By Kristina Stucki
Journal contributor
“No swearing. No bullying. And no destroying other people’s buildings.”
These are the three rules of Minecraft Club — an in-person weekly group where local Minecraft-loving kids gather weekly to build and play together.
“I’m not allowed to play online usually,” said 9-year-old Paxson Heck. “So I like that I’m able to play with friends at Minecraft club.”
He’s not the only one; most of the kids in the club are playing with friends for the first time. Minecraft is famous for its online play and public servers, meaning anyone in the world can play with each other. Although it’s an extremely popular game with kids, any online play is something many parents feel uncomfortable with – especially with strangers.
“We love Minecraft club,” Paxson’s mom, Katlyn Heck, agreed. “We love that it takes a potentially solitary endeavor and brings it into the community – safely.”
At the Grange, where the club recently met, eight kids huddle around the table, working on the latest challenge: build a shop of some kind within a larger marketplace. Their online characters gather in the same virtual world – building shops next door to their friends. Atticus is making a potion shop. Arlo is creating a pet store. Calvin, Georgia and Lyric are all selling armor and different tools. Little Valen, still learning how to play since getting his Chromebook for Christmas, is mostly accidentally breaking blocks and somehow getting covered in cobblestones until his new friends help him out.
The challenge at the first meeting was to build a treehouse. The kids worked on it at home and then brought it to the group for a show-and-tell of sorts, where they got to practice public speaking and interacting as a group – something they don’t typically get in their at-home Minecraft play.
“You know, Lyric isn’t really into sports. He hasn’t wanted to do team activities,” Christina Sosa said of her 8-year-old. “I told him, okay, that’s fine, but you’ve gotta do something with other people. You have to learn how to be in a group. If you’re into Minecraft and you show me you can challenge yourself, and this club gives you a group dynamic – I totally support you. The problem-solving stuff is a big deal. He’s figuring things out. He’s working together with other kids. And it’s in a way he enjoys. He is having fun.”
The club meets weekly, although location has been an issue. The library doesn’t have a regular enough time slot on Wednesdays, and the other options are all costing money for this low-cost community group. The moderator, Jackie Williamson, is doing it completely for free.
“There are costs associated with the server, costs for the space,” she said. “We are asking for small donations of $5-$10 to help cover those costs. But I’m doing this just because I love Minecraft! I was in a club when I was a kid and I loved it so much. Minecraft is the best game. It encourages so much creativity.”
When asked why this group feels special, she echoed what a lot of the parents had said – the mix of in-person community and tech.
“Kids are so tech-oriented. This is a way to bridge the gap and let them use technology safely while still connecting with others.”
Williamson has spent her own time and money to put together a private server, basically an online Minecraft world, specifically for the club. That way the kids can play together at home, too, and continue building their same projects throughout the week.
“Welcome to the server!” a sign says upon entry. “Try to stay close to spawn (the entry point), and make sure to put a sign on your base so we know it’s yours.”
“I’ve always wanted to have a server with friends,” Arlo Axling said. “I love Minecraft and I’ve been playing for years, but I’ve never been able to have a server like this. This was a perfect opportunity to get to do that.”
Interested parents can find the Facebook group “Friday Harbor Minecraft Club” for more information, where they can also be added to the WhatsApp chat group. Anyone who has information about a potential cost-saving meeting space with Wi-Fi should contact Williamson directly.
