Minecraft Download

These days video games are America’s pastime. As a result of this popularity, thousands of new games are released each year on a variety of platforms. None, however, has had the global impact and reach of Minecraft. At its core, users must mine resources from the game world in the form of blocks.  Those blocks are then used to craft a variety of items.

Minecraft is a video game created by Markus Persson, or “Notch” as he went by, in 2011. Originally created as a creative building game, Minecraft turned into a voxel-based survival/creative game with endless things to do. A decade later, the game has switched hands to Microsoft and has sold hundreds of millions of copies. How did this pixelated building game become the #1 selling video game in history? Well, for a lot of reasons.

Great for Kids

Many modern video games contain gratuitous violence, bad language, and even nudity. That can be a problem for parents of small children.

While not designed specifically for kids, Minecraft is considered safe by most parents. The game itself contains no sexual content or inflammatory language. There are gameplay modes that include confrontations with hostile creatures. However, the violence is well mitigated by the unrealistic, block nature of the game.

Great For (Much) Older Kids

In addition to being safe for kids, the game also contains a number of features older kids and adults can love. Survival mode requires players to gather items from the environment to build a shelter and create various tools. By raising the level of difficulty, players can have other challenges as well. Easing hunger, defeating dangerous enemies, and trading goods with NPC characters all create interesting trials.

Encourages Creative Building Skills

Students of fields like engineering and architecture find practical value in Minecraft. Creative mode provides players with unlimited resources and no enemies. Users are able to freely create their own worlds, including intricate buildings and machines.

With enough time, the game’s engine allows players to produce some of the most breathtaking feats of creativity.

Variety of Challenges and Levels

In addition to survival and creativity mode, players have three other options. Adventure mode allows users to create their own world maps and quests. Spectator mode allows users to explore the creations of other users. Multiplayer mode allows large numbers of players to interact in shared worlds.

This wide variety of challenges and the ability to play at different difficulties means most users can find something they can enjoy. After all, 180 million purchases can’t be wrong.

Enduring Fun Through Multiple Plays

Multiplayer and Adventure mode both allow the nearly unlimited potential for new circumstances. Players create new worlds every day, and each map contains unique treasures and discoveries. No other video game boasts over 100 million active monthly players eight years after release.