I bet I know a game you’ve never heard of: Minecraft.
Yeah, right.
“How could you be posting about Minecraft, it’s been around for ten years! Don’t you have something better to post about?!”
I mean, newer? Yes. Better? Maybe. Something else? No.
Let’s be honest here, I’ve been playing Minecraft since it was in early alpha release. My buddy (and streamer) ScoutSierra got me into it in early 2010. It was a totally different game back then — I mean, totally. Not better or worse, it’s just evolved a lot since then. I’ve always enjoyed the game. I like builders, but I like the adventuring aspect of the game as well. It really captures that sandbox feeling like no other game does, and maybe that’s just because the game itself kind of defined sandboxes.
The coolest thing about Minecraft to me, at this point, is that it’s the one game my entire family plays together. My oldest child started playing Minecraft in 2012, I guess. I distinctly remember him playing on my iPad while rolling around in his stroller at PlayOnCon in Birmingham, Alabama. That would be my first real memory of him playing. Of course since then — and up to now — he’s become more proficient at the game than I could ever be. Honestly, I never thought I would be that dad whose child surpasses him. 
Even going so far as to learn commands, and extensive redstone contraptions that would blow your mind. And maybe it just blows my mind, I don’t know. But he retains all the information, and now, on the Realm we all play on together, when I need a gamerule changed to be more efficient or less efficient, I just ask him.
Going backward, again, though. I remember playing long hours into the night with my wife, and ScoutSierra, back when it was barely more that just a few blocks and giant dirt houses. I feel like I sound like my grandmother, God rest her, “Our first house had dirt floors.” You gain a lot of life wisdom when your floors are dirt, and I guess I have Old Man Syndrome when it comes to Minecraft. “Get off my grass blocks, you kids!”
I hope that my youngest picks up a controller, or a mouse and keyboard preferably, and plays Minecraft, too. His older brother will probably be too old to focus on playing with him, but we’ll see. I don’t plan on making them play with each other, unless they just want to.
Going back to a more Minecraft… The game itself is actually celebrating its ten-year anniversary, so if you started playing at the beginning, you’ve been playing for ten years. The game has evolved so much since the beginning. Look for yourself (courtesy of minecraft.net. And please forgive my shoddy editing, my good program wouldn’t load this morning.):
If you’ve never tried Minecraft, it’s a great game to play on its own, with great throwbacks to the gaming days of old, and features that make it a modern competitive game. It’s really enjoyable for kids of all ages, from 4 years old to 104 years old. Go buy it for yourself, or your kids.
But, I find it unbelievable that you may have never tried it.
Featured image courtesy of Minecraft.net. Thanks for 10 awesome years!
T.G. Neal 