How to best play Minecraft with multiple nephews?
December 12, 2023 7:18 PM Subscribe
I have two nephews, 9 and 6. Both of them love Minecraft. I also have a brother who has played Minecraft in the past and is interested in playing with me and his kids. I have a computer and can play Java or Bedrock. My brother has two computers that could play it. The kids also have a Switch and a Fire tablet and mostly play on those. In connecting with them this weekend, we realized only one (1) nephew can play with his favourite aunt at once, and all using their father's Xbox Gamertag.
What is the best solution here to allow me to play with my brother and both of his kids at once? I invited my brother's gamertag to join my game and then one person could play at once using the Switch. This is okay, but I would ideally like all three of them to potentially play with me at once. I figure this will need multiple Minecraft licenses (not a problem) and multiple Microsoft accounts.
Questions:
- Is my assumption right, re: multiple Minecraft licenses and multiple Microsoft accounts? Or is there another way to play where 3 of them can play from the same physical location on different devices while playing remotely with me?
- Do kids generally have their own Microsoft accounts?
-- If not, how can we differentiate their Minecraft profiles from my brother's profile?
I'm more than willing to purchase the kids their own Minecraft licenses for the holidays. Additionally, if the best option is to get a Realm, I don't mind paying for a server that all of us can access at once if that means fewer licenses. (I have no idea if using a Realm will alleviate the multiple license requirement, frankly.)
Thanks for any info!
(And yes, I did see this thread but god only knows how much may have changed in 4 years with Microsoft.)
What is the best solution here to allow me to play with my brother and both of his kids at once? I invited my brother's gamertag to join my game and then one person could play at once using the Switch. This is okay, but I would ideally like all three of them to potentially play with me at once. I figure this will need multiple Minecraft licenses (not a problem) and multiple Microsoft accounts.
Questions:
- Is my assumption right, re: multiple Minecraft licenses and multiple Microsoft accounts? Or is there another way to play where 3 of them can play from the same physical location on different devices while playing remotely with me?
- Do kids generally have their own Microsoft accounts?
-- If not, how can we differentiate their Minecraft profiles from my brother's profile?
I'm more than willing to purchase the kids their own Minecraft licenses for the holidays. Additionally, if the best option is to get a Realm, I don't mind paying for a server that all of us can access at once if that means fewer licenses. (I have no idea if using a Realm will alleviate the multiple license requirement, frankly.)
Thanks for any info!
(And yes, I did see this thread but god only knows how much may have changed in 4 years with Microsoft.)
Yes every kid should have their own Minecraft account. Bedrock now comes free with Java so they can use both (but not cross platform - Java can only play in Java servers, bedrock only bedrock)
Minecraft accounts are tied to unique Microsoft accounts. So each kid will end up with their own Microsoft accounts. Keep track of those - they’re crucial for password resets and all sorts of things.
posted by anastasiav at 8:05 PM on December 12, 2023
Minecraft accounts are tied to unique Microsoft accounts. So each kid will end up with their own Microsoft accounts. Keep track of those - they’re crucial for password resets and all sorts of things.
posted by anastasiav at 8:05 PM on December 12, 2023
Best answer: I want to add - having your own account means choosing your own unique in game name, choosing your own “skin” for your in game character, and also being able to use some items (ender chests, pet dogs, tamed horses) that are explicitly YOURS. Each kid should have their own account even if they can’t be on line at the same time so that they can have their own identity and inventory in the game. Sharing between siblings will eventually mean that someone loses something someone else worked hard to get, which will lead to conflict.
posted by anastasiav at 8:18 PM on December 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by anastasiav at 8:18 PM on December 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, folks!
bricoleur - Yeah, I've had a Minecraft server before, just not one hosted by Microsoft with Realms and such. I do like the idea of just being able to play even if my nephews aren't playing at the same time -- not sure how they would feel about that, though. hahaha. Thanks!
anastasiav - Okay, got it. Thanks so much for clarifying each kid needs their own account. I think they could probably share harmoniously in general, but what got me was the "someone loses something" leading to conflict... YEP. Got it! Definitely want to avoid as much conflict as humanly possible when it comes to these two. 😅😂
posted by juliebug at 5:37 PM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
bricoleur - Yeah, I've had a Minecraft server before, just not one hosted by Microsoft with Realms and such. I do like the idea of just being able to play even if my nephews aren't playing at the same time -- not sure how they would feel about that, though. hahaha. Thanks!
anastasiav - Okay, got it. Thanks so much for clarifying each kid needs their own account. I think they could probably share harmoniously in general, but what got me was the "someone loses something" leading to conflict... YEP. Got it! Definitely want to avoid as much conflict as humanly possible when it comes to these two. 😅😂
posted by juliebug at 5:37 PM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
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Having a realm won't reduce the number of licenses you need, but it's still a great idea. It allows anyone who's been invited to the realm to jump on and work on their stuff at any time. Plus, the server is doing the heavy lifting so you'll get a much smoother game experience if you're playing on a suboptimal computer.
posted by bricoleur at 7:24 PM on December 12, 2023