And in both cases, like noobies learning the unspoken rules of the playground from the big kids, children are learning cultural behaviors from more experienced participants. How can they be worried about kids watching four hours of Minecraft videos when they simultaneously encourage four hours of televised sports? The experience is similar, you’re watching other people play a game while listening to commentary. One journalist called me to get a quote for a piece she was writing called “Death To Stampy.” The headline was later abandoned in favor of “ Does The Value Of Minecraft Go Out The Window When Kids Would Rather Watch Than Play?” She wanted to know what I thought of the Minecraft video phenomenon.īut I’m more interested in the way parents are reacting. Lately, I’ve heard from a lot of parents who are worried that their kids watch too many hours of Minecraft videos. That’s when my 10-year-old hits pause and finds his headphones. “Go get him! Watch out! Behind you! Behind you!” Sometimes they insult one another. Perhaps they call out to one another for help. The YouTubers provide commentary and reactions as they play. Sometimes they are narrative playthrough videos in which the viewer watches as the players navigate the game’s adventures. Sometimes these are tutorials or how-to videos.

Most Minecraft videos simply involve a few friends playing the game together. Garret seems to recognize the influence he has on kids. They had to think through the relationship between different kinds of units: like vertically stacked Endermen and Giant Zombies. In another episode, he reinforced measurement concepts. Stampy traveled through a Minecraft solar system with alien friends on a treasure hunt that involved learning and understanding some basic astronomy. He taught my kids about gravity and planets.

He does a great job of bringing the positive aspects of Minecraft-the game’s educational potential-to the surface. I watched the new show with my kids and I was impressed.

Minecraft stampys lovely world 1