How to play Minecraft hunger games

One of the oldest and most entertaining Minecraft minigames is called hunger games. It also goes by the name survival games. This game mode, as the name might give away, is directly inspired by the novels written by Suzanne Collins. Players start in a central location before being released into a pre-built arena in a fight to the death, creating one of the best variations of PvP out there.

Everything about playing hunger games with friends can be found in detail below.

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How to play Minecraft hunger games

1) Create or join a server

A list of servers (Image via Mojang)

The first thing you'll need to play hunger games is either set up a server or join one that offers it as a game mode. This game mode requires quite a few people, meaning you won't be able to play it in a single-player Minecraft survival world.

A private free Minecraft server is recommended, as you won't need to worry about anyone wandering into the game halfway through and griefing everything.

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2) Collect a group of people

Large servers are a great place to look for large play groups (Image via Mojang)

Once you've created or found a server, you'll need people to play with. The easiest step would be to recruit some of your friends who also play the game, but you could go to a major server hub and look for potential players there. This will probably be the hardest part of the process, as getting a large number of people organized in one area can be exceedingly difficult.

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3) Build an arena

A central spawn area surrounded by an overgrown jungle arena (Image via Mojang)

Once you've collected a group of players, it's time to start working on the largest part of the process: building the play area. Take some time to discuss potential themes, layouts, and arena-size with the rest of your playgroup. A prudent idea would be to break into teams, with each group assigned a different task.

For example, one group of players could go around collecting materials, while another uses these materials to actually build the arena, all while a third team is crafting the Minecraft armor and other items that will be scattered around the map. This should drastically cut down on how long it takes to get everything ready since progress will be made in various areas simultaneously.

Note that you'll want to put the best gear in the hardest-to-reach or most frequently traveled areas. This should help force players into confrontation, helping to speed the game up while also making it more chaotic.

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4) Play some hunger games

Make sure to have a central area filled with loot to encourage encounters (Image via Mojang)

Now that your arena is finished, all you have left to do is actually play some hunger games. To start the game, you must get everyone into position and then start a countdown. This can be done in chat or using in-game Minecraft items, such as fireworks. You just need to start everything in a way that's visible to everyone.