Minecraft is one of the most popular video games in the world. Released in 2011, the game has maintained its popularity for over a decade now. But the game has also taken on numerous other forms, including fun and imaginative card games.
Now clearly, the Minecraft card game isn’t played in the same way. But the card game does carry over many of the same principles. Player’s will need to manage resources, including wood, stone, iron, gold, and diamonds. Before we look at the rules, let’s see how the game works in more detail.
What is The Minecraft Card Game?
The Minecraft card games take the sandbox video game’s fun adventure gameplay and transform it into a creative card game. Every player will have to carefully mine, craft, and reserve materials to win the game.
Throughout the game, players can take numerous actions to earn points, and the player who reaches the points goal first will win. There are multiple actions players can take, but the game is all about resource management and crafting.
Do you trade in your resources to build tools? Or do you try to stockpile resources to prevent other players from getting ahead? It’s a high-risk vs. reward game and great fun for both children and adults. We’ll explain the rules in more detail below, but first, let’s talk about what you need to play the game.
What You’ll Need To Play?
To play the Minecraft card game, you’ll need the official card game. Like many board games, the Minecraft card game is manufactured by Mattel. So, the game set shouldn’t be overly challenging to find. You can easily find it online, just don’t get it mixed up with the Minecraft Uno game!
The Minecraft card game is much easier to play than you might think. However, at first glance, it can look not very clear. This is because there are many cards included, similar to classic board games like Clue or Monopoly, so before we look at the rules, let’s outline the various cards.
Resource Cards
Minecraft is a game of resource management, and there are many different materials in play. Wood, stone, iron, gold, and diamond are all included, and some are rarer than others. Players need to gather resources to build tools and earn points.
Craft Cards/ Tools
The craft cards are the tools you can build in the Minecraft card game. Each tool is worth a set number of points, and they have one-time-use special abilities that can help give you an advantage during gameplay.
Special Cards
The special cards are included with the resource cards and can be both good and bad. Wild cards can act as any resource; TNT boxes essentially cause the resource piles to be reshuffled, while the Creeper is an obstacle all players will need to deal with. We’ll talk more about these cards in the game guide below.
Reserve Blocks
These tiny little blocks are used to reserve craft cards. Each player should have one block if they decide to commit a card at some point during the game.
How to Play The Minecraft Card Game?
The Aim of The Game
The aim of this fun, quirky card game is simple; you need to be the first to reach the points goal. The Minecraft card game can be played between 2 – 4 people, and the points goal varies depending on the number of players.
Now while the aim of the game is simple, actually winning will likely be much more challenging. You need to manage resources carefully, strategize each move, and will (like most card games) probably need a little luck to win. So, let’s look at how you play in more detail.
The Set-Up
Setting up the game is relatively easy. First, shuffle all the resource cards into five piles, with 15 cards in each. The piles should also include special cards. When done, make sure you turn the piles over, so the cards are face-up.
Then shuffle the craft cards into four piles; each pile should have six cards in it. These cards should be placed craft-side up, which means each player can easily see what resources they need to trade in for the card. Then decide the play order, and you’re ready to start your very own Minecraft adventure!
The Rules
To win the Minecraft card game, you need to be the first to reach the point goal. Points are earned by trading in your resources for craft cards/ tools. If you are playing with two players, the points goal is 24 points, with three players it is 20 points, and finally with four players, it is 16 points.
You can take two actions; you can even mine, craft, or reserve. You can do these actions in any combination you like, including making the same move twice! Please think carefully before acting because once you do it, it can’t be undone.
Mine
If you choose to mine a card, you take it from one of the resource piles and add it to your hand. Resources come in numerous different types, and some are rarer (and thus more valuable) than others.
Craft
If you want to craft something, you first will need enough resources to do so, and this can be seen by looking at the craft cards. So, to craft something, choose the craft card you want and trade in the required number of resource cards.
Once you have the crafted tool, you can use it. Using a device won’t count as an action, but a tool can only be used once. You still keep the craft card after you’ve used it, but it can’t be used again for the remainder of the game. To help outline the tool powers, we’ve listed them below.
- Pick Axe: Adds one extra action to your turn.
- Ax: Acts as a +2 wood resource for one turn.
- Sword: You can kill the Creeper instead of discarding a card.
- Shovel: You can force another play to skip one action on their turn.
- Hoe: Clear the top card of each resource pile.
Reserve
Since only a few craft cards are available each turn, using a reserve action gives you the chance to save one. To reserve, take the craft card you want from the pile and place it in the reserved block. When you have the required resources, you can then trade them in for the reserved tool.
The game follows a pattern of each player taking turns carrying out their two actions. The aim is to build up enough tools/ craft cards to get the necessary number of points to win. However, the special cards can (and likely will) cause a few surprises. So, let’s see how they work.
Beware The Creeper
The special cards are included with the resource card piles. They take three forms; first of all, you have wild cards. These work in the same way as they do in games like Uno Attack, and they can act as any resource making them very valuable.
Wild cards have a number allocated to them as well. So, for example, a wild two-card can be used as two of any resource. However, the resources can’t be split, so they cannot be used as one stone and one diamond.
Second, you have the TNT card; this explosive card must be used straight away if it’s mined. When used, you must remove the four cards from the other resource piles. You can keep two of the cards and must discard the others.
Finally, we have the infamous Creeper! If this card is mined, then every player must discard one of their resource cards. The only way to prevent discarding a card is to kill the Creeper if you have the sword tool.
The Minecraft Card Game: Adventure Reinvented!
The Minecraft card game is sure to be tons of fun for anyone! The gameplay loop is simple once you learn the basics, but there is plenty of room to craft (if you’ll excuse the pun) a brilliant strategy to ensure you come out on top.
