Starting Out: Choosing the Right Version

There are two different Minecraft versions: Java and Bedrock.

Bedrock Edition offers the most accessible entry point:

• Works across devices (phones, tablets, consoles, Windows PCs)
• Built-in marketplace with curated, family-friendly content
• Strong parental controls and safer multiplayer options
• Easier cross-play when friends use different devices

However, we strongly recommend that you consider Java Edition (PC only). Java offers unparalleled flexibility, will help your child develop computer literacy playing a game they like and will amplify technical aptitude and creative ambition :

• Access to thousands of community-created modifications
• More advanced redstone (circuitry) capabilities
• Drives computer literacy
• Greater customization options
• Larger multiplayer server ecosystem

If you want to know more about the differences between both versions, this is a good article to read! Keep in mind it’s very hard to reconcile both versions of the game and most of the non-beginner classes in Recess will require Java Edition.

Once you’re ready, you can buy Minecraft here.

Explore the different modes

We’ve talked about the two main ones: Creative and Survival but Minecraft offers a few more gameplay modes, each supporting different developmental experiences:

• Creative Mode: Unlimited resources and flying ability, ideal for pure building and architectural expression without survival pressures. Perfect for younger children or those who enjoy unfettered creativity.
• Survival Mode: Players must gather resources, craft tools, build shelter, and defend against monsters. This mode teaches resource management and planning. Best for children seeking more challenge.
• Adventure Mode: Used mainly for custom maps with specific rules, this can be a great way to experience story-driven content. Note that Adventure mode highly constraints the experience and removes agency.
• Spectator Mode: Allows flying through the world and observing without interaction, useful for parents monitoring play.
• Modded Minecraft: While not an official game mode, modded versions of Minecraft introduce custom features, mechanics, and content through modifications (mods). Many private and public servers offer unique, enhanced experiences, from new biomes and creatures to advanced technology and magic systems, making gameplay even more immersive and engaging.

If your child is into building legos, then I’d recommend starting young children in Creative mode with peaceful difficulty settings, then gradually introducing Survival mode as they gain confidence.

Let your child's interests guide the experience. Some will gravitate toward elaborate building projects, others toward exploration and perhaps eventually technical redstone creations.

Technical Set Up

1. Create accounts: To setup Minecraft for your kid(s) in any version, you’ll need a Microsoft account. If you don’t have one, it’s free, quick and easy to make one through either the  Minecraft launcher, or the Microsoft website.

Keep in mind you’ll also need a child account attached to yours. Read more about how to create and manage a Minecraft account here. 2. Configure safety settings: Visit account.xbox.com/settings to adjust multiplayer permissions, chat functions, and content access. Yes, that link is correct even if you don’t have an xbox account!

Safety and Balancing Screen Time

While Minecraft offers exceptional value, establishing healthy boundaries remains important:

1. Set clear expectations: Define when and for how long Minecraft can be played, creating consistency
2. Use natural stopping points: Rather than arbitrary time limits, allow completion of specific projects or goals
3. Create transition warnings: Give a 10-minute warning before play must end to allow for saving progress
4. Balance digital and physical play: Just like with any other digital endeavors, Minecraft complements rather than replaces physical activity, face-to-face social interaction, and other developmental experiences. Make sure they’re touching grass every day!

The key difference between Minecraft and many other games is that it's primarily driven by intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation. This means children play because of internal satisfaction rather than external rewards, making it easier to transition away when time limits arrive.

Navigating Multiplayer Safely

Multiplayer Minecraft offers tremendous social benefits but requires additional consideration:

1. Start with trusted connections: Begin multiplayer with family members or known friends
2. Using Minecraft Realms for simplicity: This subscription service provides a private, always-on server that's easy to manage. Learn more about Realms here.
3. Establish clear behavior expectations: Discuss appropriate communication and interaction before joining multiplayer
4. Monitor initial sessions: Stay nearby during early multiplayer experiences to provide guidance
5. Research family-friendly servers: If exploring public servers, thoroughly investigate those with:
   • Active adult moderation
   • Clear behavioral guidelines
   • Child-appropriate themes and activities
   • Strong anti-bullying policies

Navigating Multiplayer

Multiplayer adds tremendous value to Minecraft but requires additional consideration:

1. Start with trusted friends: Begin multiplayer with known friends rather than public servers and make sure to guide interactions early to set a culture of collaboration. There will be conflicts, and just like in the playground, you should help your kid(s) navigate them.
2. Use Realms for simplicity: Minecraft Realms provides a subscription-based private server that's easy to manage.
3. Research public servers carefully: If exploring public servers, research family-friendly options with active moderation. For younger kids, I highly recommend being with them the first few times they join an online server.
4. Discuss online interaction: Have age-appropriate conversations about internet safety and appropriate behavior.
5. Join Recess: No better way to ensure a safe, fun and challenging experience than joining a Recess Minecraft cohort! We’ve got experiences all the way from basic Survival to advanced Logical Redstone and DataPack Coding.

For a deeper dive on servers and how to join them, read this article.

A note on Violence

It’s worth noting that Minecraft includes combat as part of its gameplay, which means there are elements of mild violence like hitting and killing both passive and hostile creatures (called ‘mobs’), and in multiplayer, other players. Weapons like swords, axes, bows, and TNT are available, but the game’s blocky, cartoony style keeps things light.

There’s no blood anywhere in the game—neither from creatures nor the environment. When a player’s health reaches zero, they simply respawn (unless they’re playing in Hardcore mode, where death is permanent).

Minecraft Education: Isn’t this what my kid should be playing?

If you’ve started researching Minecraft for your child, you’ve likely come across Minecraft: Education Edition and you’re likely wondering why we haven’t talked about it so far. At first glance, Minecraft Education seems like the perfect solution: a version of Minecraft designed for classrooms, with built-in lesson plans and structured activities. But while well-intentioned, Minecraft: Education Edition has little to do with what makes Minecraft truly educational.

The Missing Ingredient: Agency

Minecraft is an educational powerhouse because it gives kids full control over their learning. The magic of the game comes from its open-ended, player-driven nature. Kids decide what to build, what to explore, what to master. In doing so, they naturally develop problem-solving skills, resilience, and creativity.

Minecraft: Education Edition, however, introduces rigid structures that work against this principle. Instead of empowering kids to set their own goals, it turns Minecraft into another digital worksheet—pre-packaged lessons, guided tasks, and a curriculum imposed from the top down. Now, some of these lessons are great, but making Minecraft school-like strips away the intrinsic motivation that makes the original game so compelling.

This approach misunderstand why kids love Minecraft in the first place. Kids don’t engage with Minecraft because it teaches geometry or history; they engage because it gives them autonomy, challenge, and meaningful goals.

Minecraft is not great because it can be used for education. **It is great because it is a playground for deep learning.**The most valuable lessons happen when kids are freely exploring, experimenting, and solving problems on their own terms, not when they’re following a teacher’s scripted plan.

The Better Alternative: Let Your Kid Play Real Minecraft

If you want your child to experience the educational benefits of Minecraft, the best thing you can do is let them play the real game. Encourage their curiosity, support their projects, and ask them about what they’re building. Challenge them to solve new problems, introduce them to Redstone or modding, and, if they’re interested, connect them with other ambitious players in structured online communities like Recess.

Minecraft does not need to be “school-ified” to be deeply educational. Kids learn best when they are driven by their own interests and curiosity. Rather than relying on a pre-packaged education edition, trust Minecraft’s own design to do what it does best: inspire, challenge, and teach through play.