How do you recreate the Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan in Minecraft? Block by block, of course!

In conjunction with the exhibition Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire, the de Young Museum recently released its free Minecraft map of Teotihuacan. The map allows players to visit the ceremonial center of this ancient metropolis and explore towering pyramids, grand plazas, maze-like apartment complexes, and more, all on a 1:1 scale.

First, for the uninitiated, Minecraft is an open-world building game beloved by players the world over. It’s big with children, naturally, but has active players and enthusiasts of all ages. Its graphic are blocky and almost crude, and everything in the game world is constructed from one meter-by-one meter cubes.

While the basic premise of the game involves mining materials to craft tools and supplies -- and building a shelter before night falls and the monsters come out -- the game also has a creative mode that lets you build just about anything you can imagine. Think of it as a giant box of LEGO bricks with unlimited amounts and varieties.