine sense of achievement, and replace it with an absolutely hollow victory.
Press Alt + Shift + 2 to instantly win.
There. That's it.
Way to go, champ.