Minecraft is a virtual ‘sandbox’ game. Players build their own virtual worlds and experiences using building blocks or resources. You have to work your way up through basic resources to more complex ones, but you can eventually build your world in whatever way you want. 

Although the price range varies slightly depending on the platform you’re using, Minecraft typically costs around the £25 mark (with 'deluxe' editions going for slightly more) and this price often includes all mods (community made developments to a game) and skins (aesthetic additions to a character). You can play on a computer, smartphone, tablet, Xbox, Nintendo Switch or Playstation.

Users can play in a single-player mode or multiplayer mode. In the multiplayer mode, players work together to create their Minecraft world.

Minecraft is a very free-form game. It doesn’t come with a set of instructions, or a stated objective – players can build and explore however they want. It’s often compared to virtual Lego.

This means that Minecraft fans have a lot of flexibility in terms of how they play. Users can recreate an existing fantasy world or build a new one from scratch, they can fight villains and seek adventure and they can play alone or with friends. 

It can also be played at any level. In a lot of popular games, you need a certain amount of skill to move on to the next challenge. This can be frustrating for young children who don’t always have the abilities or unrestricted time required to make real progress in a game. In Minecraft, children can create their own adventures at any level of play.

Age restrictions

Different versions of Minecraft have different age restrictions, as some mods may contain more violence than others. It's also worth keeping in mind that Minecraft has an in-game chat feature. The age ratings vary from 7+ to 13+. 

The standard version of Minecraft’s terms and conditions specify that under-13s need parental permission to play. In the UK, if children under the age of 13 play Minecraft without permission, it is a violation of the site’s terms and conditions – but it is not illegal.

Despite the age restriction, Minecraft is very popular with primary school children. There’s nothing about the game itself that’s inappropriate for kids. 

Chat functions

There are two different chat functions in Minecraft; Realms and server chats. Realm chat is hosted by the game developers, Mojang and moderated by them. Server chat is set up by individual players, and is therefore not officially moderated. Usually players will invite friends to join their Minecraft server and use the chat, but some players offer an open invitation which allows anyone to join. 

Remind children of the risks involved with talking to people they don't know online. 

Keep in mind that players may also be chatting via Discord or another chat forum with different safety settings. Remind children not to move onto other platforms to talk with people. 

Chat features on sites allow children to talk to people with similar gaming interests. However, there is no way of verifying who these people might be. Recommend that young children don't talk with other players through in-game chat unless they know them. 

It's also important that children don't give away any personal information about themselves, or move their conversations into other online areas that could be private.

Minecraft YouTube videos

Lots of Minecraft users watch fan-created YouTube videos to improve their skills and learn new techniques. 

Plenty of these are age-appropriate. Minecraft does not have any particularly graphic content, but some of the videos contain monsters, trolls, spiders and zombies, which some children may find scary. Some of the videos include commentary with profanity or sexual references, and some discuss or even encourage bullying. Check these videos, or the streamers themselves, to see if you think they are suitable.  

You can try searching for ‘profanity free Minecraft servers’. Even then it might be worth checking the videos before young children watch them. 

You can also turn on YouTube’s Safety Mode to block age-inappropriate content. 

Reporting functions

Until recently, Minecraft did not have an immediate 'report' function. Although this does vary slightly depending on which device you're using, you'll be able to report players through the main menu. Other users can be reported for things like hate speech, bullying or threatening behaviours, or sexual harassment. 

Because of the simplistic nature of character-to-character interaction, reports are most likely to be based on the messages which one player sends to another. After selecting the 'report' option you'll be able to choose specific messages you'd like to report – you can then select the category they fall under. All reports on Minecraft are assessed by human moderators before any action is taken.

It's worth noting that Minecraft will not ban other players for swearing or profanity – they'll only take action when offensive messages cross into things like hate speech, or being threatening. 

With some plugins (add-on software that extends or customises the game), you can also report users who break the rules of the server to a moderator who can ban anyone being offensive or disruptive.

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This article was last updated on 01/06/23.

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