What is Minecraft?

If you haven’t heard of minecraft, it’s a first-person game that allows players to roam vast worlds and do anything they want. It’s often compared to virtual Lego and has inspired everything from simple buildings to complex mechanical devices. It’s also a social space: players work together on multiplayer servers, either alone or with friends, and can explore the worlds in any way they like.

Minecraft, which was developed in 2009 by Markus Persson (known online as “Notch”), is played on a computer, smartphone, tablet, Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo Switch. It can cost anywhere from free to PS25 or more, depending on the version and whether it comes with mods (community-made developments to a game) and skins (aesthetic additions to a character).

The game is essentially an open-world sandbox. Its procedurally generated landscapes are vast and three-dimensional, with cliffs plunging to an impenetrable “floor” of black bedrock, or rising to sky-piercing mountain summits. The terrain is populated by hostile mobs — monsters that can be killed for food and materials, or simply to add tension to an exploration.

There are two main gameplay modes: survival and creative. In survival mode, players must build up their character and resources to survive. For example, a player might mine for precious ores and minerals, or hunt for rare animals. They can also combine blocks to make new items — for instance, stone and wood can be used to make a pickaxe to help them dig faster and deeper. They can also create weapons and furniture, or even construct a city.

Creative mode offers a more open-ended experience, allowing players to create and explore without worrying about hunger or health, or being attacked by enemies. With unlimited in-game resources, they can fly and do things that would be impossible or impractical in survival mode — for instance, creating huge works of engineering and architecture. Several commands can be packed into a “command block,” and clicking on it activates them, just as clicking on a piece of software launches it.

A large part of the Minecraft community revolves around the community-made content that’s available to buy and play. There are hundreds of thousands of player-created maps that can be downloaded and played, with a few examples attracting millions of views on YouTube. Some of these worlds are eerily realistic, with a sense of realism that’s sometimes achieved through a process known as photogrammetry. Others are wildly imaginative, and can be viewed in person by visiting dedicated events called “minecraft parties.”

The popularity of minecraft has surprised some observers. For many, the appeal of the game has to do with a deep-seated desire for control and autonomy in an age where the world is increasingly dominated by digital products and services. Joseph Delaney, the father of a 9-year-old boy who plays minecraft, says his son’s favorite activity before and after school is meeting up with a friend on a multiplayer server and spending time together playing the game.