By Jennie Sandoval


Video games are often thought of as something with a definite, explicit goal to reach. It might be something as small as matching symbols or as large as saving the world, but there seems to always be an ending to work towards. Minecraft takes a different path by not having these types of goals, which is why Minecraft tournaments may seem like a strange concept to many people.

Minecraft is a game about blocks. Everything you encounter as a player is made of them, and they are your only way of interacting with the game world. It is very different from many other modern video games, which tend to be far more concerned with realism and detail in their graphics.

There is no specific objective given to a player when beginning a game. You are simply presented with a landscape constructed of blocks and set free among them to do whatever you like. By experimenting, you soon find that the blocks can be broken and collected, then used to build entirely new structures, like houses, work benches, tools, railways, and much more.

However, the lack of goals provided by the game remains constant. There is never a definite task to pursue in order to progress, and no real way to tell whether you are doing well or poorly by the game's standards. Therefore, you must create your own standards to get the most out of your experience.

In general, tournaments do not really work this way. They tend to thrive on numbers and easily definable ranking systems, and so a game with neither of these things could present quite a challenge. For those who love to play, however, making up their own rules for competition is a natural fit, as that is basically what the game encourages you to do right from the start.

Players cannot race to reach the end of Minecraft, because it does not have an official end. They can, however, work within specified parameters to reach a milestone as quickly as possible, and this is how many tournaments are structured. Generally, something relatively difficult is chosen, and individuals or teams then race to see who can accomplish it first.

A typical goal of such a tournament might be to challenge competitors to find gold or diamonds, both rare types of blocks in the game, before any of the others. They would thus be challenged to use all of the strategy and skills at their disposal to beat out everyone else trying to do the same thing. Of course, there is still some luck involved, but the best players are able to use the situation to their advantage.

Even though it may not be exactly what you might expect when thinking about video games, Minecraft provides a fascinating open world that millions of people continue to enjoy. Minecraft tournaments are part of that, and allow the biggest fans of the game to spend as much time and energy on their favorite pastime as they like. No matter what the goal is, it is sure to have fans for many years to come.




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