Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Could you explain Minecraft?

My DS7 loves Minecraft, but he likes other computer games too- especially those dealing with math and money. I think it depends on the kid, but many parents say that their children become very immersed.

We have the iPad addition- to me, it looks kind of "meh" but kids love it. We keep it on "creative" mode because I hear the survival mode involves some cartoonish violence. Even in creative, DS became upset because he accidentally drowned some chickens:)

Like others have stated, Minecraft (or any mind candy) is at the bottom of our to do list on the weekends. Essentially, homework, chores, playtime, reading, exercise have to be done before we allow it.

I don't get Minecraft either, LOL. My guys like to watch Youtube videos of other people playing and doing a running commentary! They don't seem to swear and seems fairly harmless. The main commentator is a main from Britain named "Stampy Longnose." I assume that isn't his real name?!?

DS6 and DS8 are obsessed. I have to monitor their screen time very closely.

Positives: They have learned about minerals and mining through the game, which uses real minerals. They then ask us questions, such as what does it mean to smelt ore, or where is bedrock and what does that mean, which lead to interesting and educational conversations. My FIL is a geologist so we've had some fun asking him questions and he loves this.

It seems good for visual spatial skills.

They can "join" with other kids. This was great on a recent extended family trip where we had 5 boys playing together in the same world. Led to real-world tantrums when one cousin "killed" another though.

Negatives: the mod videos on YouTube are seriously annoying, but all the kids seem to know about them and want to watch them. Again, parental monitoring and restrictions required.

Overall, I think that it develops visual spatial and math skills, and can be really fun for them to play in groups.

I personally hate all video games and think they are time wasters and brain cell killers, but it seems Minecraft is better than most.

We have PE for iPad and PC versions.

I suggest checking out Roblox (http://www.roblox.com/) if your child likes Minecraft and is in elementary school. It is more intended for younger kids (ie elementary age kids) the site is a bit more monitored. Since I've never played either I can't tell you the differences. Roblox is similar it's an online game where you are building worlds with virtual blocks. Both these games are online games where you play with whoever else is on at the time.

My son used to get frustrated in Minecraft because other kids would tear down his creations. My understanding is you can play for free, but if you want your own private space you have to buy some sort of subscription. At 15 DS has moved on and isn't interested anymore is this type of computer game anymore. He mostly fantasy/adventure style games.

It's pretty easy to avoid the issue of other kids tearing down your Minecraft stuff... just create your own world, and either play in it by yourself, or just invite your closest friends in. It doesn't cost anything to create your own world. My DD has hundreds.

My kids have been playing it for years. I think DS was 3 and DD was 4. They are now 7 and 8. I would tell people "hey my kids really love Minecraft, yours would probably like it too" and I got blank stares. Now everyone is obsessed with it.
I sometimes wonder if Minecraft is the reason their WISC PR scores are both so high...maybe it does actually raise visual spatial ability and they've both certainly spent enough time on it.

The reason I don't object too much is because it does seem to involve a lot of creativity and problem solving, unlike other games like Super Mario Bros. It also makes a good bribe. DS gladly does things he normally wouldn't want to do in order to get "mods" as a reward or "screen time." Today he was enthusiastically talking about how he's going to clean his room so that he can get the "galactic craft mod" whatever that is.

They play it on the PC and often Skype with cousins or friends to play together.

They play on Dh's server in their own worlds so no one tears anything down unless they invite their friends/cousins in and things get out of hand.

It's quite possible it's changed in the few years since my son was using it. It's also possible he hadn't figured that out at that time. I just remember he getting upset about it. And that one thing that helped was a friend who purchased his own space and invited my son to join. Perhaps there are differences between the free spaces, and those that cost money.

You may be talking about Minecraft Realms. It's been a thing for Pocket Edition for some time now, and only just recently became available for PC. I only just learned about it tonight, when I saw a new option on the startup screen. DD tells me she's seen it on her iPod for eons.

Realms requires a monthly subscription fee. They host your Minecraft world, and only people you've invited get access.

Creating a world on your own machine is free. You can also share it... here, we only open up worlds for sharing on our LAN, so unless you've got our wireless password, you'll never see it. That works for both PE and PC, though not across platforms... you can't create a world on a tablet and share it to someone on a PC or an Xbox. All three products might be called Minecraft and have the same look and feel, but they're actually three totally different and incompatible pieces of software.

Xbox also allows you to share locally, with a split-screen option and an Xbox Live option.

If you connect to an open Minecraft server, then unless the owners have modded it in ways that prevent griefing, bad things can happen. Ditto if you share your own worlds to the whole web.

Our two cents:

So, children love wooden blocks like Kapla and Keva?, but they are limited by the number of blocks and the fact that the structure will fall down with vibrations especially if you build on carpet.

Enter Minecraft. Now, the kids can build without those two limitations and there is a social media component which everyone is saying is part of this generation; they are highly social.

Hope it helps.