Minecraft player's 35-hour gaming marathon By Zoe Kleinman

Technology reporter, BBC News Published duration 12 October 2015

image copyright Joe Kelly

A British man hopes to have broken the world record for the longest continuous game of Minecraft.

Joe Kelly, of Cheltenham, played the game for 35 hours, 35 minutes and 35 seconds, raising £1,800 for cancer research.

The current record, 24 hours 10 minutes, was set by Martin Fornleitner in Austria in 2011.

Minecraft involves building structures out of blocks, exploring worlds and taking part in battles.

The title has sold more than 54 million copies worldwide.

Last year, Microsoft bought Mojang, the studio behind it, for $2.5bn (£1.5bn).

Mr Kelly, who runs a film company and works as a voice actor, has been playing the game since buying a pre-development version in 2010 but usually only plays for a couple of hours a week.

"Staying awake wasn't too bad - I did the whole thing without any caffeine," he told the BBC.

image copyright Getty Images

"There were no stimulants other than sugar and stubbornness."

Mr Kelly, who live streamed the entire game on YouTube , added that the stunt had taken its toll on his hands.

"My shoulders didn't ache, my back didn't ache - the worst thing was my fingers.

"They hurt so much just from holding keyboard and mouse and being in clenched position for such a long time.

"Every little break I got I was flexing my fingers."

Mr Kelly and his girlfriend, Sarah Vallance, are now in the process of sending evidence of the feat to the Guinness World Records.

But he has no intention of taking a break from the game.

"I introduced my girlfriend to Minecraft, we usually play together," he said.

" It's something we like to do together. I'm not shut away gaming."