Workshop › Minesweeper › Step 22 of 26

What time is it?

What we are doing

A game this short is about speed, so we will add a timer. First, the time itself: requestAnimationFrame passes the loop a timestamp in milliseconds, and we keep it in now.

```js
let now = 0

function loop(time) {
  now = time
  draw()
  requestAnimationFrame(loop)
}
```

What it means

• loop(time) receives the timestamp; now = time keeps it for everyone else.
• now starts at 0 until the first frame.

Your turn

1. Under let state ..., write let now = 0.
2. Give loop a time parameter, and write now = time as its first line. Press Run.

Skills: The game loop

← The end and a new game The clock →

All steps

1. A grid of cell objects
2. The canvas and the pen
3. Draw the field
4. Draw every frame
5. Neighbours
6. Mines, but not under the first click
7. Shuffle the candidates
8. Count the mines around
9. Open a cell
10. Open cells look different
11. Coloured numbers
12. Click to open
13. Stepping on a mine
14. Show the mines
15. Flood fill
16. Flags with the right button
17. A flag protects its cell
18. Draw the flags
19. Mines left
20. Winning
21. The end and a new game
22. What time is it?
23. The clock
24. Stop the clock
25. The best time
26. Build it yourself: wrong flags