Image: Shutterstock
Minecraft games and activities are an extremely popular form of education and entertainment among children. Minecraft games for kids have swiftly become one of the most popular games in the world. Sunrises and sunsets, working all day, crafting tools and buildings out of diverse materials, farming, and caring for animals are all included in the game. Kids are always on the lookout for new products and want to be kept informed about them. If you’re looking for some fun Minecraft games for kids, keep reading this post.
Key Pointers
- Minecraft is a 3D video game that is highly popular among players who dig and construct structures.
- Players engage in activities like gathering resources, farming, and caring for animals, similar to real life.
- A plethora of Minecraft games and activities for children are in high demand, with many options available.
- Popular games include Minecraft Mine Cave, Minecraft Min 3, Minecraft Run 3D, Minecraft Rock vs. Zombie, Minecraft Bejeweled, and Minecraft Tower Defense.
- Minecraft can also aid children in learning about environmental issues, task completion, and futuristic thinking.
What Is Minecraft Game?
Minecraft is a sandbox video game that was originally created by the Swedish programmer Markus Notch Persson. Combining elements of creativity, survival, and adventure, the game allows players to explore, mine, and craft different 3D blocks in the virtual world. All the action takes place inside an imaginary world that has a lot of different terrains and places for exploration. In recent years, it has become one of the most well-known computer games for kids. It is available on smartphones, too.
The Minecraft game for kids uses a lot of natural and everyday experiences, such as gathering different materials like redstone to make your tools and weapons, spending the entire day working even as the sun rises and sets, experiencing occasional rain and thunderstorms, taming and taking care of animals, farming and producing food and so on. There are various modes that your kids can choose from. While some levels are only about building the game, some also require you to fight for your survival and protect yourself from hunger, bad people, monsters, and other dangers that are around.
Did you know?Top 20+ Minecraft Games And Activities For Kids
Here is a mix of minecraft games for kids to play with their friends.
Minecraft Games For Kids
1. Minecraft Mine Cave
- In Minecraft Mine Cave, your kid has to control the character known as Steve and try and collect all the stars that are there inside the cave.
- Your kid also has to avoid the bats that are inside the cave and collect as many points as possible.
- Once your kid has done that, they can go towards the exit door and move on to the next level.
- It is a multilevel game. Explore this minecraft kids games and fulfill them with fun.
Benefits: The game can help improve your child’s hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and problem-solving skills.
Parental tip: Encourage your child to describe their strategy for collecting stars while avoiding bats. This can help hone their decision-making and planning skills.
2. Minecraft Min 3
- In Minecraft Min 3, your kid has to take on the role of a miner and remove as many blocks as possible.
- To do so, your kid will have to use the arrow keys and hold the X as they move over a series of blocks that are of the same color.
- Once they do so they will be able to move the blocks and head towards the next level.
Benefits: It can help enhance pattern recognition, strategic thinking, logical reasoning, and motor control and coordination as each player identifies and removes matching blocks using the arrow keys.
Parental tip: Challenge your child to predict how removing a specific set of blocks will affect the rest of the grid. This can help them think critically and improve their cause-and-effect reasoning.
3. Minecraft Run 3D
- In Minecraft Run 3D, your kid will be playing a 3D running game.
- Your kid will have to control the Minecraft character and help them to avoid any obstacles that come in the way.
- The character cannot stop running, so your kid will have to pay a lot of attention to their moves.
- Your kid also has to make sure that the character does not get stopped due to any obstacles so that they can collect as many coins as possible.
- Once they do so, they can move on to the next level. It may be one of the best minecraft games to play for kids.
Benefits: Since the character cannot stop running, children must stay focused to avoid obstacles, which can help improve their focus and concentration. They also need to quickly decide the best path to take while collecting coins, which can hone their decision-making skills.
Parental tip: Discuss the importance of quick decision-making in real life. Ask questions like, “How do athletes or drivers make split-second decisions?” to ensure they are able to connect the game to real-world skills.
4. Minecraft Rock Vs. Zombie
- In Minecraft Rock vs. Zombie, your kid has to destroy all the zombies as fast as they can, in a pre-decided time limit. Your kid has to do this using a huge rock that will kill the zombies.
- To make sure that your kid destroys the zombies, they first have to roll the rock and then change its direction. By doing so, they will be able to step over a zombie with the rock and be able to kill it.
- There are a lot of different levels in the game and each level has different levels of zombies that your kid will have to kill as fast as possible.
- Once your kid has killed all the zombies, their achievements will be calculated based on which they will be able to proceed to the next challenges.
Benefits: This game can help improve their critical thinking and strategic planning skills. Their time management skills can also be enhanced as completing levels within a limited time frame teaches kids to act quickly and make fast decisions.
Parental tip: Ask your child to explain their strategy before starting a level. Encourage them to experiment with different rolling angles and analyze their results.
5. Minecraft Bejeweled
- Minecraft Bejeweled is a logic based game in which your kid has to compete through a level in five minutes and try to beat the clock.
- Your kid has to make different groups of three or more jewels that have the same color or are of the same type. Once they do so, they will be able to eliminate the jewels and get more points.
- There is only one level in the game and the objective is to beat the clock.
Benefits: The game supports cognitive development and can boost children’s memory, as the players are required to remember and recognize jewel patterns to optimize their moves. Racing against the clock can encourage children to think efficiently under pressure.
Parental tip: Teach your child about real-world applications of pattern recognition, such as solving puzzles or recognizing patterns in nature.
6. Minecraft Tower Defense
- In Minecraft Tower Defense, your kid has to play a game that is based on the minimalist strategy concept.
- The game is made in pixel style.
- To play the game, your kid will have to know how to protect their home from incoming creeper waves.
- Your kid will have to use their shovel and dig out a way to their house that will resemble a maze-like path.
- Your kid will also have to build lots of turrets along the way so that all the mobs that are trying to attack their home will be killed before reaching them.
- Your kid will also need a lot of resources to build and upgrade the turrets and can do so by killing more and more enemies.
- Your kid can also use the same resources to lay various traps for their enemies on the path so that they get killed.
- Each time an enemy reaches your kid, they will end up losing a heart. The game will end when your kid loses all the hearts, so your kid has to really fight to keep the enemies away.
Benefits: The game promotes strategic thinking and planning skills. It also improves their basic arithmetic as they calculate resources needed for upgrades and defenses.
Parental tip: Encourage your child to connect the game to real-life defense systems, such as how castles were defended in history. Discuss budgeting by asking how they would allocate resources.
7. Minecraft Diamond Mine Game
- In Minecraft Diamond Mine game, your kid will get a lot of adventure and thrill with the main character of Minecraft.
- Your kid has to help the Minecraft character to move over all the obstacles that will come on the way and try to be the best out of all.
- In this particular game, your kid has to try and help the character get as many gems and diamonds from the mine as possible.
- Your kid has to help doing the same through each level in order to move to the next level, till they reach the last level.
- Your kid will have to learn to properly control the character from Minecraft so that they can successfully cross the levels.
- Your kid can reach the next level of the game only when they have collected all the diamonds that are there in that particular level.
- There will also be a lot of lava in the game and your kid will have to make sure that the character is able to avoid coming in contact with it. If the character does touch the lava accidentally, they will lose their life and your kid will have to start back from the first level all over again.
Benefits: The game is designed to improve children’s problem-solving and planning skills. Losing due to touching lava teaches kids persistence and the importance of trying again.
Parental tip: Try to share information about real-life mining and its impact on the environment.
8. Minecraft Tetris Game
- In the Minecraft Tetris game, your kid will have to make use of logic to advance ahead.
- The game features the Minecraft character Steve and some other zombie characters who will try to keep a track of everything your kid does and will try and see how far your kid can advance.
- Your kid will have to manipulate the Tetriminos and can only do so by moving each of them sideways.
- Your kid can also try to find out ways in which they can rotate the characters in such a way that they can create a horizontal line of ten blocks without making any gaps in between.
- As soon as your kid creates the line, it will disappear, and any block that was there above the line that got deleted will also fall.
- Your kid has to try and move ahead through each level to get more scores.
Benefits: Manipulating shapes to fit together can help develop a child’s visual-spatial skills. The game also teaches children how to predict outcomes based on previous moves.
Parental tip: You can encourage your child to replicate Tetris using physical blocks, such as Lego blocks, to reinforce spatial skills.
9. Minecraft Skin Creator
- In Minecraft Skin Creator, your kid can create their own Minecraft avatars, mods, and skins to give them an individual personality as they wish.
- Your kid can go ahead and take Steve, who is the character from Minecraft and personalize him as per their choice.
- Alternatively, your kid can also choose from various other Minecraft characters such as robots and zombies and personalize them as they want to.
- Once your kid has given their character of choice a personal touch, they can save the changes and place them in the game. This kids’ Minecraft game can help them build anything using their imagination.
Benefits: It promotes creativity and artistic expression. Also, learning how to modify characters can help develop an early interest in digital design.
Parental tip: Connect the activity to fashion or digital art careers.
10. Minecraft World Adventure Game
- The Minecraft World Adventure game is very similar to another game known as Mario’s world.
- It is a game in which your kid has to explore and avoid any enemies, as well as use the special boxes that will get them some bonus objects that they can use to defeat the enemies.
- Your kid can also try and go pass the enemies by avoiding getting hurt.
- In this particular game, the zombie characters from Minecraft will be your kids’ enemies and they have to avoid them because if they come to your kid, your kid will become smaller. The second time it happens and your kid becomes smaller, their character will lose life. This Minecraft kids game is a super fun game full of adventures and creativity. Kids can enjoy and have great fun.
Benefits: It encourages children to explore new environments and take up different challenges. Avoiding enemies and collecting power-ups can improve their motor skills.
Parental tip: You can hone your child’s creativity by encouraging storytelling. Start by asking them to narrate their character’s journey and challenges.
11. Minecraft Bingo Game
- Bingo is a game mode in vanilla Minecraft that turns your adventure into a scavenger hunt.
- The objective is to achieve “Bingo” quickly by completing goals in five squares in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line.
- Players can compete individually or in teams, choosing from four team colors with an option to randomize or clear teams.
- Bingo introduces “Seeds,” where a number code generates a specific Bingo Card and spawn locations. Players can share these codes to race with others using the same card and team starting points. Each team has a distinct spawning location based on the Bingo Card “Seed,” revealed before the game starts.
- Players receive a “Bingo Card” depicting 25 different items. The race is on to collect these items swiftly to achieve a five-in-a-row Bingo.
- When you obtain an item, a sound plays, your score updates, and a text notification appears in the chat.
Benefits: Searching for specific items can enhance a child’s memory skills. Also, playing in teams can help develop teamwork and encourage friendly competition.
Parental tip: If possible, create a real-life scavenger hunt based on Minecraft items to encourage hands-on learning.
TriviaMinecraft Activities For Kids
12. Build A House
- Help your kid build a house by choosing various materials such as wood, stone, plastic, discarded materials and such.
- Your kids can use different colored cloths or wools to make carpets and use cardboard to make different types of furniture such as book shelves, cabinets, beds, tables and so on.
Benefits: The activity teaches kids about architecture and spatial awareness. It also hones their fine motor skills.
Parental tip: Introduce your child to basic architecture concepts, such as foundation strength and design efficiency.
13. Become A Farmer
- After your kids have built a home, they can turn to farming to sustain themselves with proper resource management.
- Show your kids how to dig and hoe and plant seeds by providing relevant tutorials. Your kids can choose from a variety of seeds such as carrots, wheat, tomatoes, cacti and even mushroom.
- Your kid will have to carry water around and water the plants as and when it is needed. They will also have to tend to the plants and make sure they remove all weeds and bugs that could destroy their plant.
Benefits: Taking care of plants teaches kids about sustainability and the importance of consistent care. Also, learning and understanding about plant growth cycles helps build their early biology knowledge.
Parental tip: Start a small home garden and allow your child to care for real plants.
14. Tame Animals
- Teach your kid how to pet and train their own pets at home.
- Your kid can teach basic commands to your family pet dog, such as sit, fetch, walk, stand and so on.
- Once your kid is able to do so, you can teach them how they can take their pets out for walks and how they can do things together with their pet.
Benefits: Learning to care for pets can teach children empathy and responsibility. It also improves their communication skills, as using commands improves verbal and non-verbal communication.
Parental tip: Encourage your child to relate taming animals in Minecraft to caring for real pets. If they like the idea, you can get them a real pet to take care of.
15. Make Natural Dyes And Dye Something
- Show your kid how to use natural ingredients such as vegetables and flowers to make natural dyes at home.
- You can help your kid gather materials from around the house that they can use to make dyes. Some natural products that they can use are vegetables such as beetroots, flowers such as hibiscus as well as inks and such.
- Once your kid has collected all the material, they can use it to make the dye and color things such as wood, clay, cloth and so on.
Benefits: Mixing colors can help develop their artistic skills and encourage sensory exploration. Using natural materials introduces children to eco-friendly practices.
Parental tip: Allow your child to experiment with different ingredients and predict dye colors before mixing.
16. Read A Map
- Teach your kid how to read a map and how to use a compass.
- Once your kids know all about a map and how to read it, they will be able to find more fun places to build their imagined territory and learn how to get access to them.
- Your kid will also learn to read the compass and understand how to know what direction they are in and where they have to go.
Benefits: Learning to use maps and compasses enhances children’s spatial intelligence, while finding the best routes helps them think ahead and develop logical reasoning.
Parental tip: You can use real-world maps on family trips to help your child have practical experience.
17. Go Fishing
- Your kid and you can head out for a day of fishing with all the required tools and accessories.
- Help your kids choose a spot where they feel it will be good to catch some fish.
- Once there, you can show them how to set up the hook and rod.
- Fishing is all about patience, so you will have to make sure your kids learn how to sit quietly and wait for the fish to take the bait.
Benefits: Waiting for a catch can teach children patience and concentration. It can also improve their focus. Introducing them to fish behavior and ecosystems is a great way to teach them biology.
Parental tip: Discuss sustainable fishing and the importance of conservation with your child to improve their knowledge and help develop an interest in biology.
18. Build A Profile
- Just as in the game, ask your kid to do a mix and match of their clothes and accessories and create interesting profiles in real life.
- Your kid can create different looks using the clothes and things they have and it will be a lot of fun for them to wear a new look each day, from the same clothes.
Benefits: Creating different outfits can give your child a creative outlet to express themselves and also promote their decision-making skills. Developing unique looks further encourages them to think creatively.
Parental tip: Encourage your child to connect this to personal branding and discuss how people present themselves online.
19. Create A Character
- Ask your kid to make their own version of a Minecraft character by observing the artwork in the game and using it on their own.
- Your kid can take the same character from the game and give it a new twist, or make a new one from scratch.
Benefits: Designing a unique Minecraft character helps children develop narrative skills. They also learn basic design concepts while customizing their characters.
Parental tip: Ask your child to write a backstory for their character to develop creative writing skills.
20. Brew An Enchanting Potion
- Let your kid make some fun pretend potions by using kitchen ingredients such as baking soda, baking powder, flour, food coloring and so on.
- Let them make new inventions and potions that they can then use on unsuspecting family members.
Benefits: Mixing ingredients mimics real-world chemistry experiments. Pretend play helps with their cognitive and social-emotional development.
Parental tip: Help your child relate the experiments to real-world science experiments, such as baking soda volcanoes.
21. Obstacle Course
- Ask your kid to make an obstacle course inside the house using regular stuff such as cushions, chairs, sheets and so on.
- Make sure it is safe and that your kid can safely navigate around the same.
Benefits: Jumping and climbing over obstacles can improve a child’s motor skills. Also, navigating obstacles teaches them how to overcome challenges.
Parental tip: Create a real-world obstacle course for your child and discuss how athletes train.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are there any risks involved when children play Minecraft?
The single-player “Creative” mode in the “Peaceful” setting is generally safe for children. However, multiplayer gaming may involve some risks, such as hate speech and explicit language among the gaming community.
2. How can I ensure my child’s safety while playing Minecraft?
You can create a family Minecraft account for your child and use parental controls to monitor and manage various aspects of the game. Another option is to set up “Friends Only” or “Invite Only” games to restrict strangers from joining the session (1). Additionally, you can supervise your child’s online interactions or turn off the in-game chat to reduce exposure to inappropriate content.
3. Does Minecraft help with ADHD?
According to a research study published in Frontiers in Psychology, structured Minecraft sessions can enhance social engagement, confidence, and competence in children who are neurodiverse, including those with ADHD (2). So, some children with ADHD may find playing Minecraft a relaxing activity that motivates them to accomplish virtual tasks without pressure. However, playing it too often may not be good for children as they lose interest in other activities.
4. Can Minecraft help improve children’s social skills and communication abilities?
Yes, Minecraft can assist children in developing social skills and communication skills. There are several cooperative games for kids in Minecraft. In such games, children learn to engage, communicate, and collaborate through multiplayer modes, which promote cooperation, problem-solving, and interaction with others (3).
A grade school teacher and blogger shares how Minecraft games prompted rich discussions among his students, ”Students were given a large piece of newsprint and told to map out what they felt like their worlds would look like… They then took this plan into the Minecraft world to start their crafting. This was where the interesting discussions started. At first, the students were just exploring their worlds. For many of them, it was new and exciting but as they started to build, their discussions became richer and richer. Many students argued about the materials that they were using, some noticed that the vegetation was all off and had to be changed… I could not believe the rich and engaging conversations that the students were having (i).”
5. How does Minecraft stimulate imagination and storytelling skills in children?
Minecraft provides children with a virtual world that allows them to build and create their plots. They can design and build unique structures, environments, and characters, fostering creativity, imagination, and storytelling skills.
6. What age range is suitable for children to start playing Minecraft?
The age range for children to begin playing Minecraft varies, but generally, children aged ten years and up may enjoy and comprehend the game’s mechanics and concepts (4).
7. What are the educational benefits of playing Minecraft games?
Minecraft games encourage creativity, artistic expression, math skills, and STEM learning. The game helps children develop coding skills and logical reasoning through built-in tools like Redstone, which teach fundamental coding concepts.
8. How does Minecraft foster an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects among kids?
Minecraft promotes STEM skills in children by allowing them to take part in creative problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and resource management. It promotes experimentation and critical thinking, all necessary abilities in STEM fields (5).
All of the games described above are popular Minecraft games for kids, including popular updates like Minecraft Run 3D, Minecraft Bejeweled, Minecraft Tetris Game, and Minecraft World Adventure Game. You can also join your children while they’re playing these games. However, because these Minecraft games can be quite addictive, make sure you give your child ideas for activities that revolve around the tasks in the game, such as building the concepts of architecture in creating a miniature house at home, playing with pets and farm animals in real life, going fishing, and teaching them to read a map when going somewhere.
Infographic: Creative Minecraft Activities And Games Children Will Love
Thanks to its creative and imaginative concepts, Minecraft is one of the most popular games among children and adults. Check out the infographic below for some interesting Minecraft activities and games you can enjoy with your children. These games will keep your children engaged while encouraging creativity and problem-solving skills.
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Illustration: Minecraft Games And Activities For Kids To Play
Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team
Some parents are apprehensive about the role of video games as fun-filled learning activities. Dive through this video to know if Minecraft is safe for your kid.
Personal Experience: Source
MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.
i. Minecraft in the classroom: Going beyond creepers and zombieshttps://mrsoclassroom.wordpress.com/2020/02/07/minecraft-in-the-classroom-going-beyond-creepers-and-zombies/
References
- Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Minecraft.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/parents-ultimate-guide-to-minecraft#is%20minecraft%20safe - Elizabeth Kilmer et al.; (2023); Therapeutically applied Minecraft groups with neurodivergent youth.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10958151/ - Riordan, Benjamin C, and Damian Scarf; (2016); Crafting minds and communities with Minecraft.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5381616/ - Minecraft Parents’ Guide.
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/parents–guide-minecraft - Tablatin, Christine Lourrine S., et al.; (2023); Using Minecraft to Cultivate Student Interest in STEM.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1127984/full
Community Experiences
Join the conversation and become a part of our nurturing community! Share your stories, experiences, and insights to connect with fellow parents.
Read full bio of Rich Kibble
Read full bio of Debolina Raja
Read full bio of Harshita Makvana
Read full bio of Nisha Bharatan
