StephanieF Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 My answer to ds9 whenever he wants to download something is usually no or a reluctant yes on the ipad. This is because given the chance he would spend all day playing games. He has pestered me several times about minecraft and I've said no but actually I know nothing about it at all, I just assumed that it was another time waster. Seeing more and more posts about people using it here I wondered whether I'm wrong? Is it a good game, can ds use it on an ipad or do I run the risk of ds wanting to play it all the time? Do I need an internet connection to do it? Should I not even go there! Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I don't play it, but my BIL convinced me to get it for ds10, he loves it. Most I can figure, it is a little like electronic legos. Once it is downloaded you don't need internet unless they want to link and play with a friend. As for screen time, we just use a token system. I got the idea from SWB, and it has been working great here. The kids get tokens on Sunday. For us they each represent 15 minutes. They can earn and lose tokens during the week. If it is not interfering with anything they can use them as they want. 10 year old gets 5 hours a week, 5 year old gets 4. (in 15 min increments). It resets every Sunday. It is for all screen time (ds, itouch, tv, computer etc...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 DS12 loves it. After downloaded no need to be on line. There seem to be a lot of levels and approaches. DS seems to be having a different experience then his bf. They love discussing their game. We used to do tokens. DS earned them for completing his work. We gradually grew out of that reward system. He must ask permission. Only plays while dd14 and I are watching tv shows which he is not a fan of. Complete relaxation time not school. Maybe 5 hours a week in his ideal world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 My kids love it. I can't help about time limits because I've never done them because it's never been an issue with my kids, so you'll have to decide on what works for your family there. One word of warning. Make sure you're really careful about allowing them to play on a server with or without friends because it will suck up you data usage really, really fast. My dh let my kids do that and we had a week with data usage of over 20gb a day, when our normal is less than 5gb/day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 i've not let my son get it yet. the only reason being is he is a complete video game junkie. i read minecraft is awesome and easy to get wrapped up in, so for me i didn't download it. we just do not need one more game that he loves and obsesses over. i've had to limit his time with gaming as it is. as for the content though, i think it is fine. my SIL is uber-conservative & all of her kids play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Can I interrupt with a very stupid question? Can you play Minecraft on a pc or do you need an ipad? My son has been begging for an ipad so he can play Minecraft, but I'd rather just buy it for the PC if that's possible and if the game plays the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I have a different twist on minecraft. My 8 year old son loves to watch OTHERS playing it on youtube. He will watch hours if I let him. He actually got the game for his birthday and does play it some, but he still always reverts back to watching the videos. I don't get it, but I guess I never really did get it even with my older son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Can I interrupt with a very stupid question? Can you play Minecraft on a pc or do you need an ipad? My son has been begging for an ipad so he can play Minecraft, but I'd rather just buy it for the PC if that's possible and if the game plays the same. You don't need an ipad to play it. The download is available for PC or Mac, my kids play it on their ipads, or on the iMac or on an old PC that my dh set up for them so that both of our boys could have separate accounts and play at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 You don't need an ipad to play it. The download is available for PC or Mac, my kids play it on their ipads, or on the iMac or on an old PC that my dh set up for them so that both of our boys could have separate accounts and play at the same time. Awesome. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Can I interrupt with a very stupid question? Can you play Minecraft on a pc or do you need an ipad? My son has been begging for an ipad so he can play Minecraft, but I'd rather just buy it for the PC if that's possible and if the game plays the same. Minecraft was originally only on PC. It's been adapted to other formats, including iPad and xBox. As for the OP, my son loves it and I find it infinitely more educational than any other game out there. My son was moving his fingers while getting a filling at the dentist last week. The dentist asked what he was doing and he responded that he counting the number of bricks he'd need to reinforce a structure in Minecraft :001_huh:. Oh, and yeah, what is UP with the addictive quality of those youtube videos?? Weird! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basschick Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 You can buy the full version of the game for $26 for your computer, and you can also buy the app for iPad for $7. The iPad app does not have all the possibilities of the full version. Also, for the iPad you can download the "lite" version for free to see if you like it before paying for the app. That's what I did. I ended up buying the app because my boys were frustrated with losing their creations every time the server reset. As for the computer version, you can go to the Minecraft website and download a free trial version before you invest money into it. My husband is currently loving the game. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 It is a lot like Legos crossed with being an pioneer and explorer (either just building in creative mode or also dodging dangerous creatures in active play). My kids love it. In fact, oldest ds (13) knows how to create a server for just them to play on. They get all their friends over here and they build elaborate houses, tame cats, breed baby animals, create villages, mine for cool metals, cook, create swords, everything. It can be a very social experience. Its a great sandbox game that can be played on or off line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 It is a lot like Legos crossed with being an pioneer and explorer (either just building in creative mode or also dodging dangerous creatures in active play). My kids love it. In fact, oldest ds (13) knows how to create a server for just them to play on. They get all their friends over here and they build elaborate houses, tame cats, breed baby animals, create villages, mine for cool metals, cook, create swords, everything. It can be a very social experience. Its a great sandbox game that can be played on or off line. The server is what got us in trouble. I don't know what is going on with it, but it made the data usage on our cable modem jump by 15+GB per day. Luckily my company doesn't charge for overages but for the month of Nov 80 of our 265GB was used up in the first 7 days. So we've put minecraft on lock down until we figure out why it's using so much bandwidth. In the last two days since we put the moratorium on it, we've barely used 4GB as opposed to the first 5 days of the month that were anywhere from 12-23GB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne in TX Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 The dentist asked what he was doing and he responded that he counting the number of bricks he'd need to reinforce a structure in Minecraft :001_huh:. too funny! Oh, and yeah, what is UP with the addictive quality of those youtube videos?? Weird! Tell me about it:tongue_smilie: My dh doesn't like that they watch the videos because they start asking to download all these different mods. But they also find out how to make things like the Nether Portal. And of course they watch the silly parodies, too, and then go around singing "Do you like my sword, sword. My diamond sword, sword..." I think I've let Minecraft get out of hand around here though, because I think it's really interesting, too. There was a learning curve up front when I helped them learn about the blocks, tools, and recipes. (Minecraft wiki is an excellent site.) But now we have it on my iPad (which they don't really like to play...too tiny), the Xbox, and 2 copies for the PC so they can play with each other. It's crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I haven't had that problem. Usually the boys are playing with people in our physical home network, and we have DSL (so there are no 'overages,' but we do have a ceiling where everything gets slow and that's never happened even with 4 computers running Minecraft simultaneously). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 If I downloaded this on my boys' laptops, could the four of them play together without involving other people? If so, how do you set that up? Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 DD loved it and had a great time with it. My friend's son, 11-12, had to be banned because he went totally insane, played it day and night and when he wasn't playing it he was looking at youtube videos about it. *sigh* So every kid is different! The game itself is not destructive at all though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Another minecraft question. If I download the game, can each of my boys have a separate file or do I need to buy the game twice? My boys are bugging me too and it seems all their peers are playing and they are feeling a bit left out (not my reason for caving though). My ds12 loves the youtube vids too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Another minecraft question. If I download the game, can each of my boys have a separate file or do I need to buy the game twice?My boys are bugging me too and it seems all their peers are playing and they are feeling a bit left out (not my reason for caving though). My ds12 loves the youtube vids too. You'll have one login name, but your boys can each save their own files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 If I downloaded this on my boys' laptops, could the four of them play together without involving other people? If so, how do you set that up? Cindy I'd have to get my 13 year old to explain it. :001_huh: Yes, that's what they do. My son sets up a private server and they play together. If I download the game, can each of my boys have a separate file or do I need to buy the game twice? The base game is free. You can download it once for each computer and the kids can save their stuff. The apps (for ipod, etc) cost money and you can buy a subscription for deluxe stuff. A subscription would be for 1 game so either you would need individual subscriptions or the kids would have to share. BTW, I am not a Minecraft expert. All my answers are second hand and hopefully correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljenn Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 My 15 year old dd, who wants to be an engineer, loves it. It's all about building. Younger kids and older teens can all play it, and you don't have to let him play it hooked up to other players. My daughter plays offline sometimes if the Internet is out or something. That would be my only concern with your DS being so young, Offline would be great too. I agree with the poster who said its like electronic Legos. You build your own world, I believe, and you have to fend off bad guys who try to steal your sheep! Haha! Clearly, I don't know the ins and outs...haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 You'll have one login name, but your boys can each save their own files. Perfect! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 My ds12 has the XBox 360 version and he loves it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosyne Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I love MC, and have learned a lot about architecture and engineering, specifically. There is also a lot of math involved and as you play more, you can look into modifications that can make the game harder or add different mobs (animals), objects or other features. The server is what got us in trouble. I don't know what is going on with it, but it made the data usage on our cable modem jump by 15+GB per day. Luckily my company doesn't charge for overages but for the month of Nov 80 of our 265GB was used up in the first 7 days. So we've put minecraft on lock down until we figure out why it's using so much bandwidth. In the last two days since we put the moratorium on it, we've barely used 4GB as opposed to the first 5 days of the month that were anywhere from 12-23GB. Just have them play offline. ;) If I downloaded this on my boys' laptops, could the four of them play together without involving other people? If so, how do you set that up? Cindy If each have their own username (pay separately), yes. You simply have one of them on the world, goto Settings and Open as LAN Server. The rest will be able to access it on their computers if they are all in the same home network. This is not legally possible if they are all playing on the same account. I would have them play on single player for a while all on one account (save files are local, so they'd have their own games on each computer), and then look into buying more copies later if they're all interested. If you do get it and have problems, feel free to ask me any questions. And definitely make sure the trial works on your computers before buying it. My game froze a lot and stopped working because I had the wrong version of Java, and I had to download the Optifine modification to get it working without lag (on a laptop), so you may have to play with it a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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