Game Insights: Minecraft Bedrock Edition

Minecraft is a creative sandbox game that sparks imagination and fosters creativity and problem solving skills. The game has seen many iterations over the years and can be accessed via Windows 10 PCs, Android devices, iOS phones and tablets, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and virtual reality platforms.

Minecraft was originally developed and launched by Mojang Studios in 2009 and fast become one of the world’s most popular online games. In recent years, Mojang has collaborated with Microsoft to establish Minecraft Education Edition allowing educators and students to leverage exciting modifications for the classroom to promote collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills. The most popular version of Minecraft for the general consumer today is Minecraft Bedrock Edition. In this blog we will outline the features and provide guidance for how you can support the young gamers in your world play Minecraft Bedrock Edition safely.

First, You’ll need a Microsoft Live Xbox Account for each child in your family. This is an @hotmail @outlook or @live email address. Once you have download Minecraft Bedrock from your device’s App store you will be prompted to login with your Xbox Live account. Here is further support to help you create a child Xbox account and add family members.

Creating a new world in Minecraft can be fun. You can set the game mode to play solo or multiplayer to play alongside others, such as siblings/friends, that are connected via a LAN (Local Area Network – aka. your home Wi-Fi network).
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​Option 1: Create New World (Solo)
​When creating a New World, scroll to Edit Settings and click Multiplayer. Ensure Multiplayer Game is switched to Off.

​When playing via the Friends tab, you will be able to connect with your friends. You can Add Friends by searching for their Gamertag. A Gamertag is your username in Minecraft – you can find this on the home screen. Be sure you have connected with only people who you know in the offline world such as family members or friends you have verified through a child’s parent.

​You can join live online games by hosts (creators of worlds) who have chosen to make these servers public. You can join suggested servers or search for servers that you might learn about. As these are public online spaces, we highly do not recommend this mode of play for any young children.

1. Plan – work with your child to discuss the safe modes to play and what clicking ‘Friends’ or ‘Servers’ means (in terms of connecting with others). Explaining ‘why’ playing with unknown friends or servers could mean they encounter strange or tricky people. We have some conversation starters here in our checklist.

2. Prevent – make sure you have set up worlds with them and their friends list only includes people you have approved (siblings or friends you have verified). A great way to ensure your child can play multiplayer mode safely with known friends is to collaborate with other parents to ensure they have connected with the correct users.

3. Protect – with multiple game modes available in Minecraft Bedrock Edition, it’s critical that you regularly monitor and supervise game play, as well as the the settings across Worlds that you and your children have created. Ask questions (often) about how they are playing and who with. Be sure to check in regularly and have them play where you can see and hear them. It’s also highly recommended you play with your child from time to time. This shows them you are interested in learning about their game play and can help you have important safety chats in a comfortable way. We recommend using our Family Digital Use Agreement to help set up these household protocols.

You may wish to talk with your child’s school to find out if they are accessing Minecraft Education Edition. Many Australian schools across Government, Catholic and Independent sectors have purchased and activated bulk accounts for students and teachers. If your child’s school has access to Minecraft Education Edition they can enjoy playing solo or collaboratively with siblings or friends on your home Wi-Fi network. You can learn more about Minecraft Education Edition and find the right download for your device here: Homepage | Minecraft: Education Edition.