Minecraft is a popular sandbox sandbox game for many different reasons. It's very easy to pick up and learn, gives you the flexibility to do whatever you want in the game, is essentially endless, and lets you build anything you want, provided you have the creativity. However, the biggest reason Minecraft is so mainstream is because of the ability to play with other people. This is not to confuse with online games such as Call of Duty, where you and your friends can play preloaded levels together. Online Minecraft lets you and your friends create a world from scratch with no limitations. You need to establish a server so you can play online with friends. Note: Before setting up a private server, we recommend that you get permission from your parent. Security risks can be caused by parts of this tutorial. You should have a parent along with you to help you download any extra files. What is a Minecraft Server? Things to Consider Before Hosting a Minecraft Server Steps for Creating a Minecraft Server Enjoy Your Multiplayer Minecraft Server What is a Minecraft Server? A Minecraft server allows multiple people to play together in the same Minecraft world. This can be handled in different ways, so it's important that you understand your options. You can rent a server through third-party companies like Apex Hosting, Hostinger. You pay a monthly fee to use it. However, it does almost everything for you. This can be as low as $5, depending on the service you use. You can run a server yourself. This will save you money on monthly fees and give you full control of how your server is managed. This article focuses on making your own Minecraft server without using a third-party. Minecraft also has personal multiplayer servers called Realms. These are available for you and your friends. A Realm allows you to access your Minecraft world online, even when you log out. Recommended: Coding Programs Free for Kids Things to Consider Before Hosting a Minecraft Server Benefits of Using Hosting Your Own Minecraft Server - You can have total control over the server at all times. You can get anything done as fast as you can. You don't have to rely on others to do the job. - You can upgrade your computer in any way you wish to improve its performance. There are many server hosting companies that charge higher premiums for higher specs. But if you have the most recent generation processor, maximum ram, and a powerful graphics card, your server could be one of the most powerful. It can be a lot of fun to set up and configure networks. You'll get to learn about various network features that you probably wouldn't need to know otherwise. - It won't cost you anything other than what it takes to run your computer. Hosting costs money. However, hosting your own server means that you only pay the cost of keeping your computer running. Hosting your own Minecraft server can be very rewarding, but it does have a few drawbacks you should understand before attempting it yourself. - You will need the proper hardware in order to run your own server. This includes either a Windows 7-compatible PC or a Mac running MacOS 10.4 (or higher). Hosting your own server with a Chromebook is possible but it is not covered in this tutorial. - You will need an active internet connection as well as access to your router. It is dependent on the server type and the number of players that you have running at any given moment. A server with many players will require more RAM and a faster processor. You can also add mods to your server. You can get away with a few gigs of ram if you only play Vanilla (meaning no mods! ), but as soon as you start adding those awesome mods you'll want to double, triple, or even quadruple the amount of RAM dedicated to your server. - Since you will have to run the server from a computer, you'll want a decent internet connection that is hardwired to your PC that can handle everyone playing simultaneously. No one wants to log onto a Minecraft server only to lag and get booted every 15 minutes for a modem restart. Note that although a computer is needed to run the server, your friends can play on your server from any platform as long as they are using the exact same Minecraft edition that you are running. If you have Minecraft Java Edition 1.6.4 running on your server, your friends must have Minecraft Java Edition 1.6.4 on their devices. - You are responsible for how the server is run. It's your responsibility to fix any problems that may arise. Players will rely on you to fix any issues or bugs that they may have and if there are disputes amongst players, you're often the person that gets to handle them. It is not enough to just download a program and turn on your computer. You will need to configure your router and network, learn about port forwarding, and possibly use the command-line to modify configuration files. Cyber attacks can be made on your computer and personal information by following the above guidelines. You may open your network up to security risks such as DDoS attacks. If your IP address is stolen, someone could access sensitive data such as your address. So please take care if you go this route and ensure you proceed with the following steps safely. If you're interested in running your own server but don’t want one hosted, we have an article about Apex server host hosting. Java Classes for Teens Steps for Creating a Minecraft Server 1. Getting Started: Download the Latest Version of Java Are you still here? Great! Let's begin making our own Minecraft server. You can begin by creating a new folder to hold all of your downloads. You can put this anywhere you'd like, but I find it easiest to create a new folder on your desktop. In the following examples, everything will be placed in a folder called "My Awesome Server" on the desktop. To create a folder on your desktop right-click on any open space on your desktop and click "New Folder". You can then rename your folder to whatever you choose. Once you have created your folder, it is time to download the files needed to host your server. Let's begin by making sure you have the most recent version of Java installed on your computer. You can do that by clicking here or going to https://www.java.com/en/download/. The link will take to the correct download regardless of whether you're using a Mac or a computer. Add the installer to your folder created in the previous steps. Once you download the installer, double-click it and follow along with the prompts. What a waste 2. Download the Server.jar file Once you have the latest version of Java downloaded, you need to download the server.jar file. If you're following along with the images/gifs in this tutorial, you may find you have a different version number than what is showing. That's okay, the steps should be the same. You may get a warning from your computer saying that this file may be harmful. This is a normal warning about any.jar file. These should be a warning if you don't know the source. I think Minecraft is safe to trust on this one. If you're given the option, save this file into the "My Awesome Server" folder. If it does not, copy and paste or drag the file into the folder. 3. Create Your Server Configuration Data Files Once you have found your server.jar file within your "My Awesome Server", click it twice or right-click > to create your configuration files. You will need to agree with an EULA agreement (End User License Agreement), to prevent your server crashing immediately. Open the EULA (it may be called eula.txt on your machine) file and change eula=false into eula=true. To save this document, click File > Save. 4. Run Your Server Double-click your server.jar file. You will now see your server begin and you will be able to generate a few more files. If your goal was to make your own Minecraft server to play with friends on the same internet connection as you then you have reached the end. Congratulations! For friends who are connected via the same internet, log onto Minecraft. Click the Multiplayer tab to find the server you created. You must also be using the same version Minecraft. We still have work to do if you want to play with friends who use a different internet connection (such as one from your home). For that, please continue on .... 5. Port forwarding Warning: This section is the most difficult. It can also pose security risks. You should always have a parent accompany you to this step. Port forwarding is required in order to allow your friends to connect with your server when they are connected via a different internet connection than yours. Unfortunately, this step will be different depending on which router you are using. I will outline the steps required to set up my Xfinity router for port forwarding. However, you will need to look into your router and follow its instructions. For me, the first step is to navigate to the Port Forwarding section of Xfinity's site. I found this by googling "How to Port Forward my Xfinity Router" so I suggest a similar search for you, but with your specific router's name. Next, I had several options to choose from, including Minecraft. If you don't have the option, the most important thing to do is to use port number25565 for Minecraft. Any other port number won't work. Note that I have blocked my IP Address. This is the part that you want protected from anyone you don't trust or know. Depending upon your router, they may reserve a customized IP address for the user (Xfinity did this to me). If this is true, you will share your IP Address with your friends. If they do not reserve one for you, you will have to use your own IP address. Once you have completed Port Forwarding, your friends should be able to log into Minecraft and click the Add Server button. You can name the server anything you like (it does not need to match your name). Then, enter your IP address. If you do not know your IP address you can google "What's my IP address" and it should be one of the first results. You may or may not need the :25565 at the end of the IP address when adding the server. We recommend trying without, then with it if it fails to recognize the server. 6. Configuring Server Properties Now that you have a server running, it's time for you to make any changes you like. Inside the "My Awesome Server" folder, you'll see a file called server.properties. Your computer won’t know how the file can be opened right now. However, if you right click the file and select Open With, you should be able to see a list. This can be opened in any text-editor you like, but Notepad works well if it isn't already attached to another. You'll see a list of server properties when you open it. Each one can be edited. You'll find a list of all the properties and what they mean here, but let's discuss some common ones that you'll want to know about first. difficulty - this takes either a string or integer property that sets the difficulty level of your server. Integer values are 0, 1, 2, or 3. String values represent peaceful, normal, easy, or hard. hardcore - this takes a boolean (true or false) value of how your players are handled if they were to die in game. If you set this value to true, players who die in game will automatically be put into spectator mode. level-seed is an optional value that will generate a seed automatically when your server starts. You can find a seed online and copy it here. max-players is the maximum number of players that can be on your server at once. This is useful if your computer struggles to run when there are many users logged on simultaneously. motd – This sets the Message Of The Day that all players see when they log on to your server. It can be helpful to give useful information to everyone at the same time. pvp is a value in booleans that allows players to kill each others when it is true. What a waste Here's a screenshot of my server.properties folder when I opened it using windows notepad. More Minecraft Resources How Minecraft Teaches Kids Coding The Best Minecraft Texture Packs A Parent's Guide to Minecraft For Kids 10 Best Minecraft Mods for Kids How to Install and Download Minecraft Mods How to Play Minecraft Together Enjoy Your Multiplayer Minecraft Server There you go! You are now running your own Minecraft server and you can have all your friends join it as you wish. You can do many things with your server, including managing game settings, creating your white-list, adding mods and allocating memory. We recommend starting small before you go too crazy. Minecraft can quickly consume resources that many people do not have at home. You may find your computer struggles with all the tasks you need. Remember to not share your IP address with anyone you don’t trust or know. We'd love to hear from you if you found this article useful. We'd also love for you to come and hang out with us on our Minecraft server! Our subdomain (server address) is mc.codewizardshq.com. First, you will have to verify your information using Discord by sending a DM to CWHQ Minecraft Server#9605 where your pin code will be provided.