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

Sorry - we just aren't there yet. DS has expressed no interest in minecraft until recently. I did not encourage as it appears to be highly addictive. I noticed you can pick up a "set" at the Lego store. So I thought it was a physical subset of Legos. Clearly, it is something you use to build things. However, the reason he is now interested is that some of his classmates create things online. (Is this through a website or Xbox type thing?) I went to their website and it appears you sign up for some sort of subscription with a yearly access of some sort. Is this different than the box you buy at Legos? Then there is another thread which talks about coding modules.

Sorry for my ignorance. It seems very spatially oriented, so if DS is interested, I want to encourage it (as he has challenges in that area). Could someone explain minecraft to me - starting with the beginning level?

Thanks,
Portia

The book Minecraft for Dummies may be of interest.

The minecraft book was written by a kid, and kids seem to like it.

I have mixed feelings about "dummies" titles... nothing against the series, just the use of "dummies" in the title. While the word can make some flinch, there is also a bit of humor involved in quickly communicating that no background knowledge base is needed... possibly like saying "101" to communicate to an adult that the material will meet a person at an introductory level.

Very basic basics: it's a computer game where you move around and interact in a virtual, 3D world. Every world is nearly unique with landforms, oceans, jungles, plains, villages, cave systems, etc. You can build things, dig things out, find minerals and craft with them, farm livestock, fight zombies or each other, build automated systems using sensors and blocks that react to signals.

There are various modes from creative mode with flying, infinite resources, and no monsters, all the way up to a desperately difficult survival game with lots of powerful monsters. It's possible to join games with others in your own home network or over the internet. The pocket edition is almost the same but not compatible with the computer version.

It is also possible to 'mod' the game yourself to create your own personal version with different rules, animals, or blocks. We haven't gone there.

The titles are meant to put potential buyers at ease, as in, a dummy can learn this. Don't panic. We explain stuff coherently and in detail. Anyone who's familiar with the series knows that a lot of those books aren't for actual dummies (e.g., Differential Equations for Dummies, Quantum Physics for Dummmies).

Minecraft is latin for "your son's life will never, ever be the same."

And others suggest that Minecraft is a gateway drug that will lead to a WoW addiction, dropping out of high school, and living in your basement forever.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/internet-addict-tells-how-world-2098704

But, despite my feelings, I keep my mouth shut because my wife is a fan of the game too, and enjoys playing along with my son.

Minecraft requires a one-time (not annual) subscription fee. There are three platforms, and the subscription is not interchangeable among them, so it's best to choose one.

- Pocket edition (iPod/iPhone/iPad)
- Xbox
- PC

They are listed in order of functionality, with the PC version providing the most features.

It also, for some reason, causes a deep-seated need for non-stop talking about MC just like this:

http://scienceofparenthood.com/parental-time-dilation-principle-5-2/

My advice: enjoy MC, because actually, it's very creative, and what comes next may be worse. DS10 moved on to a Pokémon obsession... (Still enjoys MC though, and especially the Pokémon-in-MC whose name I forget.)

ETA reading more carefully: yes, if your son has spatial challenges, I think MC might actually be fantastic. They navigate the worlds, build things in different places and travel between them, and it's all as challenging as they like yet very forgiving.

Mine can happily spend hours memorising wiki pages, or watching YouTube videos, about both of these, too.

If you were thinking of introducing or modifying a set of rules about screen- or game- time, do it right now!

Pocket edition is available on Android too, fwiw. But the desktop version is better in many ways.

My DC would play Minecraft all day if I let them (I don't). My advice would be to use it wisely...DS, for instance, loves Minecraft (as do his little friends), so we now own Minecraft books and guides (oh, look, DS, my "non-bookworm," is also reading more!). Also, Minecraft time is "earned" if my DC do something else they might not otherwise want to do (clean their room, finish homework, etc.). It's a win-win!

My DC play Minecraft on the iPad.