Trying to survive in Minecraft is fun, but the real joy of the game is building and exploring. Minecraft gives its players the tools to create their own world, and its many creative players have spent the past few years creating worlds that defy gravity, logic, and perhaps a few copyright laws. And since Minecraft maps can be shared as downloadable files, it’s easy to reap the benefits of all of these players’ hard work and take off on an adventure exploring Minecraftian versions of Middle Earth, Hogwarts, or galaxies far, far, away. Dive into the list of player-created maps below, and enjoy some of the sci-fi and fantasy genres’ best maps for Minecraft.
Cyberpunk Map, or “BladeCraft”
You know a map’s creators are really dedicated when they ask you to download a specific texture pack to use with the map. That’s the case with this map, which was inspired by Blade Runner (the film version of Philip K. Dick’s classic Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?). As you might suspect, this is a grim dystopian cyberpunk world. As you also might suspect, it is awesome.
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The Death Star
It was a matter of time before one (or several) players started working on a model of the Death Star in Minecraft. You won’t find a better one than this, of which the creator brags: “I can guarantee you thats [sic] it’s the one that’s the closest to the original out there.” Ah, yes, the closest to the original Death Star, as seen in the famous documentary Star Wars.
In all seriousness, this is a remarkably detailed map complete with hangars, control rooms, and the famous trash compactor (3263827!). Many Bothans died to bring us this scale model.
Hogwarts
If you want to explore Hogwarts in Minecraft, there are plenty of different map creations (including this one, which very nearly made the cut). For my money, this one is the best—particularly on the outside, where the scale and detail really shine. Of course, you can enter Hogwarts, too: You’ll find the Chamber of Secrets, the Great Hall, and a bunch of other locations tucked in there. Like just about all Hogwarts maps for Minecraft, this is clearly a recreation of the movie set. Apparently, Minecraft builders like to have visual aids. Where’s the creativity, guys?
Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arena
The Hunger Games series appeals to map builders for the obvious reason that staging fights to the death in Minecraft is super fun. You can find a huge variety of Hunger Games-style arenas online, some more closely linked to the book series than others. This one is a very faithful reproduction of the arena from Catching Fire, and it’s a great choice for a player vs. player server.
King’s Landing
It’s hard to find a more complete and memorable fantasy world than that of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (and the TV adaptation, Game of Thrones). And it’s hard to find a more complete and impressive Minecraft map than this one, which brings Westeros’ capital of King’s Landing to life at scale. Once again, this build clearly draws on the visual medium—TV, in this case—instead of the book, but that’s okay. Get out there and recreate some scenes, if you have the stomach for it!
Minas Tirith
Middle Earth is pretty high on the list of coolest fantasy locations ever. So it’s no surprise that someone realized that Minas Tirith, the capital of Middle Earth’s Gondor (that’s where Boromir is from, everyone), would make a pretty cool Minecraft map. So they lit the beacons and called for aid over at Planet Minecraft, and pretty soon a team of nerds had created this incredible map for the whole world to enjoy.
This thing is just massive, and includes all the bells and whistles from the White Tree of Gondor to the city’s sewer system. Sauron’s dark army not included.
Narnia
There are a lot of maps for Minecraft that feature individual Narnian settings like Cair Paravel done in remarkable detail. But what makes this map great is that it attempts to capture all of Narnia in one giant map. There’s even a story for you to play along with (read the signs and walk the map to play).You trade off a bit in terms of scale and detail, but the ability to trek from location to location takes this map to another level.
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Featured photo of Game of Thrones' "King's Landing" via Minecraft World Map.
