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This article is about the Legacy Console Edition mini games. For the Bedrock Edition third-party servers, see Featured servers.
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This feature is exclusive to Legacy Console Edition. 
Minigames

Mini games menu as seen on the Nintendo Switch Edition.

Mini games are a variety of modes exclusive to the Legacy Console Edition of Minecraft. Mini games can be played solo, splitscreen on the same console, online, or with another console locally via an ad-hoc connection‌[Legacy Console Edition only]. The three mini games currently available on all versions of Legacy Console Edition are Battle, Tumble, and Glide.

Prior to each round, all players can freely explore a lobby and interact with various items, such as bows, fishing rods, armor, heads, elytra, and music discs. Any player who wears one of the six heads in the lobby retains that head into the next round.

Lobby[]

Upon creating or joining a server, the player spawns in the lobby. It is a small "town" in the middle of a superflat world. All players are in adventure mode and are immune to damage (just like in Creative mode). When playing with other players, the next game starts within one minute, although the player can create an invite-only game to gain the freedom to explore the lobby.

Exploration

The mini-game lobby is complex. There are many redstone puzzles scattered around. The main collectables and secrets of the lobby are getting the music discs, getting all of the armor sets, the hidden old lobby, and the mob head hunts to get the the dragon's head.

Escaping the lobby

In older versions like PlayStation 3, escape is possible with an elytra or a fishing rod, but the final version is impossible to escape with, due to Microsoft adding invisibible barriers to the “nether portal” exit area. Using elytra in the 1×1 space in the area above the barrier grants the "supersonic" achievement.

Battle[]

Battle Mini Game logo

Battle mini game logo.

Battle

Gameplay of Battle mini game.

Initially codenamed/known as Arena (as seen in Wii U Edition's unused files), Battle is a mini game most similar to the popular "Hunger Games" mode on Java Edition servers, where players compete in a "last man standing" or "deathmatch" style game. Battle was added to the Legacy Console Edition on June 21, 2016. The gameplay of Battle differs from the standard "Hunger Games" mode in a variety of ways, such as:

  • A fifteen-second grace period
  • Refilling chests
  • The ability to remove all items from a chest at once
  • Armor is automatically equipped when acquired (stronger armor is prioritized)
  • Players can heal and sprint so long as they are not starving
  • A red outline surrounds the crosshair, indicating where damage was received from
  • TNT is ignited upon placement
  • "Showdown" begins after an extensive amount of time has passed, where name tags for remaining players become visible and a countdown clock begins
  • Following the completion of a round, a leaderboard is displayed, which includes the number of kills by each player and other statistics.

Up to 16 players can join a single game on Xbox One Edition and PlayStation 4 Edition, 8 players on Xbox 360 Edition, PlayStation 3 Edition, Wii U Edition, and Nintendo Switch Edition, and 4 players on PlayStation Vita Edition. A "Casual" or "Competitive" option can be chosen when creating a lobby, which can either allow or restrict the use of smaller-sized skins and can change the appearance of spectators. Spectators cannot pass through blocks, but can fly through one block tall spaces. As of TU60 and equivalent updates, the totem of undying can be found in a map's center chests, commonly in the High Power mode, occasionally in the Food Central mode, and never in the Decayed mode.

Custom Battle is an option that allows a player to change various aspects of Battle, such as:

  • Chest loot:
    • Normal – Description: A standard, balanced set of items.
    • No Armor – Chests never have any armor. Stone pickaxes and iron pickaxes only appear in this item set. Potion of Leaping 2 can appear in central chests upon start. Unlike other potions the duration is not shortened. Description: No armor items at all!
    • High Power – Armor and weapons are at least iron, with diamond equipment and enchanted equipment appearing significantly more often. Food also becomes exclusively rabbit stew and cooked mutton. Description: The most powerful items in Minecraft.
    • Decayed – Armor and weapons have low durability and the chance of more powerful loot is reduced. Description: Every item breaks after only a few uses.
    • Food Central – Food and potions only appear in the central chests. Many more different food items can be obtained. Description: Only the central chests have food, and the outer chests don't have any!
    • Random - Description: Pick a random item set every rounds to keep things fresh.
  • Hunger and Regeneration:
    • Normal – The standard hunger settings, specifically designed for battle. Players can heal and sprint for longer, but cannot stand still without getting hungry.
    • Anti-Camping – Hunger is lost quicker when idling than usual. Sneaking, walking and swimming causes no exhaustion. Description: Slightly rebalanced hunger settings to prevent players from staying in one place.
    • Fast Healing – Players regenerate twice as fast, regenerating causes slightly more exhaustion players require more hunger points to be able to regenerate. Description: Players heal faster than usual.
    • No Starving – Players never take damage starvation damage.
    • Always Healing – Players never take starvation damage, can always regenerate health. Regeneration is slower. Description: Players constantly regenerate health over time, but cannot sprint if they are too hungry. This setting is better for long games than short ones.
    • No Hunger – The hunger bar is not used; players can sprint, but cannot heal or starve.
    • Lead Feet – Sprinting, jumping and swimming cause much more exhaustion than usual.
    • Always Hungry – Every action causes you to lose much more hunger than usual. Regeneration usually uses up 3 hunger points. Description: Every action causes much more exhaustion than usual.
  • Spectating:
    • Bat – Default appearance for spectators in a Casual match.
    • Parrot – Spectators appear as various parrots.
    • Vex – Spectators appear as a vex.
    • Player Head – Spectators appear as a translucent version of their head.
    • Invisible – Default appearance for spectators in a Competitive match.
  • Miscellaneous settings:
    • Random Spawn – When enabled, players spawn at various locations around the map.
    • Take Everything – When enabled, players can empty a chest in one go.
    • Small Inventory – When enabled, only the hotbar, armor, and offhand inventory slots are available.
    • Map size – Small, Large, and Large+ on Xbox One, PS4.(other Consoles cant be select) When set to auto the sizes depend on the player count. Small is chosen at 2-4 players, Large at 5-8, and Large+ at 9-16. The small map is the smallest and have the least chests. The large map has more chests than small, and uses a different map. Large+ has even more chests than large, and has 9 chests at spawn compared to 5 that the other settings have.

Loot[]

All loot in the Battle mini game is obtained from chests or other players. Center chests at the beginning of a round may contain high concentrations of valuable loot, such as armor, weapons, food, and potions. Different regions of the maps have different types of loot. Some special, hard-to-reach chests can have valuable loot also. After intervals of time, loot is restocked in chests, with a smaller number of items than they had originally. On small and large maps there are two chests with valuable loot, and on large+ there are four. On high power these chests usually have exclusive loot. The valuable loot, as well as some exclusive loot, can also be found in the chests in the center after a refill, alongside the loot that can be found in regular chests, alot the loot that is found within the center chests at the start of the round, will not appear again after a refill.

Following loot will appear in any of the regular chests around the map:

Following loot will appear within the 2 special chests (4 on Large+) in any map:

3

Following loot is exclusive to the center chests at the start of a round, and will not appear after a refill:

10

Following loot can appear in the center chests after a refill:

3

The following appear more often in the High Power custom mode:

5

A chest in the Halloween map always contains the following items, regardless of the mode being used:

4

Maps[]

As of TU49 and equivalent updates, there are a total of 21 maps in Battle mini game (excluding the Nintendo Switch Edition). The first three maps - Cavern, Cove, and Crucible - can be used by anyone, however the remaining 18 maps must be purchased through the respective Battle Map Pack or the Season Pass (excluding the Nintendo Switch Edition). Each map is based on a theme, occasionally with unique music and a texture pack. Because of this, the texture pack cannot be changed during Battle mini game.

The Season Pass and nearly all DLC Battle maps are absent on the Nintendo Switch Edition, even though all other versions, including the Wii U Edition, have these maps as purchasable DLC. When asked about this during the Official Minecraft Livestream, it was stated that excluding Nintendo Switch Edition players from Battle Map DLC is "kind of intentional."[1] This is currently still the case, where Valley is the only DLC Battle map that is available on the Nintendo Switch Edition through the purchase of the Chinese Mythology Mash-Up Pack.

As of PlayStation 4 Edition 1.90, maps with the default textures were replaced with the newer "Minecraft Classic" pack.

The current available battle maps are as follows, with the Nintendo Switch Edition having access only to Cavern, Cove, Crucible, and Valley:

  • Cavern (default): "This ancient looking underground structure is the perfect place to sneak up on your enemies!"
  • Cove (default): "Try to survive in the pirate's hidden camp, full with shipwrecks and caves!"
  • Crucible (default): "A world built deep in the Nether, with plenty of lava for your enemies to swim in!"
  • Lair (fantasy): "Battle in the dragon's lair."
  • Medusa (Greek mythology): "Don't look directly at her!"
  • Temple (default): "This mysterious temple is set within the deepest jungle. Watch out for enemies lurking in the tree tops!"
  • Atlantis (Greek mythology): "Deep beneath the ocean, a lost city lay in ruins. Atlantis awaits the battle."
  • Ruin (city): "Abandoned and left to ruin, there are still secrets left to be found. Battle for the remaining resources and survive this hazardous place."
  • Siege (fantasy): "Brave the enemy walls or defend the keep. The siege is upon us."
  • Castle (default): "Crown yourself in glory in the Castle's great halls."
  • Invasion! (city): "An alien attack has created a dangerous arena. Defend your rooftops but don't fall off!"
  • Shipyard (steampunk): "A port in the sky away from the storm, but this area is anything but calm."
  • Frontier (default): "It's high noon! Things are about to get wild in the Old West, so grab a fistful of TNT, slap on a sou'wester and prepare for an almighty dustbowl dust-up between the good, the bad, and the ugly."
  • Dig (default): "A snowbound excavation site lies deserted. What unspeakable things did the scientists discover beneath the ice? Find out for yourself, while battling against both the elements and each other!"
  • Shrunk (plastic): "Are you tiny or is everything else just really, really big? Be careful not to lose your sense of proportion as you fight your way across this over-sized bedroom and tidy up the competition."
  • Halloween (Halloween): "Something wicked this way comes. Full of deadly thrills and sinister shocks, it will scare you off your Minecraft blocks!"
  • Valley (Chinese mythology): "Discover your inner self as you battle across this ancient land of dragons! This battle map is exclusive to the Chinese Mythology Mash Up."
  • Festive (festive): "Get together with friends and family for some Minecraft-style tussling in this special seasonal map. The more the merrier! Guaranteed to be more fun than pretending you like the socks your uncle gave you."
  • Capitol (Fallout): "Clamber through the ruins of the Capitol! Who will rise from the rubble to battle their way through the wasteland?"
  • Libertalia (Fallout): "Battle through the troubled waters of Libertalia! Who will captain the seas in this watery graveyard of ships?"
  • Atomics (Fallout): "Face the perils of the General Atomics Galleria! Is Mister Handy friend or foe? Will you dodge the traps rigged to blow?"

DLC packs[]

The current available Battle Map DLC Packs are as follows, with the Nintendo Switch Edition having access only to the Chinese Mythology Mash-Up:

  • Battle Mode Pack Season Pass (grants access to Battle Map Packs 1-4)
  • Battle Map Pack 1
  • Battle Map Pack 2
  • Battle Map Pack 3
  • Battle Map Pack 4
  • Chinese Mythology Mash-Up - Contains Valley map, skin pack, and Chinese Mythology world.
  • Halloween Battle Map
  • Festive Battle Map
  • Vault-Tec Battle Map Pack - Contains Capitol, Libertalia, and Atomics.

Trailer[]

Tumble[]

Tumble Mini Game logo

Tumble mini game logo.

Tumble

Gameplay of Tumble mini game.

Tumble is a mini game most similar to the popular "Spleef" mode on Java Edition servers, where players aim to cause others to fall off of an arena by using snowballs, shovels, or other items to mine the ground below them. Tumble was added to the Legacy Console Edition on August 30 and August 31, 2016.

Similar to Battle, a Tumble game is divided into three rounds. The object of the game is to remove blocks from under other players, causing them to fall in a last-man-standing scenario. The default Tumble mode encompasses a single, large platform where players use shovels to remove blocks. Other modes include competing on three smaller platforms, throwing snowballs, using firework rockets, or throwing splash potions with the Levitation effect. All blocks are broken immediately by a shovel, snowball, or potion. The sole exception is TNT, which act as both a pitfall and an explosive that can be used to destroy lower platforms, if enabled.

Up to 8 players can join a single game on most platforms, with PlayStation Vita Edition allowing a maximum of 4.

Gamemodes[]

  • Shovels, where everybody has shovels, one life, and a single layer.
  • Snowballs, where everybody has snowballs, one life, and 3 layers.
  • Mixed, where in the lobby people can vote either to play snowballs or shovels.

As of TU58 and equivalent updates, the "Custom" game type allows the host to change these settings:

  • The number of lives
  • The number and size of layers
  • Choose either shovels, snowballs, fireworks, or levitation potions to destroy the map with
  • The spectator type
  • If spectators can slowly break blocks or not

After a certain amount of time, Showdown mode begins, like in Battle mode. Player names are shown during this period. When shovels are enabled, they are replaced with snowballs.

Events[]

Various special events can occur in the Tumble mini game:

  • The time-limited Halloween Arena was introduced in TU58 and equivalent updates, which adds specially-themed layers and uses the Halloween 2015 Mash-Up Pack. Around Halloween the arena becomes Halloween themed.
  • The Festive Arena was introduced in TU60 and equivalent updates. Around Christmas time the arena and the layers change to a festive theme.
  • An Xbox 360 Edition exclusive event was held in 2018 to celebrate the version's 6th birthday. The Cartoon Texture Pack was used.
  • Around May 9 (Xbox 360 Edition's release date) the arena and layers are birthday themed.

Trailer[]

Glide[]

Glide Mini Game logo

Glide mini game logo.

Glide

Gameplay of Glide mini game.

Glide is a mini game where players maneuver through a track while wearing an elytra, aiming to finish in the fastest time or score the most points by flying through colored rings. Glide was added to the Legacy Console Edition on March 29, 2017. Glide currently features two different game modes:

  • Time attack - Players compete to finish a track in the fastest time.
  • Score attack - Players compete to score the highest number of points by flying through colored rings placed along the track. Green rings give 3 points, yellow rings give 5 points and blue rings give 7 points.

A Glide match is divided into three rounds, where a player with the fastest time or highest score from any round is the victor. Each map has checkpoints with two beacon beams. The player has 3 hearts of health. When losing all 3 hearts of health you die. Hitting a wall causes you to lose one heart of health and landing on the ground causes you to die immediately. Upon death the player respawns at the last checkpoint after a few seconds and can continue playing. Up to 16 players can join a single game on Xbox One Edition and PlayStation 4 Edition, 8 players on Xbox 360 Edition, PlayStation 3 Edition, Wii U Edition, and Nintendo Switch Edition, and 4 players on PlayStation Vita Edition.

Solo[]

Both Time Attack and Score Attack can also be played in solo mode. When enabled, only one player is required to start the match. Online play is unavailable but multi-player play is possible using a split screen. A match is also divided into one round instead of three. A solo player can press a button to restart the entire game and you can press a different button to teleport back to the last checkpoint. The player's best run in Glide is also recorded (as long as it is under 5 minutes) and a ghost flies alongside to help the player improve.

Maps[]

Similar to Battle, every DLC Glide track is absent from the Nintendo Switch Edition, even though all other versions, including the Wii U Edition, have these tracks as purchasable DLC. This is currently still the case, where Cavern, Temple, and Canyon are the only playable tracks on the Nintendo Switch Edition.

As of PlayStation 4 Edition 1.90, maps with the default textures were replaced with the newer "Minecraft Classic" pack.

The current available Glide maps are as follows, with the Nintendo Switch Edition having access only to Cavern, Temple, and Canyon:

  • Cavern (Default): "Fly through the ancient catacombs of the Cavern!"
  • Temple (Default): "Dive deep into the jungle and discover the secrets of the Temple."
  • Yeti (Default): "Swoop down the icy glacier and between the bones of giants to discover the lost land of the Yeti."
  • Kraken (Default): "Plunge past the pirates' wrecks to find forgotten treasures. But beware: the Kraken awaits!"
  • Dragon (Chinese Mythology): "Share the skies with Dragons, soaring above the epic landscape of this Chinese Mythology-inspired track."
  • Shrunk (Plastic): "Are you tiny or is everything else just really, really big? Be careful not to lose your sense of proportion as you glide your way through this oversized house and tidy up the competition."
  • Body (Default): "A junk food junkyard! A vessel of viruses! A flotilla of phlegm! Grit your teeth for a slimy fight on this unhealthy trip through the human body."
  • Mobs (Default): "Swoop over, around, and beneath the mighty, monolithic mobs that dominate the skyline of this out-of-scale track."
  • Canyon (Default): "Soar through the Canyon's windswept strata, winding round stone arches and frontier railways, on this Wild West express to reach ancestral lands."
  • Excalibur (Fantasy): "Castles and dragons tower over this fantasy Glide track. It'll take flying skills of some (ex)caliber to get you to the end of this Arthurian legend."
  • Icarus (Greek Mythology): "Swoop down the slopes of Mount Olympus, twist through the labyrinth's many turns and hurdle into Hades. Remember to pay the ferryman for safe passage!"
  • Celts (Default): "Slalom through Standing Stones and marvel at mighty beasts, as you traverse a track inspired by Europe's mystic past."

DLC packs[]

The current available Glide Map DLC Packs are as follows. None are available on the Nintendo Switch Edition:

  • Glide Track Pack Season Pass (grants access to Glide Track Packs 1-3 and the Mini Game Heroes Skin Pack)
  • Glide Beasts Track Pack - Contains Yeti, Kraken, and Dragon.
  • Glide Giants Track Pack - Contains Shrunk, Body, and Mobs.
  • Glide Myths Track Pack - Contains Excalibur, Icarus, and Celts.

Ring blocks[]

The Glide mini game features an exclusive block type called the Ring Block,[verify] which comes in green, yellow and blue variants. These are used for the rings that players fly through.

Official images[]

Trailer[]

Music[]

Mini games feature their own unique music tracks. These were released on two separate official soundtracks: Minecraft: Battle & Tumble (Original Soundtrack) and Minecraft: Glide Mini Game (Original Soundtrack).

Achievements[]

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Availability Gamerscore earned (Xbox) Trophy type (PS)
Xbox PS Nintendo
The Student...Win a public Battle mini game. YesYesWii U, Switch25GSilver
...has become the masterWin 3 public Battle games in a row. YesYesWii U, Switch60GGold
'Tis but a scratchTake 100 damage in a round of a public Battle mini game. YesYesWii U, Switch40GSilver
CupidKill 2 players in a round of a public Battle mini game using a bow and arrow. YesYesWii U, Switch20GBronze
Hunger PainWhile starving, kill a player in a Battle mini game. YesYesWii U, Switch20GBronze
Mine!Open every chest in a Battle mini game arena in one round. YesYesWii U, Switch20GBronze
UnderdogWin a Tumble game while on the lowest layer in a Snowball Tumble mini game. YesYesWii U, Switch15GBronze
HotshotHit a player with a snowball while falling into the lava. YesYesWii U, Switch40GSilver
S-no ThrowWin a single round of Snowball Tumble without throwing any Snowballs. YesYesWii U, Switch40GSilver
OverlordStay on the top layer while winning a round in a Snowball Tumble mini game. YesYesWii U, Switch15GBronze
SnowploughPush three players into lava using snowballs in a single public round. YesYesWii U, Switch15GBronze
Snow StormHit a single Player with 25 Snowballs in a single public round. YesYesWii U, Switch40GSilver

History[]

Legacy Console Edition
TU36CU25 1.28 Patch 71.0.1Added Battle mini game.
TU38CU26 1.30 Patch 9Disabled kicking players during Public Battle rounds. This is enabled for the host in the Lobby.
Disabled the host exiting the game during a Battle round. This is enabled in the lobby.
Grace period increased to 20 seconds.
Changed all poison potions to level 2 instead of level 1. All sticks now have at least Sharpness 1.
Replaced the fire charge item with a potion of fire resistance.
Replaced the diamond chestplate with an iron chestplate.
The Wooden Hoe with Fire Aspect 1 has Sharpness 1 added to it.
Removed the wooden shovel from the center chests.
Added Sharpness 1 to the wooden pickaxe in the outer chests.
Added Sharpness 2 to the wooden shovel in the outer chests.
TU39CU27 1.31 Patch 10Added Battle Map Pack 2 (Atlantis, Ruin and Siege).
1.0.1Disabled "Take Everything" in the lobby.
TU41CU30 1.33 Patch 11Added Tumble mini game.
TU44CU34 1.37 Patch 14Added Halloween Battle Map.
Added Battle Map Pack 4.
TU48CU38 1.41 Patch 17Added new 7 achievements for Tumble.
TU51CU41 1.44 Patch 201.0.3Added Glide mini game. Added a new lobby.
TU52CU42 1.47 Patch 21Added new maps to the glide minigame: Dragon, Kraken and Yeti.
1.0.3Added colored particles when the player crosses the finish line.
TU53CU43 1.49 Patch 23Added "Temple," a free Glide track.
The player's best run in Glide is now recorded (as long as it is under 5 minutes) and a ghost flies alongside them in Solo Mode to help them improve.
TU56CU47 1.55 Patch 261.0.6Added "Canyon," a free Glide track.
Added Terracotta and Glazed Terracotta layers to Tumble.
TU57CU49 1.57 Patch 27Added Glide Myths Track Pack; Drift through the clouds of Icarus, dive into conflict in Excalibur and ride with the Kelpies in Celts.
TU58CU51 1.60 Patch 281.0.8Added the "Custom" game type to the Battle mini game and the Tumble mini game with many new settings.

Trivia[]

  • The golden apple is more rare in high power than in normal.
  • If the spectating mode is set to invisible, player's cameras can go though blocks. On crucible this can be used to view outside the map by going into third person.
  • A player joining a fireworks game in tumble has a laggy "burst" shot that can launch the player into the sky if timed correctly or if the client or host is laggy.
  • In tumble, having lives remaining after destroying all the blocks has player spawn on sponges that can sometimes lets the player fall through and die.
  • When completing a course in glide, pressing and holding jump while in water delays teleportation to spectate other players.
  • Four songs from Battle and Glide are featured as music in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being "Clockwork Crafter," "Toys on a Tear," "Dance of the Blocks," and "Glide," with the latter three receiving new arrangements.[2]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. [1] - The Official Minecraft Livestream
  2. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Mr. Sakurai Presents "Steve & Alex"" – Nintendo on YouTube, October 3, 2020
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