Eleven HouseholdFriendly Minecraft Servers Where Your Child Can Play Safely Online

If your child has spent a while taking part in Minecraft on their very own - or with different family members on your private home network - they are going to in all probability reach a degree the place they’ll want to play with others online.

Playing Minecraft on a public server can take the game to a complete new degree. For one factor, there’s a brand new neighborhood of like-minded gamers to make friends with and collaborate with. It will assist your kid learn social abilities, corresponding to cooperating, compromising and downside-fixing.

As well as, most servers function big, prebuilt worlds, with amazing cities and buildings, transport networks, and mini-video games for your kid to explore and enjoy.

Finally, most servers extend Minecraft using a number of server plugins, which allow for a whole vary of extra gameplay features, including cash systems, jobs, role-enjoying parts and teleports. (You don’t want to switch your Minecraft game so as to add these options; they’re all handled by the server.)

By now you’re in all probability thinking: This is all very properly, but aren’t public servers a harmful place for my kid? If they go on a server, how will I do know they will be protected from unhealthy language, bullying, or online predators?

After all, no public server is 100 percent safe, however there are some improbable Minecraft servers out there that cater especially to children and households. (That said, if you’d fairly set up a totally private server in your child and their close friends, check out Minecraft Realms.)

On this guide, you’ll discover eleven of one of the best family-friendly Minecraft servers on the market. You’ll also study a bit extra about how Minecraft servers work, and how to connect to those servers and start playing online.

At this level, I should point out that this guide is for the Pc/Mac version of Minecraft only. Whereas there are some household-friendly servers for the Pocket Version and Xbox versions of Minecraft, the vast majority of servers work with the Pc/Mac version.

So without additional ado, let’s dive into the world of on-line, household-friendly Minecraft! We’ll begin by taking a look at some necessary concepts related to public Minecraft servers.

Key server concepts you might want to know

Here are just a few key concepts and terms which might be price knowing before you be a part of a public server:

Servers vs. worlds: Normally, a single public Minecraft server has a number of worlds you could leap between. For instance, there’s often a essential survival world, another creative-mode world, and probably a third world for mini-video games. Often 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”, while PvE stands for “player vs. environment”. Most public servers - especially family-friendly ones - are PvE; that's, you battle monsters, not players. However, some servers have particular PvP arenas the place you possibly can combat different players. (Sometimes, if you die in a PvP arena, you don’t lose all of your stuff, as you'll in a daily survival world. It’s just for fun.)Spawn: Usually your participant will spawn (begin) at a set level on this planet, often referred to simply as “spawn”. Sometimes that is in, or near, a central city or metropolis, or in some sort of foyer space. You possibly can often kind the command /spawn to return to your spawn point.Rules: Nearly all servers have guidelines as to what you'll be able to and cannot do, and - as you’d imagine - family-friendly servers are inclined to have a giant checklist of strict rules. Ensure you learn all the foundations completely. (If you first be a part of some servers, they really drive you to walk previous a lot of signs with the principles on!) When you don’t follow the principles, you will be banned quickly and even permanently from the server.Griefing and grief safety: A giant potential downside on public servers is griefing; that is, demolishing different players’ buildings or stealing their stuff. Many - but not all - servers use numerous plugins to cease griefing. Usually these plugins allow you to lock your chests, doorways and furnaces, and you can even claim a patch of land as your individual - which means that nobody else can create or break blocks inside your declare. In addition, griefing is all the time forbidden in the server guidelines; griefers are warned after which banned, and most server admins can “roll back” your constructing to the state it was in before it was griefed.Textual content chat: Minecraft has constructed-in textual content chat (the ‘T’ key), which is the default way that your child will communicate with other players. Chat could be public or non-public (that is, one-to-one). Obviously your kid will want some studying capacity to participate in chat, though you will help them if you’re playing online too. Most family-pleasant servers employ automated filtering to prevent swearing in textual content chat. As with all online chat, be sure to remind your kid by no means to offer out personal particulars when chatting.Voice chat: Some servers link up with voice chat servers similar to Mumble, TeamSpeak or Ventrilo to enable players to talk with each other whereas playing. If you happen to permit your child to use voice chat then clearly you wish to be careful about who they’re speaking to, and what they’re talking about!Server commands: To get the most out of online enjoying, you’ll want to provide numerous commands to the server as you play. You give a command by urgent the / (slash) key, followed by the command title and, generally, some extra textual content. For example, /sethome sometimes units your own home level to the place you’re presently standing, whereas /dwelling teleports you to your private home point. The commands vary from server to server, but you’ll soon get the grasp of them.Utilizing mods: If you’ve added mods to your Minecraft consumer, be careful when connecting to servers, since most servers ban at least some mods - particularly those who allow you to cheat, of course. Usually, mods such as OptiFine - which simply makes your sport run extra easily - are Okay.

How to affix a server

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

Now sort a reputation for the server in the Server Title box, then sort the server deal with within the Server Address box. Typically this will be a site title, such as mc.intercraften.org, or an IP tackle, similar to 1.2.3.4. Then click Done so as to add the server to your server list:

To add a server, click Add Server and enter the server details. You possibly can then connect with the server with the Be a part of Server button.

Then it’s merely a matter of clicking a server in the listing, and clicking the Be a part of Server button to hook up with it.

Now let’s take a look at a couple of issues which will come up when joining a server.

Whitelisting

You possibly can divide public Minecraft servers into two types:

Whitelisted servers are protected by a whitelist - that is, an inventory of usernames which can be allowed to join the server. To join a whitelisted server, you need to apply to have your Minecraft username added to the whitelist. Usually, this involves filling out a kind and ready a couple of hours or days. Most servers require you to place in separate applications for your self and on your kid. Once you’re on the whitelist, you be a part of the server as described above.Non-whitelisted servers do not need a whitelist, which implies anyone can be a part of the server simply by getting into the server’s address in their Minecraft consumer, as proven above.

Applying for a whitelisted server is usually a bit of a drag - particularly when you may have an impatient eight-year-old tugging at your sleeve - but it does provide an extra degree of reassurance that all the gamers on the server are recognized to the server administrators.

Server and client variations

One thing to watch out for when becoming a member of a server is making sure the model variety of your Minecraft consumer (recreation) matches the version variety of the server. Typically talking, the variations should match, or you won’t be able to attach.

For instance, the present version of Minecraft is 1.7.9, but many servers are still operating 1.7.2, or even 1.6.4. Typically the server’s webpage tells you what model they’re working, but sometimes the one approach to inform is to strive it and see. Should you get an error message when using the 1.7.9 client, strive the 1.7.2 shopper as an alternative.

Happily it’s simple to change to totally different variations of the Minecraft consumer. In the Minecraft launcher, you'll be able to click on New Profile to create completely different profiles that use any Minecraft model you like. Then, simply choose the profile you need to make use of from the drop-down checklist within the launcher, and click Play.

It’s easy to set up the Minecraft launcher with profiles for various versions. 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 sooner.) The “Use version” dropdown within the topmost window helps you to select the version.

The list of family-friendly servers

Now that you recognize the basics of playing online with Minecraft, here are 11 excellent Minecraft servers for you and your child to play on.

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

You’ll discover that every server has its own unique “feel”, so it’s worth exploring a couple of of them to search out out which one feels right for you.

Cubeville

Cubeville is a really nice server that’s committed to being family-pleasant. You don’t need to apply to hitch - simply enter cubeville.org into your Minecraft consumer - however the server is properly policed and has a great, clear checklist of rules. It also has a thorough tutorial if you first be part of.

The enormous Cubeville world has a big central city, in addition to lots of smaller towns and settlements dotted everywhere in the map. There’s an incredible range of fun issues to explore and nice folks to meet. It’s fairly crowded, so to build you’ll need to catch a trip on the transport system and head out to the edge of the map.

Cubeville additionally features a neat money system with quests to earn money; intelligent automated shops; and an important transport network. It additionally has land and chest protection so you possibly can declare your individual little nook of Cubeville for your self.

Towncraft

Replace 14 April 2019: Towncraft has now shut down. The Towncraft staff members have set up another family-friendly server called Ohanacraft that nonetheless adheres to Towncraft’s guiding rules.

Update 10 August 2020: Towncraft is again up and running! It has the identical rules (and server identify) as before. Yay!

Towncraft just isn't whitelisted, so anybody can be part of - just enter play.towncraft.us into your Minecraft shopper. It also has a TeamSpeak server for voice chat; you can find the IP tackle on the Towncraft webpage.

What I like about Towncraft is that, moderately than simply being an ordinary world to discover and construct in, it has a little bit of a narrative happening. A meteor has wiped out the world, and it’s as much as you and your folks on the server to rebuild it. Initially of the game, you pick a trade, comparable to hunter, farmer, blacksmith or service provider, then as you enhance your expertise in that commerce over time, you unlock new skills.

Towncraft doesn’t tend to get too busy, making for a relaxed crafting expertise. There are parents and kids taking part in on the server, and individuals are typically are pleasant and helpful.

The server uses the Zombie Apocalypse plugin; this randomly makes a horde of zombies appear across the participant at night, which you will need to defeat to obtain a reward. Clearly, youthful players may get a bit freaked out by this, however it’s good enjoyable for older kids.

Towncraft makes use of the Grief Prevention plugin so you may protect your own home and contents from griefing by other gamers.

Kolgrath, the Towncraft admin, has put together a player information, as well as a handy parent’s information to Towncraft that's worth a learn.

Intercraften

Intercraften is a highly regarded household-pleasant Minecraft server. It’s effectively deliberate out, and has extremely helpful moderators which are good at sorting out issues and looking after everybody, mother and father and children alike.

The server is whitelisted, so to affix you first need to fill out the easy utility kind. I'm just here to blog

Intercraften is a big server with a number of worlds, including New Survival (the current principal world), a CTF (Capture the Flag) world, a peaceful world, a creative world, a mining world, and plenty extra.

The server has a cash system, along with jobs - similar to fisherman, brewer and woodcutter - which you could carry out with a purpose to earn coins. You should use the money to buy stuff in retailers, and likewise to claim chunks of land in order that others can’t grief your builds. In the event you do get griefed, the moderators are very cautious to set every part proper once more (and ban the offender from the server).

In addition to doing stuff with the standard server commands, reminiscent of /spawn, /sethome and /residence, it's also possible to use the person-friendly Intercraften Menu e book (given free if you be a part of) to select jobs, perform commands and play mini-games.

The Sandlot

The Sandlot is a whitelisted, household-friendly Minecraft server that’s been working since December 2011. It’s operated by a former schoolteacher, and has a great algorithm and filters in place to prevent any abusive behaviour.

What I like about the Sandlot is the nice steadiness of various worlds available. There’s Semi-Vanilla Survival, which is fairly close to a standard Minecraft world, with the smart addition of Grief Prevention and likewise a digital forex system (tied to gold ingots) so that gamers can set up shops.

A extremely great world for younger kids is easy Survival. If Semi-Vanilla Survival is Scrabble, this is Junior Scrabble. Somewhat than having to spend ages digging round for assets and items, youngsters can select a job (equivalent to farming) to earn cash, then spend their money to purchase gadgets in a big mall within the centre. This makes for a a lot easier, more relaxed gameplay model. Great idea.

Different worlds in the Sandlot include a Inventive world, and lots of PvP recreation worlds together with 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 these worlds are accessed via The Foyer, a implausible building based mostly on Hogwarts from the Harry Potter sequence (check out the key passages!). This, as well as many of the other Sandlot worlds, are beautifully designed, making a enjoyable, welcoming atmosphere for your child.

CrazyPig

CrazyPig is a small family-pleasant Minecraft server with an important group. It was initially set up by a UK mum or dad for his son, however is now open to all. It isn't whitelisted; to affix, just add play.crazypig.web to your Minecraft consumer.

CrazyPig makes use of a “belt” system to rank players by how lengthy they’ve performed on the server. As you spend extra time on the server, you’re robotically given belts of upper rank, which in turn give you access to certain worlds, in addition to a greater number of “homes” that you could set and warp to.

There’s additionally a currency system, as well as a easy virtual marketplace the place gamers can buy and sell objects.

As with most servers, CrazyPig features a number of interconnected worlds. There’s a central lobby space from which you'll be able to select a world to warp to. There’s the principle World where you’ll construct your own home and spend most of your time; a Inventive World (you have to be Inexperienced Belt or increased to entry it); a Games World with a giant chess set; and an extra Hard world if you’re feeling brave!

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

A fairly novel side of CrazyPig is the concept of regions. The primary world is robotically divided up into regions; while you be a part of you’re mechanically added to the newest area, however you can warp between regions. This ensures that each space of the world doesn’t get overcrowded. It’s a bit confusing at first, but when you get the grasp of it, it’s a pretty good system!

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

Addstar

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

Addstar follows the familiar format of a central spawn city, with warps that take you off to other worlds. There are several portals into a fairly commonplace survival world, as well as a portal to a artistic world with tons of wonderful creations (solely donators to the server can construct right here).

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

There’s at all times so much taking place on the Addstar server, and - other than a brief intro - you’re pretty much thrown in at the deep end, so this server is probably better for older kids, or those who already know Minecraft and Minecraft servers nicely. That said, the workers are at all times useful and friendly.

MineSquish

MineSquish is a whitelisted server with a fairly strict software course of. To apply, that you must register on the boards, introduce your self, and actively take part within the boards for some time. Solely then can you apply to be whitelisted. An exception is made if you’re making use of on behalf of your kid and they’re too young to submit on the boards. On this case, you solely have to make an introduction submit, and present that you have read by the server rules and defined them to your chid.

This relatively lengthy whitelisting course of, mixed with strict server guidelines, ensures that gamers are fairly properly vetted earlier than they play, and helps to foster a superb community spirit.

The MineSquish server is very household-pleasant and has all types of options to make the sport safe to play for youngsters, together with a monster-free spawn (beginning) town, a rail and street system to make it easy 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 isn't a manner to guard your construct from being demolished by others. Nonetheless, gamers are usually well-behaved within the MineSquish neighborhood and the server admins are good at catching griefers, so griefing doesn’t are usually an enormous problem.

There are several worlds to discover, together with Persephone (the primary survival world, where you build your private home), a inventive freebuild world, a hard-mode Exploration world for useful resource gathering that’s wiped every 2 months, a Skylands (floating islands) world, an enormous Construct world for constructing impressive huge constructions, and more.

Here is an effective MineSquish starter information for fogeys and young children.

SafeCraft

SafeCraft - previously Win Family Survival - is a small but growing family-pleasant server constructed by a devoted staff of dad and mom and children in the UK. It makes use of whitelisting and strict filtering to make a kid-friendly server the place folks help out gamers of all abilities. The moderators are significantly open to serving to out youngsters on the autistic spectrum and youngsters with ADHD.

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

From the lobby you possibly 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-video games together with Paintball, Block Hunt, starvation/survival video games, TNT Run and Skyblock. There are additionally a few spleef arenas within the foyer.

Total, this is an efficient server for youths who desire to play in a protected, welcoming surroundings with an in depth-knit group.

Blocklandia

Blocklandia is a enjoyable, family-friendly whitelisted server that's suitable for teenagers of all ages (some players are as younger as 4!). The moderators are very helpful, and usually offer you a guided tour while you first be part of. They could even provide to help you construct your first house!

The spawn (beginning space) is themed as a large shipyard. Each ship takes you to a different land. Mainland is the main survival world, whereas Peaceful is a safer mode with no hostile mobs or fall injury. There’s also a Artistic world, reached by way of a reasonably hot air balloon.

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

A nice contact is the big library, just off the shipyard. You'll be able to write a book and add it to the library, in addition to learn other people’s books.

Although the server doesn’t let you claim land in the survival worlds, it does use the LWC plugin which lets you lock chests, doors, furnaces and so forth. As well as, there’s a very clear, detailed set of rules (that it's a must to learn when you first connect), things like TNT and fireplace are usually banned, and the moderators are superb at sorting out any griefing issues.

If your kid is fairly new to Minecraft and desires to hitch a helpful, welcoming community then Blocklandia is an effective bet.

Famcraft

Famcraft was arrange by dad and mom who wanted to guantee that kids had a safe place to play Minecraft online. It’s been running for a couple of years and had developed a very good community of gamers, ranging in age from 5 to 77!

Famcraft will not be whitelisted - simply add survival.famcraft.com to your Minecraft shopper, and away you go. If you first be a part of, you’ll in all probability be offered a tour by one of the friendly employees members. There are usually at least a few staff online at any given moment.

The principle survival server is huge, with a number of nice options. Mega blog The main spawn space is a phenomenal wooden seaside village, with stargates (warps) that hyperlink off to varied locations on the map. There are six continuously-changing random warps into wilderness where you possibly can mine and build; free farms in the event you need sources; cities to explore; a carnival; a sports activities stadium (with non-compulsory PvP); mazes; and tons of different attractions. There are additionally many plugins that let you make cool stuff with indicators and redstone, akin to lifts, drawbridges, iron gates and hidden areas.

As well as pretty customary server elements, corresponding to a foreign money system, a jobs system, and grief prevention with LWC and PreciousStones, Famcraft has some additional touches that give the server its own distinctive, group really feel.

For instance, there are numerous clans that you would be able to be part of to work on initiatives collectively, and there are also numerous large participant statues to indicate appreciation for helpful players on the server.

The server staff additionally usually stream family pleasant music with Mixlr, which actually adds a component of enjoyable to the gameplay. They even host dance parties in a unbelievable dance space throughout the world!

Famcraft has a Mumble server, which many gamers use for voice chat while enjoying. There’s also a #famcraft IRC channel, which lets gamers chat with each other even when they’re not taking part in the sport. All IRC chat additionally seems in the regular Minecraft in-sport chat window.

In addition to the main survival world, there’s also a world that makes use of the FTB (FeedTheBeast) modpack for extra fun and video games.

The Famcraft staff are attentive, useful and chatty, and make a fantastic effort to ensure everyone is enjoying safely and having enjoyable.

YAMS

YAMS - Yet one more Minecraft Server - is a small family-friendly server run by a dedicated team in the UK. It uses whitelisting; to use for the whitelist, first register for the boards, then put up a whitelist request within the “Introduce and Whitelist Yourself” discussion board.

What I really like about YAMS is the thought that’s gone into establishing a sensible world. There’s a central spawn city with a big shopping mall, and 4 satellite tv for pc towns, reached by way of a complete transport community. Each satellite tv for pc city has its personal unique feel and building code: for instance, the buildings in one town are built from cobblestone; another town options wood buildings, and so on. (To build in a city, you first want to point out you'll be able to construct a nice building within the sandbox inside the spawn city.)

As well as the towns, there are tons of sightseeing alternatives dotted across the land, including an impressive coliseum (full with PvP games), a college (in growth), a theatre, a windmill, a maze, an commentary tower and much more. There are also plenty of hidden things to search out all through the map.

YAMS doesn't have chest locking or grief safety; nevertheless the server has a close-knit group and a strict set of rules that help to keep things operating alongside nicely. The server admin can also restore any stolen or griefed items.

In case your child likes taking part in closely with a crew inside a structured surroundings then they will doubtless take pleasure in this server.

Completely satisfied taking part in!

I hope you’ve discovered this information to family-pleasant Minecraft servers useful, and that you discover a fantastic server that you simply and your child can enjoy. Possibly I’ll meet you on considered one of them!