Winter Snapshot: Sandbox

One of my hobbies I have consistently enjoyed has been video games. However, as I have aged, I got tired of the recycled story lines, linear play-styles, and... well... just shooting lots of people.

In recent years, I have discovered many more sandbox games. These games still are sometimes about destruction, but the best are about construction. These games are games like simulation games or tycoon games.

However, one game has really caught my attention, and not at all for any great graphics or gameplay mechanisms. For the last year and a half, I've been an avid Minecraft player.

Think games are dumb? What about games where you can get together with friends and make huge collaborative creative structures? I have a lot of fun with it. Here's something I helped make over break:



It's not even a really good shot, but it's a bit of the giant castle with all sort of underground rooms that some friends and I have been working on.

Dorky? Sure. Fun? You betcha. Mindmelting like other videogames? Not at all.

I'm going to try and use this game with students some day. Other teachers have done so successfully. Move over Oregon Trail game!