Seven new maps slide into the Realms content library
Hello and welcome back to another instalment of “We Tested a Bunch of Great Maps and Now You Can Play Them on Java Realms!” We’re still working on the name, but here at WTABOGMANYCPTOJR we play lots and lots of community-made maps, skim off the cream of the crop, and work with the creators to distribute them free to our Realms subscribers on Minecraft: Java Edition.
You can boot up the game right now and give them a try - but here's a peek at the seven fabulous creations that await!
One of my favorite things to do in Minecraft is to play games that feel nothing like Minecraft. I’ve played countless run and jump fantasy games, but I’ve never played a top-down, water-based puzzle game! In Plumber, you’ll need to figure out how to arrange the pipes to get water from the start to the finish. My favorite strategy here has been to arrange some of the starting pipes, then arrange some of the end pipes, then finally figure out how to connect them somewhere in the middle. Or, if you’re someone who can see the whole picture, maybe just stare at it for a while and then solve it all at once!
Plumber is a fun and straightforward puzzle game, but if you play on the advanced difficulty you’ll get an extra surprise. Failure on this difficulty consumes more of your time, but the time is spent climbing back up the pipes as a rubber duck, dodging flotsam as you try to regain your hearts. This brings up an interesting question: were you a duck all along? Maybe some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved.
Minigames seem to be a thing that people are into. They’re like games, without the long and tedious investment. Why not play a miniature version quickly with your pals? Why not have a map with twenty-five of them?! Minigame Blitz features a host of fast-paced games designed to keep your face glued to your screen. Become king of the portal, escape a rising tide of lava, or hop through traffic without any of the real-world consequences!
As someone who enjoys roleplaying morally ambiguous characters with a propensity for stabbing others in the dark, Rogues immediately appealed to me. After all, who wouldn’t want to become invisible and sneak around, stealing glittering treasures and shanking those who stand in your way? It’s a perfectly normal inclination! If this sounds like your kind of game, jump in and select between arenas such as the temple, prison, or factory. You can become invisible at any time! Just remember that particles, sounds, and your upgraded items are detectable, so gather up your diamonds and choose the perfect time to strike.
Much like dance parties and barbershop quartets, Sky Control is best with more than one or two people. You score points by controlling different locations around the map, and maintaining control while purchasing upgrades will take some serious coordination among teammates. Your points increase over time based on how many areas you control, so it’s important to be aware of which areas are yours, and which are no longer yours. Watch where you step, because one wrong hop and you respawn back at your base, away from the action. How do you survive a fall into the infinite void, then reappear with all of your items intact? It’s a mystery!
Life is full of people who will tell you what to do and where to go. This map is no exception. “Red! Blue! Get over there now!” says the map. “But why?” you demand. You are met with silence, for the map cannot actually speak. In any case, you have your instructions, so it’s best to get to the blue platform before your friend does, because that will make you win. Run and jump between cleverly-arranged platforms, grab some powerups, and don’t forget to take a moment to even the odds and knock your opponent down.
Around this time of year, we receive many egg-related puns. The Department of Minecraft Puns has determined that this will be the only pun allowed in a Realms map title this year. No further shenanigans will be allowed and violators will be pun-ished.
Podcrash's Easter Eggcitement is a minigame variety map with fun custom textures and models. There's a crafting game, which will test the limits of your Minecraft resource knowledge, a game where you need to find the correct color of rabbit (tip: find the golden ones!), a sci-fi style lightbike game, but with chickens, and more! Grab a basket, load up the map, and prepare for eggcitement!
PistonUp is a minigame where you run and jump to the top of a challenge while one player hovers upwards and downwards, attempting to pull you off of floating platforms with a fishing rod. Is it fishing if you’re not fishing for fish? Is it human-ing? More unsolved mysteries this week!
The MineMakers team has created a minigame that some on our team describe as “fun”, “exciting”, “really great to watch Marc swear off video games forever each time we beat him.” The game asks that you be proficient in two different skillsets: fishing and jumping on things. These are both harder than they sound! Fishing is complicated by players refusing to sit still, and jumping between platforms while someone messes with you is a bit nerve-wracking. Luckily, there’s a catch-up mechanic that allows struggling players to complete the level: as time goes on, you’ll score less points, but more blocks will materialize, allowing you to more easily reach the top and have your turn on the other side.
That’s all that we’ve got time for! The sun is shining outside, and here in Stockholm that happens for about ten minutes a year, so I’d best not spend it all inside at the computer.
To learn about loading this and other content into Java Realms for your PC, visit our help site. If you haven't yet tried Realms for yourself, you'll have a blue diamond on the Minecraft Realms button, located on the main screen of Minecraft: Java Edition. Click it, then follow the instructions to try Realms free for 30 days.
If you'd like to have your own Minecraft creations featured on Realms and on this blog, head over to this page, which explains the Java Realms Content Creator Program. If you have questions about this process, you can find me on Twitter.
Happy Minecrafting!
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