Minecraft – an addiction even parents fall victim to

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My son, like many others, loves Minecraft. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed. I mean seriously it looks like a pixelated game from the 90s. I bet there are many programmers that wish they would have created Minecraft. The game has become so popular you can find branded merchandise in more than one store and the term ‘creeper‘ has been coined from a character in the game in more ways than what adults think of when hearing the word.

Watching Noah play the game on the iPad used to give me a headache from being so dumbfounded by the whole concept. I just could. not. get. it.

Then…. Last week we bought an Xbox 360 and the first game Noah asked for was Minecraft. I decided to play the role of a good mom and join the family in the living room while they played. Andrew has actually enjoyed playing the game in the past so he was ready to join Noah on their new building venture. I had my iPad out in my lap while watching them play, attempting to not get bored. Out of curiosity I started searching Google for Minecraft templates and ideas. I stumbled upon a sandcastle tutorial on YouTube.

I am not sure if I’m ready to admit how long I watched videos, or how amazed I was at the extent of the creations I saw. The creativity can be a lot more elaborate than I ever imagined.

We created a game titled Perrin Land where we could each build in our own area. I started following the steps in the sandcastle tutorial. At first Andrew teased me about using a guide and not my own creativity, however without the tutorial I would not have known what all was possible on Minecraft. I had never played before so using the videos on YouTube helped me realize what each object was used for. Actually I even taught Andrew and Noah a few things.

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Andrew and I have caught ourselves staying up until 1am to play Minecraft and waking up earlier than the kids to selfishly play the Xbox 360 before our rug-rats take over.  After following the tutorial above to create my castle I built a wall around it made from blue diamond blocks and Andrew helped me with a bridge.  He built his own castle next to mine and we created an underground tunnel that link the two.  The tunnel has it’s own set of rooms built off of it under the ocean.  This game is truly endless.

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Our family game has turned into a village, farm, castles with bridges and under water hideouts. We have even played with up to three players at once all constructing our own buildings. I admit it is fun making a mini world together as a family and I love seeing what the kids come up with.  Noah’s current building is three stories high and he even created his name out of burning blocks that you can see from the sky.

Have you ever played Minecraft? Do your kids love the game?

 

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