Minecraft

Minecraft is completely open-ended. The game begins with the player in a vast landscape. Over the course of the game the player mines resources and makes different tools. They can use the tools to mine more resources in the form of blocks; blocks are used to build.

And oh, the things you can build.

Minecraft players are renowned for creating to-scale representations of monuments or popular images from pop culture. Some even build entire cities. Players work together in teams to construct these massive structures, just for fun and fame.

In Creative Mode, whether online of offline, players have unlimited resources. That means if you want to build an entire building out of rare lapis lazuli blocks, you are restrained only by your imagination. There are no hostile monsters in this mode. Players cannot die, and they can also fly. This is the favored mode for multiplayer, because it enables players to build complex structures without interruption.

Survival Mode is another popular method of play. In Survival Mode, hostile monsters will spawn during the night and may attack the player. The player can be killed but will respawn and be able to retrieve lost items. The biggest differences are that in Survival Mode the player must eat to regain health and must mine resources to be able to build. Because of this, it is a challenge to build beautiful structures—but fighting to survive is equally thrilling.

The player can save the game and quit at any time. This is a good thing to remember when your kids try to squeeze 10 more minutes out of you!

Minecraft is easy to get the hang of, though to build more advanced structures you might need to look up tutorials. But the basic controls are easy, and younger kids love the game.

• Are there times when you feel like you've been playing too long? Is it still fun?
• What are you building? How did you design it?
• Is it easy to collaborate with people online, or is it harder than playing by yourself?
• Do you prefer Creative Mode or Survival Mode? Why?
• What is your ultimate goal in this game?