My little ones, age 8 and 10, like to spend their time watching videos of people playing Minecraft on YouTube. They think it's hilarious - they watch it like it's a TV series. They have now begun to badger me to buy or download it for them. I did a little research and I think I understand very basically what it's about, but I don't see any ratings for it ((E)veryone, E10, and (T)een are the usuals). My question: Assuming they could get the hang of it and play at their own pace, is there anything in the game that's inappropriate for children?
Very appropriate! There are monsters in the game so it has the scary factor, and you do have to kill them. But it's not like a normal game at all. If they play on a server, you'd have to watch for language and content that way, but in single player the world is entirely their own. I love it! We have a minecraft thread in the gaming forum if you have questions. I know at least one poster has a kid that plays. Edit: I forgot to say that there are different modes and that it's possible to play without monsters as well.
Yeah, my kids are 7 and 5 and they play it, too. There is some quite mild "violence" in it, like Kestra said. There are monsters, but they are blocky and unrealistic. There's no blood anywhere. When monsters die, they just fall over and disappear in a puff of smoke. The only weapons are swords and bows and arrows. (There are axes, but they're only for chopping down trees.) If they just like building, they can play Creative mode instead and not worry about fighting anything. I think it's a great game and it always amazes me the range of ages that play it.
My 12 year old nieces play it like mad and have done so for at least a year. I think it's a very kid-friendly game.
Thank you for your quick responses. I saw the thread in gaming but that's even a little advanced for me to follow. Another question. Do people typically play on XBox or a gaming system, or can you play on a regular PC?
The Xbox and PC versions are totally separate and not compatible, though they share similar mechanics. The PC version is superior and much more flexible. That's the version I play (and the vast majority of us in the Minecraft thread here.)
The great thing about Minecraft is that it is what you make it. It's practically limitless in terms of what can be done. It's pretty much a game of imagination and building things, kind of like Lego, but more interactive, so it's very much appropriate. When I was volunteering for my local science center/museum, I had a thought that it could be used to teach about mining and ores and other different elements and have visitors just build stuff in a local server.
Then I guess I'll be saying Yes to this particular request. That small earthquake-like tremor that the Eastern Seaboard will feel in the next several minutes will be two happy kids jumping for joy. Thanks all.
Heh, the other day I was at a movie theater and there was this kid (maybe 12 or 13) with his mom (in her 40s) and they saw me wearing my Minecraft shirt, and struck up a conversation about it--and they both play it, too. I can't really think of any other game that so easily crosses age and gender boundaries as well as Minecraft does.