Minecraft Vs. Roblox

Tue Nov 15. 2022

Roblox and Minecraft are two very popular sandbox games. Both allow you to create games, interact with other players, and play for hours. Each has its own online community that is always available to help. However, Roblox and Minecraft are very different once you get down to the details. Here's how they compare on five key elements.

THE CONTENDERS

Minecraft. Recommended for players aged 8+ Open-ended, exploratory and creation-oriented environment that allows players to create items and buildings from scratch with materials they gather from the world.

Roblox. Recommended for those aged 13+ This game-creation website allows users to create and upload their own games as well as playing other games in a multi-player environment.

Price

Minecraft's initial cost is $26.95 for Mac and PC, while Roblox has a "freemium/premium” model.

Roblox allows you to play games and design small numbers for free. However, you must subscribe to access the more fun stuff like customize your avatar, trade weapons and create new games. Roblox's ingame currency Robux can be purchased a la carte. However, it's worth signing-up for Builders Club ($5.95 per month), which removes ads, allows you to manage more games and gives you daily Robux.

Easy of Use

Both games are challenging but they're part of the game's unique fun. Minecraft has three difficulty levels, but no instructions. You can learn how to play Minecraft by exploring, experimentation, watching YouTube videos and reading other fan-created content (there is a lot of it online).

Roblox has two modes, creating and playing. Although it offers lots of variety, it can be frustrating to play other people's games since they are all user-created. Roblox provides a lot of information, a wiki and a supportive community for kids interested in creating their own games.

Social Aspects

This is the biggest wildcard. Both games allow multiplayer play, but Minecraft is more suited for solo play. Roblox, on the other hand, is social from the moment you sign up -- friending and chatting are huge parts of the game. Check out our social media guidelines for elementary school-age children. Roblox and Minecraft both have lots of user-generated content. Players of all ages, including teens, participate and compete in the game. Your child can be exposed to violent language, explicit imagery, and sexually suggestive images through any user-generated content. You can manage some of this through the game's built in controls. Roblox allows you to turn off chatting and block people. Minecraft lets you "ignore” other players but doesn't limit what you can say.

Safety

There have been instances of inappropriate predatory behavior in chat and multiplayer modes. Roblox has increased its child safety initiative to include parental controls, human moderators, and other features to catch offenders. You can play Minecraft alone or with a limited number of friends. Contact with strangers is therefore strictly restricted. If your child wants to play on a server that is public, make sure it's kid-friendly.

Kid-Friendliness

Roblox and Minecraft have large online followings. This means that kids can access a lot more content, such as YouTube videos, wikis, and Reddit forums, which could expose them to mature topics while searching for information about the games. Roblox allows users to embed ads into their games, which means that kids will be exposed to in-game marketing. Violence can be an issue in both games, but while Roblox's user-uploaded games tend to be more of the shooter/explosion/disaster variety, Minecraft's leans more toward hand-to-hand combat, even though it's depicted in a cartoonish way.

Creativity and Learning

Yes! Both games can teach basic computer coding skills (Minecraft uses a Minecraft-adapted Java and Roblox runs Lua), but Minecraft is more education-friendly. Both games promote math skills, thinking, reasoning, problem-solving and collaboration. Because of the digital content you can create and the interaction with other online users, both games are becoming more popular in after-school programs, computer camps, and teachers' lesson plans.

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