Hey Geo, ever think of making it "Space Empires: Minesweeper" Use a nice star field/nebula background, the choice of races for mine graphic selection. Object to clear the sector of mines. Send a sample to Aaron and ask for his blessing. Heck, I'm sure that SFI would even host the file as a fan based games. (Oh and I'd be willing to throw some graphics in your general direction O_o )
Just a thought, Cheers!