A different way of playing Minecraft than the usual mining and building. Servers utilize mods and such, with Minecraft's general versatility, to create many different minigames in one server. Cool to check out in your spare time.
There are probably more minigame servers out there, but these 2 are what I've been to before. Share your experiences, opinions or suggestions of minigame servers here.
Play Mindcrack
Website: playmindcrack.com
IP: us.playmindcrack.com
The one I play in the most often, and a pretty new server. Currently there are 4 minigames which are PvP-based, though there are plans to add more minigames. Uses resource packs heavily, and the playing experience is very limited if you don't use them.
Special blue portals are the entrances to each minigame and its active servers. Clicking on one will bring you into the room. Some games can be joined mid-way, while others cannot, so you end up as a spectator instead. /lobby exits you to the main lobby. The lobby has golden pressure plates that launch you when you Shift on them, to speed up movement around the map.
Mindcrack Survival Games
Chests and players are spread out all over each map, and the goal is to equip yourself, hunt down other players, and be the last man standing. The map's borders shrink over time, and if you're outside the border for too long, you also perish. There are currently 4 maps in rotation, and more are coming up probably. Game cannot be joined mid-way. Games are relatively short, maybe 10-15min?
King of the Golden Monocle
PvP with wizards! Every time you spawn or respawn, you get 2 offensive and one defensive weapon, and each has their own unique effect and usage. Master the weapons, kill other wizards, and be the top scorer at the end of the game to become King. More points are rewarded if you fight near the center of the map, and killing someone with more points than you will also strip them of 7 points, giving it to you. Due to that mechanic, players who join mid-way aren't shortchanged if they are skilled enough to take down the high-scorers. Golden pressure plates are also in the map, and are important to get to certain vantage points. Games are also around 10-15min.
Barnyard Blitz
PvP with animals! Each animal has their specific ability, and are contesting for locations on the map to gain points by being the majority in the location when the game checks every 10 seconds. I believe each location is 1 point, except the Barn which is worth 15 points.
After a while, the group at last place will be eliminated, and the players will be spread out as reinforcements to the other animal groups, except the group in 1st place. It goes on until there's only 1 group remaining. Essentially, you should aim to be 2nd until there are only 2 groups remaining, because it keeps your group high on the board, while still giving you reinforcements. By extension, don't take the Barn until you're in the top 2. Games are exactly 12 minutes.
Dwarves vs Zombies
An RPG-based cooperative PvP game (I guess that's a good description?). Players start out as Dwarves, and have until nighttime to build up and reinforce their fortress. When night approaches, certain players will be "plagued" and become monsters, the most basic being the Zombie, whose goal is to kill all Dwarves or take their Shrine, ending the game. A Dwarf that gets killed becomes a Zombie, further pushing the unstable equilibrium.
Dwarves can not win, and their goal is simply to last as long as possible, but they are heavily equipped with diamond equipment, and a powerful healing potion and it usually takes an entire horde of Zombies to even kill a single Dwarf. Games can last from a short 10 minutes with 100 monster kills to an hour or so with thousands of kills depending on how experienced the Dwarves are.
This game is easily the most complex of the four if you aim to be good, that it even has a guide here. A common beginner mistake not covered in the guide is blocking off entrances through walls or the shrine completely. You will either leave other Dwarves fighting outside to die, or be unable to return to the shrine when Squids spawn, causing the most embarrassing defeat possible.
IP: us.playmindcrack.com
The one I play in the most often, and a pretty new server. Currently there are 4 minigames which are PvP-based, though there are plans to add more minigames. Uses resource packs heavily, and the playing experience is very limited if you don't use them.
Special blue portals are the entrances to each minigame and its active servers. Clicking on one will bring you into the room. Some games can be joined mid-way, while others cannot, so you end up as a spectator instead. /lobby exits you to the main lobby. The lobby has golden pressure plates that launch you when you Shift on them, to speed up movement around the map.
Mindcrack Survival Games
Chests and players are spread out all over each map, and the goal is to equip yourself, hunt down other players, and be the last man standing. The map's borders shrink over time, and if you're outside the border for too long, you also perish. There are currently 4 maps in rotation, and more are coming up probably. Game cannot be joined mid-way. Games are relatively short, maybe 10-15min?
King of the Golden Monocle
PvP with wizards! Every time you spawn or respawn, you get 2 offensive and one defensive weapon, and each has their own unique effect and usage. Master the weapons, kill other wizards, and be the top scorer at the end of the game to become King. More points are rewarded if you fight near the center of the map, and killing someone with more points than you will also strip them of 7 points, giving it to you. Due to that mechanic, players who join mid-way aren't shortchanged if they are skilled enough to take down the high-scorers. Golden pressure plates are also in the map, and are important to get to certain vantage points. Games are also around 10-15min.
Barnyard Blitz
PvP with animals! Each animal has their specific ability, and are contesting for locations on the map to gain points by being the majority in the location when the game checks every 10 seconds. I believe each location is 1 point, except the Barn which is worth 15 points.
After a while, the group at last place will be eliminated, and the players will be spread out as reinforcements to the other animal groups, except the group in 1st place. It goes on until there's only 1 group remaining. Essentially, you should aim to be 2nd until there are only 2 groups remaining, because it keeps your group high on the board, while still giving you reinforcements. By extension, don't take the Barn until you're in the top 2. Games are exactly 12 minutes.
Dwarves vs Zombies
An RPG-based cooperative PvP game (I guess that's a good description?). Players start out as Dwarves, and have until nighttime to build up and reinforce their fortress. When night approaches, certain players will be "plagued" and become monsters, the most basic being the Zombie, whose goal is to kill all Dwarves or take their Shrine, ending the game. A Dwarf that gets killed becomes a Zombie, further pushing the unstable equilibrium.
Dwarves can not win, and their goal is simply to last as long as possible, but they are heavily equipped with diamond equipment, and a powerful healing potion and it usually takes an entire horde of Zombies to even kill a single Dwarf. Games can last from a short 10 minutes with 100 monster kills to an hour or so with thousands of kills depending on how experienced the Dwarves are.
This game is easily the most complex of the four if you aim to be good, that it even has a guide here. A common beginner mistake not covered in the guide is blocking off entrances through walls or the shrine completely. You will either leave other Dwarves fighting outside to die, or be unable to return to the shrine when Squids spawn, causing the most embarrassing defeat possible.
HiveMC
Website: hivemc.com
IP: play.hivemc.com
I pop in here once in a while, if I don't feel like playing direct PvP. They have a lot of different games, but I haven't tried them all, so I can't comment on all of them. Seems to be on version 1.7.2, so I can't go through the games right now and some info might have changed since I last tried them.
You get an item that allows you to teleport around the different minigame lobbies, and right-clicking a sign allows you to join a specific room.
Official Survival Games
They have the original maps by the Team Vareide map makers, and all players start in a circle instead of spread out compared to Mindcrack Survival Games. The goal is still the same, to be the last man standing.
Trouble in Mineville
I have never played this before, but from what I've heard, it's basically Mafia with action. Innocents and Detectives have to kill all Traitors, and vice versa. Traitors have to try and kill others without being seen as they would then be suspected, while Detectives can search corpses to figure out who the killer was.
The Herobrine
One player is chosen as Herobrine with extra powers and invisibility, and he has to kill the other players. The other players need to find 3 shards to make Herobrine visible, and proceed to kill him. Herobrine gets more vulnerable, but also has more weapons after each shard.
Hide and Seek
One player is selected as the Seeker at the start, and his job is to kill the Hiders which are blocks running around the map and finding a hiding spot. Any killed Hiders become Seekers themselves. Seekers win when all Hiders are killed, and the remaining Hiders win when time runs out. After a while, Hiders also get Knockback wooden swords to help them attempt escape from Seekers when they're found.
Splegg
Ranged Spleef, or Spleef with Eggs. The shovel you get can not break blocks, but right clicking it allows you to fire block-breaking eggs. The rules are like Spleef, try to make everyone else fall into the void and be the last person left on the arena.
One in the Chamber
Bows are the critical factor of this PvP game. You get only 1 arrow, but it will instantly kill whoever it hits. Killing someone will give you another arrow, but if you miss, the only way to kill others is with a weak wooden sword. Each player gets 5 lives, and whoever gets the most kills at the end wins.
Cowboys and Indians
Capture the Flag game, except the "Flag" is another player, the leader of the opposing group. Each group's job is to find the opposing leader, right click to carry him, and bring him back to base 4 times to win. Players have small powerups like speed boosts, invisibility, or AoE knockback to assist them, while the leaders have flares to notify their team to save him, and blindness to mess up their capturer.
Cranked
Killstreak-based PvP. Longer killstreaks give you bonuses like Airstrikes and RC (read: cat) bombs to use, and each kill refills your health. There are 3 classes: scouts with a stone sword and leather armor, tanks with a wooden sword and chain armor, and archers with a bow and leather armor.
IP: play.hivemc.com
I pop in here once in a while, if I don't feel like playing direct PvP. They have a lot of different games, but I haven't tried them all, so I can't comment on all of them. Seems to be on version 1.7.2, so I can't go through the games right now and some info might have changed since I last tried them.
You get an item that allows you to teleport around the different minigame lobbies, and right-clicking a sign allows you to join a specific room.
Official Survival Games
They have the original maps by the Team Vareide map makers, and all players start in a circle instead of spread out compared to Mindcrack Survival Games. The goal is still the same, to be the last man standing.
Trouble in Mineville
I have never played this before, but from what I've heard, it's basically Mafia with action. Innocents and Detectives have to kill all Traitors, and vice versa. Traitors have to try and kill others without being seen as they would then be suspected, while Detectives can search corpses to figure out who the killer was.
The Herobrine
One player is chosen as Herobrine with extra powers and invisibility, and he has to kill the other players. The other players need to find 3 shards to make Herobrine visible, and proceed to kill him. Herobrine gets more vulnerable, but also has more weapons after each shard.
Hide and Seek
One player is selected as the Seeker at the start, and his job is to kill the Hiders which are blocks running around the map and finding a hiding spot. Any killed Hiders become Seekers themselves. Seekers win when all Hiders are killed, and the remaining Hiders win when time runs out. After a while, Hiders also get Knockback wooden swords to help them attempt escape from Seekers when they're found.
Splegg
Ranged Spleef, or Spleef with Eggs. The shovel you get can not break blocks, but right clicking it allows you to fire block-breaking eggs. The rules are like Spleef, try to make everyone else fall into the void and be the last person left on the arena.
One in the Chamber
Bows are the critical factor of this PvP game. You get only 1 arrow, but it will instantly kill whoever it hits. Killing someone will give you another arrow, but if you miss, the only way to kill others is with a weak wooden sword. Each player gets 5 lives, and whoever gets the most kills at the end wins.
Cowboys and Indians
Capture the Flag game, except the "Flag" is another player, the leader of the opposing group. Each group's job is to find the opposing leader, right click to carry him, and bring him back to base 4 times to win. Players have small powerups like speed boosts, invisibility, or AoE knockback to assist them, while the leaders have flares to notify their team to save him, and blindness to mess up their capturer.
Cranked
Killstreak-based PvP. Longer killstreaks give you bonuses like Airstrikes and RC (read: cat) bombs to use, and each kill refills your health. There are 3 classes: scouts with a stone sword and leather armor, tanks with a wooden sword and chain armor, and archers with a bow and leather armor.
There are probably more minigame servers out there, but these 2 are what I've been to before. Share your experiences, opinions or suggestions of minigame servers here.