Eleven Family-Pleasant Minecraft Servers The Place Your Child Can Play Safely On-line

In case your child has spent a while enjoying Minecraft on their own - or with different relations on your own home network - they may probably reach a point the place they’ll wish to play with others online.

Playing Minecraft on a public server can take the game to a whole new degree. For one factor, there’s a brand new neighborhood of like-minded gamers to make pals with and collaborate with. This can assist your kid study social skills, corresponding to cooperating, compromising and drawback-solving.

In addition, most servers feature enormous, prebuilt worlds, with superb cities and buildings, transport networks, and mini-games on your child to discover and get pleasure from.

Finally, most servers prolong Minecraft utilizing a lot of server plugins, which allow for a complete vary of extra gameplay options, together with money programs, jobs, function-taking part in components and teleports. (You don’t need to modify your Minecraft sport to add these features; they’re all handled by the server.)

By now you’re most likely considering: This is all very effectively, but aren’t public servers a harmful place for my kid? In the event that they go on a server, how will I know they will be safe from bad language, bullying, or online predators?

Of course, no public server is 100 % secure, but there are some fantastic Minecraft servers out there that cater especially to children and families. (That mentioned, if you’d moderately arrange a totally private server for your child and their shut associates, check out Minecraft Realms.)

In this guide, you’ll discover eleven of one of the best family-friendly Minecraft servers out there. You’ll additionally study a bit extra about how Minecraft servers work, and the way to connect to those servers and start playing on-line.

At this level, I should level out that this guide is for the Pc/Mac version of Minecraft only. Whereas there are some family-pleasant servers for the Pocket Version and Xbox variations of Minecraft, the overwhelming majority of servers work with the Laptop/Mac version.

So without additional ado, let’s dive into the world of on-line, family-pleasant Minecraft! We’ll begin by looking at some necessary concepts related to public Minecraft servers.

Key server ideas that you must know

Listed below are a few key ideas and terms which might be worth understanding before you join a public server:

Servers vs. worlds: Usually, a single public Minecraft server has a number of worlds that you would be able to bounce between. For example, there’s usually a principal survival world, one other artistic-mode world, and presumably a 3rd world for mini-video games. Usually there’s a central hub or foyer, with warp points that allow you to teleport between the completely different worlds.
PvP and PvE: PvP stands for “player vs. player”, whereas PvE stands for “player vs. environment”. Most public servers - particularly household-pleasant ones - are PvE; that's, you battle monsters, not players. However, some servers have particular PvP arenas the place you'll be able to fight other gamers. (Sometimes, if you die in a PvP enviornment, you don’t lose all your stuff, as you'd in a daily survival world. It’s just for fun.)
Spawn: Often your participant will spawn (start) at a set level on the planet, normally referred to simply as “spawn”. Usually that is in, or close to, a central town or metropolis, or in some sort of lobby area. You'll be able to normally kind the command /spawn to return to your spawn point.
Rules: Practically all servers have rules as to what you possibly can and can't do, and - as you’d imagine - family-friendly servers are likely to have a big checklist of strict rules. Ensure you learn all the principles thoroughly. (If you first be a part of some servers, they actually force you to walk past numerous signs with the rules on!) In case you don’t comply with the principles, you might be banned temporarily and even permanently from the server.
Griefing and grief protection: A big potential problem on public servers is griefing; that is, demolishing different players’ buildings or stealing their stuff. Many - however not all - servers use various plugins to cease griefing. Sometimes these plugins let you lock your chests, doors and furnaces, and you may also declare a patch of land as your personal - which means that nobody else can create or break blocks inside your declare. As well as, griefing is at all times forbidden within the server guidelines; griefers are warned and then banned, and most server admins can “roll back” your building to the state it was in before it was griefed.
Textual content chat: Minecraft has built-in text chat (the ‘T’ key), which is the default method that your kid will communicate with different players. Chat can be public or private (that is, one-to-one). Clearly your child will want some studying potential to take part in chat, though you may help them if you’re playing on-line too. Most household-friendly servers employ computerized filtering to forestall swearing in textual content chat. As with all online chat, be sure you remind your kid by no means to give out private particulars when chatting.
Voice chat: Some servers link up with voice chat servers comparable to Mumble, TeamSpeak or Ventrilo to enable players to talk with one another whereas enjoying. For those who enable your child to make use of voice chat then clearly you need to watch out about who they’re talking to, and what they’re speaking about!
Server commands: To get essentially the most out of on-line enjoying, you’ll want to present various commands to the server as you play. You give a command by urgent the / (slash) key, adopted by the command name and, generally, some extra text. For instance, /sethome sometimes units your house level to the place you’re currently standing, while /residence teleports you to your private home level. The commands range from server to server, however you’ll quickly get the hold of them.
Using mods: If you’ve added mods to your Minecraft consumer, be careful when connecting to servers, since most servers ban a minimum of some mods - particularly people who allow you to cheat, after all. Usually, mods such as OptiFine - which simply makes your game run more easily - are Okay.

How to hitch a server

Becoming a member of a public Minecraft server could be very straightforward. Just open the Minecraft launcher and click on Play to run the primary Minecraft game. Once you reach the main title display, you click on the Multiplayer button, then click the Add Server button so as to add the server.

Now sort a reputation for the server within the Server Title field, then kind the server handle within the Server Address field. Typically this shall be a domain name, akin to mc.intercraften.org, or an IP deal with, akin to 1.2.3.4. Then click Accomplished so as to add the server to your server record:

To add a server, click Add Server and enter the server details. You can then connect with the server with the Join Server button.

Then it’s merely a matter of clicking a server within the listing, and clicking the Join Server button to connect with it.

Now let’s look at a couple of points which will come up when becoming a member of a server.

Whitelisting

You can divide public Minecraft servers into two sorts:

Whitelisted servers are protected by a whitelist - that's, a list of usernames which are allowed to hitch the server. To join a whitelisted server, you need to apply to have your Minecraft username added to the whitelist. Sometimes, this includes filling out a form and ready just a few hours or days. Most servers require you to put in separate purposes for yourself and in your kid. Once you’re on the whitelist, you join the server as described above.
Non-whitelisted servers would not have a whitelist, which means anybody can be a part of the server just by coming into the server’s deal with in their Minecraft consumer, as proven above.

Applying for a whitelisted server can be a bit of a drag - particularly when you've gotten an impatient eight-year-old tugging at your sleeve - nevertheless it does present an extra diploma of reassurance that all the gamers on the server are recognized to the server administrators.

Server and client versions

One thing to watch out for when joining a server is making sure the model variety of your Minecraft shopper (recreation) matches the model number of the server. Usually talking, the versions must match, otherwise you won’t be in a position to attach.

For example, the current model of Minecraft is 1.7.9, but many servers are still running 1.7.2, or even 1.6.4. Sometimes the server’s webpage tells you what model they’re operating, however typically the only manner to tell is to strive it and see. If you get an error message when utilizing the 1.7.9 consumer, attempt the 1.7.2 client as an alternative.

Happily it’s simple to modify to completely different versions of the Minecraft consumer. Within the Minecraft launcher, you'll be able to click on New Profile to create different profiles that use any Minecraft version you want. Then, simply select the profile you want to use from the drop-down record within the launcher, and click Play.

It’s straightforward to set up the Minecraft launcher with profiles for different variations. Right here I’ve arrange two profiles: one for 1.7.2 and one other for 1.7.9. (OptiFine is a helpful mod that makes your Minecraft run faster.) The “Use version” dropdown within the topmost window enables you to select the version.

The list of household-pleasant servers

Now that you know the fundamentals of taking part in online with Minecraft, here are 11 excellent Minecraft servers for you and your kid to play on.

I've personally played on all of these servers. They are listed in no particular order; I believe they are all superb, and each single one comes across as being suitable and welcoming for youths, dad and mom and grandparents alike!

You’ll find that every server has its personal distinctive “feel”, so it’s value exploring a few of them to find out which one feels best for you.

Cubeville

Cubeville is a very nice server that’s dedicated to being household-pleasant. You don’t need to apply to affix - simply enter cubeville.org into your Minecraft consumer - however the server is properly policed and has a good, clear list of guidelines. It also has a radical tutorial whenever you first be part of.

The large Cubeville world has an enormous central metropolis, as well as a number of smaller towns and settlements dotted everywhere in the map. There’s an amazing vary of enjoyable things to discover and good folks to fulfill. It’s fairly crowded, so to construct you’ll have to catch a journey on the transport system and head out to the edge of the map.

Cubeville additionally options a neat money system with quests to earn money; intelligent automated outlets; and a fantastic transport community. It additionally has land and chest safety so you possibly can claim your individual little nook of Cubeville for your self.

Towncraft

Replace 14 April 2019: Towncraft has now shut down. The Towncraft employees members have arrange one other family-pleasant server known as Ohanacraft that still adheres to Towncraft’s guiding rules.

Replace 10 August 2020: Towncraft is again up and running! It has the identical guidelines (and server title) as earlier than. Yay!

Towncraft isn't whitelisted, so anybody can be part of - simply enter play.towncraft.us into your Minecraft shopper. It additionally has a TeamSpeak server for voice chat; you will discover the IP deal with on the Towncraft webpage.

What I like about Towncraft is that, fairly than just being a typical world to explore and construct in, it has a bit of a narrative occurring. A meteor has wiped out the world, and it’s as much as you and your folks on the server to rebuild it. At the start of the sport, you pick a trade, reminiscent of hunter, farmer, blacksmith or merchant, then as you improve your abilities in that trade over time, you unlock new skills.

Towncraft doesn’t tend to get too busy, making for a relaxed crafting experience. There are mother and father and youngsters enjoying on the server, and persons are usually are friendly and helpful.

The server makes use of the Zombie Apocalypse plugin; this randomly makes a horde of zombies seem around the player at night time, which you must defeat to obtain a reward. Clearly, youthful players would possibly get a bit freaked out by this, but it’s good fun for older children.

Towncraft makes use of the Grief Prevention plugin so you'll be able to protect your house and contents from griefing by different gamers.

Kolgrath, the Towncraft admin, has put collectively a player information, in addition to a useful parent’s guide to Towncraft that's price a learn.

Intercraften

Intercraften is a highly regarded household-pleasant Minecraft server. It’s nicely planned out, and has extraordinarily helpful moderators which might be good at sorting out problems and taking care of everyone, parents and children alike.

The server is whitelisted, so to hitch you first have to fill out the easy utility type.

Intercraften is a huge server with several worlds, including New Survival (the present most important world), a CTF (Seize the Flag) world, a peaceful world, a artistic world, a mining world, and plenty more.

The server has a money system, along with jobs - akin to fisherman, brewer and woodcutter - that you can perform with a purpose to earn coins. You should use the money to buy stuff in outlets, and likewise to claim chunks of land in order that others can’t grief your builds. When you do get griefed, the moderators are very cautious to set all the things proper once more (and ban the offender from the server).

As well as doing stuff with the usual server commands, equivalent to /spawn, /sethome and /home, it's also possible to use the consumer-pleasant Intercraften Menu book (given free if you join) to select jobs, perform commands and play mini-video games.

The Sandlot

The Sandlot is a whitelisted, household-pleasant Minecraft server that’s been operating since December 2011. It’s operated by a former schoolteacher, and has a very good algorithm and filters in place to stop any abusive behaviour.

What I like concerning the Sandlot is the good stability of various worlds out there. There’s Semi-Vanilla Survival, which is pretty close to a regular Minecraft world, with the smart addition of Grief Prevention and also a digital foreign money system (tied to gold ingots) so that gamers can arrange retailers.

A really great world for younger youngsters is simple Survival. If Semi-Vanilla Survival is Scrabble, that is Junior Scrabble. Fairly than having to spend ages digging round for assets and items, youngsters can select a job (corresponding to farming) to earn cash, then spend their cash to purchase gadgets in a giant mall within the centre. Pubg Qa makes for a a lot simpler, extra relaxed gameplay model. Nice concept.

Different worlds within the Sandlot embody a Artistic world, and many PvP game worlds including starvation games (primarily based loosely on the books and movies), spleef and so forth. There’s also a skyblock world (a world with floating islands and plenty of challenges).

All of those worlds are accessed through The Lobby, a implausible constructing primarily based on Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series (take a look at the secret passages!). This, as well as a lot of the opposite Sandlot worlds, are beautifully designed, creating a fun, welcoming setting for your child.

CrazyPig

CrazyPig is a small family-pleasant Minecraft server with a fantastic community. It was initially arrange by a UK dad or mum for his son, however is now open to all. It isn't whitelisted; to hitch, simply add play.crazypig.internet to your Minecraft shopper.

CrazyPig uses a “belt” system to rank gamers by how lengthy they’ve played on the server. As you spend extra time on the server, you’re mechanically given belts of upper rank, which in turn provide you with entry to sure worlds, as well as a larger number of “homes” which you could set and warp to.

There’s additionally a forex system, as well as a easy virtual marketplace where gamers should buy and promote items.

As with most servers, CrazyPig options a number of interconnected worlds. There’s a central foyer space from which you can select a world to warp to. There’s the principle World where you’ll build your own home and spend most of your time; a Creative World (you must be Green Belt or greater to entry it); a Video games World with an enormous chess set; and an extra Hard world if you’re feeling brave!

Although it’s not whitelisted, CrazyPig has a pleasant, useful group of gamers, and employs the Grief Prevention plugin to cease players from griefing. It additionally has fairly good automatic language filters to eradicate swearing.

A reasonably novel facet of CrazyPig is the idea of areas. The main world is routinely divided up into regions; while you join you’re automatically added to the latest area, however you can warp between areas. This ensures that every area of the world doesn’t get overcrowded. It’s a bit complicated at first, but when you get the grasp of it, it’s a fairly good system!

CrazyPig is a great server if you’re on the lookout for a great group, not too many rules, and freedom to construct and have enjoyable.

Addstar

Addstar is a busy Australian server that is child-pleasant. It’s not whitelisted so anybody can be a part of, however it's heavily moderated and comes with LWC protection (for locking issues) and Grief Prevention (for claiming land so it can’t be griefed).

Addstar follows the acquainted format of a central spawn city, with warps that take you off to different worlds. There are a number of portals into a reasonably standard survival world, as well as a portal to a artistic world with tons of amazing creations (solely donators to the server can build right here).

In the spawn city you’ll additionally find warps to tons of mini-games, together with BlockHunt, a maze, parkour, spleef, CTF (capture the flag), survival games, and even Connect 4, checkers and chess!

There’s at all times too much happening on the Addstar server, and - apart from a quick intro - you’re just about thrown in on the deep end, so this server might be better for older youngsters, or those who already know Minecraft and Minecraft servers properly. That said, the staff are always helpful and pleasant.

MineSquish

MineSquish is a whitelisted server with a fairly strict utility process. To use, you might want to register on the forums, introduce your self, and actively participate within the forums for some time. Solely then are you able to apply to be whitelisted. An exception is made if you’re applying on behalf of your child and they’re too young to publish on the boards. On this case, you only must make an introduction publish, and show that you've got learn by the server guidelines and explained them to your chid.

This comparatively lengthy whitelisting process, mixed with strict server rules, ensures that players are fairly effectively vetted before they play, and helps to foster a very good neighborhood spirit.

The MineSquish server may be very household-friendly and has all kinds of features to make the game secure to play for youngsters, together with a monster-free spawn (beginning) city, a rail and highway system to make it straightforward to get round and avoid getting lost, fastidiously managed towns, and lockable chests, doors and furnaces.

The server doesn’t have anti-griefing block safety, so there is no approach to protect your construct from being demolished by others. Nevertheless, gamers are generally properly-behaved in the MineSquish group and the server admins are good at catching griefers, so griefing doesn’t are typically a giant problem.

There are several worlds to discover, including Persephone (the principle survival world, where you construct your house), a artistic freebuild world, a hard-mode Exploration world for useful resource gathering that’s wiped every 2 months, a Skylands (floating islands) world, a giant Construct world for building spectacular large constructions, and extra.

Right here is an efficient MineSquish starter guide for parents and young children.

SafeCraft

SafeCraft - previously Win Household Survival - is a small however rising family-friendly server built by a dedicated staff of mother and father and youngsters in the UK. It makes use of whitelisting and strict filtering to make a kid-pleasant server where folks assist out players of all talents. The moderators are particularly open to serving to out children on the autistic spectrum and youngsters with ADHD.

The server has a fun, lively feel to it with a fantastically colourful fundamental lobby (see screenshot above). The safe, welcoming setting means this server will attraction to kids both young and outdated. The server includes another nice touches such as “Server Champion” awards and recognising birthdays, which add to the sense of neighborhood.

From the lobby you can reach an ordinary survival world (grief safety is included); the SafeCraft world (no hostile mobs - nice for littler youngsters); a world for resource gathering, and heaps of nice mini-games together with Paintball, Block Hunt, hunger/survival games, TNT Run and Skyblock. There are also a few spleef arenas in the lobby.

Overall, this is an efficient server for teenagers who desire to play in a secure, welcoming setting with an in depth-knit neighborhood.

Blocklandia

Blocklandia is a enjoyable, family-pleasant whitelisted server that's suitable for youths of all ages (some gamers are as young as 4!). The moderators are very useful, and usually provide you with a guided tour if you first be part of. They could even provide that will help you build your first house!

The spawn (starting area) is themed as a large shipyard. Every ship takes you to a different land. Mainland is the principle survival world, while Peaceful is a safer mode with no hostile mobs or fall harm. There’s additionally a Creative world, reached through a fairly sizzling air balloon.

Blocklandia has a money system primarily based on “shillings”. There are many jobs that can earn you shillings, together with weaponsmith, digger, builder, sorcerer, alchemist, and even pirate!

A nice touch is the large library, just off the shipyard. You possibly can write a ebook and add it to the library, as well as read different people’s books.

Although the server doesn’t allow you to claim land within the survival worlds, it does use the LWC plugin which helps you to lock chests, doorways, furnaces and so forth. As well as, there’s a really clear, detailed algorithm (that it's a must to learn once you first join), things like TNT and hearth are typically banned, and the moderators are superb at sorting out any griefing issues.

If your kid is pretty new to Minecraft and desires to affix a helpful, welcoming community then Blocklandia is an efficient wager.

Famcraft

Famcraft was arrange by dad and mom who wished to ensure that youngsters had a protected place to play Minecraft on-line. It’s been running for a couple of years and had developed a really good neighborhood of players, ranging in age from 5 to 77!

Famcraft isn't whitelisted - simply add survival.famcraft.com to your Minecraft shopper, and away you go. While you first be a part of, you’ll in all probability be supplied a tour by one of many friendly staff members. There are usually no less than a few staff online at any given second.

The primary survival server is huge, with plenty of great features. The main spawn area is a beautiful picket seaside village, with stargates (warps) that link off to numerous locations on the map. There are six continuously-changing random warps into wilderness the place you may mine and construct; free farms if you need resources; cities to explore; a carnival; a sports activities stadium (with non-compulsory PvP); mazes; and tons of different attractions. There are also many plugins that let you make cool stuff with signs and redstone, equivalent to lifts, drawbridges, iron gates and hidden areas.

As well as fairly customary server elements, reminiscent of a forex system, a jobs system, and grief prevention with LWC and PreciousStones, Famcraft has some extra touches that give the server its own unique, community really feel.

For instance, there are a large number of clans that you can be a part of to work on projects collectively, and there are additionally a lot of large participant statues to indicate appreciation for useful players on the server.

The server workers additionally recurrently stream family friendly music with Mixlr, which really adds a component of fun to the gameplay. They even host dance events in a implausible dance area throughout the world!

Famcraft has a Mumble server, which many players use for voice chat whereas taking part in. There’s additionally a #famcraft IRC channel, which lets players chat with one another even when they’re not taking part in the game. All IRC chat additionally seems in the common Minecraft in-sport chat window.

As well as the principle survival world, there’s additionally a world that makes use of the FTB (FeedTheBeast) modpack for additional fun and video games.

The Famcraft workers are attentive, helpful and chatty, and make a fantastic effort to make sure everyone is taking part in safely and having enjoyable.

YAMS

YAMS - Yet another Minecraft Server - is a small household-friendly server run by a devoted staff in the UK. It makes use of whitelisting; to apply for the whitelist, first register for the boards, then publish a whitelist request in the “Introduce and Whitelist Yourself” forum.

What I really like about YAMS is the thought that’s gone into organising a realistic world. There’s a central spawn town with a big buying mall, and four satellite tv for pc towns, reached via a complete transport network. Every satellite tv for pc town has its own distinctive really feel and building code: for instance, the buildings in a single city are constructed from cobblestone; one other town features picket buildings, and so on. (To construct in a city, you first want to point out you can construct a pleasant building in the sandbox inside the spawn city.)

As effectively because the towns, there are tons of sightseeing opportunities dotted around the land, including a powerful coliseum (full with PvP video games), a college (in improvement), a theatre, a windmill, a maze, an observation tower and plenty extra. There are also plenty of hidden issues to search out throughout the map.

YAMS doesn't have chest locking or grief protection; nevertheless the server has a detailed-knit neighborhood and a strict algorithm that assist to maintain issues running along properly. The server admin also can restore any stolen or griefed objects.

In case your kid likes enjoying carefully with a workforce inside a structured environment then they are going to likely enjoy this server.

Completely happy enjoying!

I hope you’ve found this guide to family-pleasant Minecraft servers useful, and that you find a great server that you just and your child can enjoy. Perhaps I’ll meet you on one in every of them!