One hundred eighty.

That number alone is quite small, but when you add six zeroes to the end, you get the number of copies of Minecraft that have been sold.

It would not be an understatement to call Minecraft a gaming juggernaut with it being the second most sold game sitting right behind Tetris. But what has made this game about blocks so popular?

A great part of its success is its accessibility. Minecraft is not a complicated game, and with the relatively new addition of an actual tutorial, it has become even more open to newcomers. 

Minecraft’s core gameplay is to break blocks, craft tools, and build. The game gives no limitations to what you can build. Rocket ships, a replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral, and extremely detailed pixel art are just a few options for what you could make. There are no restrictions.

There are also different game modes, and the main two are the creative mode and survival mode. As the names imply, in creative mode, you can create anything with more ease as you have an unlimited supply of blocks. In survival mode, you have to survive by gathering blocks, farming for food, and fighting mobs—a generalized term for the creatures.

But playing by yourself can be quite boring, and Minecraft was prepared. You can play on a single player world or on a server where anyone can join as long as they have the IP address. These servers can be anywhere from your friends’ small ten-player server or a massive thousand player server like Mineplex.

Servers are where a lot of fun comes from with their own unique twist on Minecraft. Factions is a mode where people work together and make large scale bases and fight for territorial control. Mineplex is a mini-game server—a compilation of various games that range from parkour to spleef, or trying to break the ground under your opponents to cause them to fall.

Servers can really change up how the game is played, and a great example of that is Wynncraft. Wynncraft is a server that turns Minecraft into a fully fleshed out RPG with custom classes, mechanics, and dungeons. 

Altogether, Minecraft is a gaming juggernaut that had its humble beginnings and turned into a cult classic. This game is one that holds so many memories to so many people, which attributes to the game’s longevity, but memories alone can’t save something.

Minecraft has turned into something larger than a game. It’s an art form unlike many others, and it’s a powerful tool that has brought countless people together.