Does Minecraft make you smarter?
As far as non-violent educational games are concerned, Minecraft is arguably one of the best games. It can teach children the basics of programming skills, teamwork, problem solving, and project management, and provides an excellent environment to cultivate creativity and “out of the box” thinking. `
Because of this, there are various studies and opinions that show that Minecraft can make you smarter.
For example, a study conducted at the University of Glasgow in 2017 linked playing video games and Minecraft to future university success. Their research found that, compared with the control group, those who played games showed higher communication skills, adaptability, and resourcefulness—all of these skills are seen as the key to the success of graduates.
Most of these benefits are due to the structure of the game. Since there is no real storyline and limited game guidance, most children can freely decide how they want to interact with the game.
Is Minecraft good for your brain?
We believe that Minecraft can help your brain. Especially for children, it can be said that the activities in Minecraft can make them smarter and even lead them in school.
For example, when starting a new game on Minecraft, the player will see a random map composed entirely of blocks. It’s a bit like a Lego project, because these blocks can be removed, rearranged and used to build something completely unique.
When faced with the blank canvas of the new world, children can choose to build their dream house, a castle, a hidden underground shelter, a small town, a farm, or whatever they desire in their hearts.
With the multiplayer option, children can also play with friends on the shared map. Doing so can promote clear communication and teamwork, because players can allocate architectural space and public tasks. Although children can make some pretty impressive projects on their own, working together can produce truly amazing works.
Does Minecraft increase IQ?
Although we can’t find any research that shows that playing Minecraft can improve a child’s IQ, we certainly agree with the educational benefits that this game can provide.
All in all, there are many possible IQ benefits of playing Minecraft, but here are some of the best things that are good for your brain.
1. Encouraging creativity and project planning
Perhaps the most significant benefit provided by Minecraft is its unlimited room for creativity. It provides many of the same building opportunities as Lego, with an average of only 921.6 trillion blocks per world. With so many materials, you can build almost anything your child can imagine.
If you have any questions, please check Westeroscraft. Arguably one of the most extensive and amazing Minecraft projects available today, this community-based project is dedicated to rebuilding the continent of Westeros, from the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Almost any screenshot of this project is exciting, especially when you consider the time, planning, and sheer dedication required making such progress in the project.
Although young children are unlikely to make something of this range, it does show how much you can create with the materials available in Minecraft. In this game, the sky is indeed the limit.
2. Reinforcing problem-solving skills
Although most games will improve the problem-solving ability to a certain extent, Minecraft is unique in that it allows players to set their own goals and provides great freedom in how to deal with challenges.
For example, a common challenge faced by players in standard survival mode is finding shelter and a reliable source of food. Although it is relatively safe to wander around the world during the day, at night, the world is full of monsters.
If there is no shelter, players will need to run or fight until sunrise, when most monsters will burst out into massive flames. Doing so without decent equipment is a challenge and can be very tiring, so unless you make up your mind, it is usually not worth the effort.
However, when building a shelter, there are countless options, depending on the player’s goals and game style. They can dig a small cave or build a simple earthen house, and then wait until dawn. They may continue to dig and mine overnight.
3. Basic programming and logic skills
If you want to introduce programming to your kids, Minecraft might be a good starting point… Because of the simplicity that Minecraft originally provided, kids will soon fall in love with it.
Although it will not teach your kids a programming language, using redstone will introduce them to the basic logic of coding. This, in turn, makes Minecraft good for their brains, and it can be said to make them smarter.
Children can learn everything from automatic doors, booby traps and elevators to fully functional mini games. These huge, self-sufficient structures allow them to play a variety of games, including capture the flag, hide and seek, and tag.
Many video game designers today started with Minecraft. This is a great introduction to game design-we mentioned this in our short guide on how to get your kids to start making their own games.
4. Teamwork and communication
As children get older, they can play Minecraft on a shared server with friends. Playing together on Minecraft can teach them to work effectively as part of a team. It also makes it very clear that by working together, children as a group can do much more than they can do alone.
For example, they may decide to create a new map together. As part of this, they may vote to solve housing and food issues by jointly building a large farm. The children can allocate the necessary tasks among them; one is responsible for foraging, another is responsible for building the basic structures they need, and the third is responsible for mining.
In addition to teaching children to respect each other’s projects and things, it can also teach them to solve problems for the people around them
5. Reinforces social skills in Autistic children
In addition to promoting teamwork and clear communication, many parents also report that Minecraft is very beneficial for children with autism. By providing them with an environment that removes challenging social factors (background noise, eye contact, social queues, etc.), children with autism can make friends more easily and improve basic social skills.
In A Boy Made of Blocks, Keith Stuart describes how he can better connect with his autistic son through Minecraft. At first he was struggling because his son was clumsy in social terms, but by playing together, it gave him the opportunity to understand his son’s passion and interests
6. Resource management
When playing games in survival mode, players will soon need to learn resource management. It takes time to find and collect the right resources for a specific project, and the most valuable blocks are the rarest.
For example, diamonds require a specific mining tool and usually require players to dig to a depth that allows them to dig. Even so, it may take half an hour or more to find a diamond vein, and diamond veins usually only provide 8 pieces.
Players will quickly learn to manage the resources they have and save the resources they use. The felled trees will disappear forever unless they are replanted. Even so, they need time to grow again.
Animals can be hunted, but they will become scarce over time. To solve this problem, players can capture animals and manage them as livestock. Doing so can provide players with a stable source of eggs, wool and meat.
No matter what the goal is, Minecraft is an excellent way to teach children that resources are limited and require careful management.
7. Patience and perseverance
An important part of resource and project management in Minecraft is patience. Even in the creative mode, players can use various types of infinite blocks, and completing an ambitious project requires great patience and perseverance.
A large project may take several hours to several months to complete. In view of this, children often need perseverance and self-discipline to carry out their projects to the end.
However, due to the free-form structure of Minecraft, many children may not even feel that they are learning these key skills and may become smarter in the process.
In addition, Minecraft usually requires patience and dedication to find the rarest blocks, such as redstone and diamonds. Managing farms, woodlands and livestock takes time, and many of these tasks are not completed instantly.
Later, when children learn to build traps and complex mechanisms, they will need perseverance to overcome failure. When equipment fails, they need to step back patiently to find out the cause. All of these are skills that they naturally master when playing games, because they are essential to success in the game.
