- - - - - -

If your child is a Minecraft fan, you may be concerned about how much time they’re spending in the blocky onscreen world. Fear not: While it can let kids spell dirty words in 10-foot-tall letters, the game can also develop problem-­solving skills, spatial reasoning, and more. There’s even a classroom-­optimized version, MinecraftEdu (recently acquired by Microsoft). Amuse and ensmarten young players with options like these.

Roam the Colosseum

The best way to learn about Egyptian pyramids, Saturn rockets, and rain forests is by clambering all over them. Download scale models of all of these—and more—for free.

Go Full Mad Scientist

Thanks to its tweakable construction interface, kids can use Minecraft to set up and run experiments. What’s the maximum velocity of a cart full of zombies and pigs zipping down a 45-degree incline? There’s only one way to find out!

Tell (and Share) Epic Tales

Recording tools like Fraps and Bandicam allow kids to capture their playthroughs. Your youngling may return from their quest a master storyteller—or even the next Spielberg.

Visit Hogwarts

Building scale models in Minecraft is a great way to learn about ratios—but that’s just the tip of the ice block. Once you’ve challenged the kids to re-create their own home in Minecraft, move on to their favorite book.

Change the World

Programmable Command Blocks can modify the Minecraft-verse; once your kids have mastered those, they can start to harness user-created mods and plugins to make their worlds even more complex—and learn the ABCs of code.