Why Kids Love to Play Minecraft
The grandfather of the sandbox genre, minecraft is a blockbuster video game that inspires creativity, builds social skills, and offers a deep sense of ownership. Whether kids are playing alone or in teams, Minecraft allows them to build their own worlds and experiences that reflect what interests them most. From replicating famous landmarks to recreating scenes from movies, there are endless possibilities to explore and create in the virtual realm of minecraft.
Kids can choose between two game modes, survival and creative. In survival mode, players appear in a new world and must build their own universe by gathering and foraging for resources. They must also fight hostile monsters that spawn at night. The goal is to survive, and once a player has built a shelter and defeated their first monsters, gameplay can blossom in any direction.
In creative mode, players have every building block available to them right from the start of the game. They can fly and have unlimited access to weapons, potions, food items, books, and other useful items.
To interact with blocks, players must move relatively close (four or five blocks distance) and “focus” on the block they want to use by moving their cursor (crosshairs) over it. This causes their character to look at the block, and then they can either “use” it or pick it up with their hand. There are several other actions players can perform on blocks such as turning them off and on, or breaking them apart with their hands or axes.
Minecraft has a wide range of multiplayer options for kids to play with friends locally and online. Kids can connect with friends using their console’s dedicated friend list or by manually entering a player ID. They can even play on the same server together if the servers are compatible with one another.
In addition to socializing with their friends, kids can also learn valuable real-life lessons from the game of minecraft. For example, they can learn about sustainability by planting and harvesting crops or by mining materials for their buildings. The game also gives them a chance to practice their problem-solving skills. Depending on the settings of their world, they can also learn about physics and architecture by building structures from scratch.
For many families, minecraft is a way for them to stay connected with each other when they are separated by miles or even continents. It is not uncommon for parents to share stories of how their children have played the game with their siblings and friends across the globe. I have personally heard stories of how minecraft has helped families and friends stay in touch during pandemics, and even forge brand-new connections that would not have otherwise existed. I could not think of a better reason for parents to allow their kids to play minecraft!