I have some questions for the #Minecraft players here.
What is the advantage of hosting my own #minecraft server? Would having a private server be something a 5-year-old would enjoy? I plan to learn to play, but I don't think it is a game that I would particularly enjoy. I'd be playing just to spend time with the kiddos, rather than them just quietly playing alone.
Also, which #Minecraft private server should I start with?
Minecraft Realms would require you pay a monthly subscription fee, but it does pretty much everything for you to manage it and it offers worlds to enjoy as games and still be able to have a 'main world' to explore. Mojang pretty much made this option for people in your situation. Best part: You really *REALLY* want to have some oversight into who your kid interacts with. This would allow YOU to be in control of that.
There are many other servers to choose from, but the fatal flaw in your case is that servers of interest to someone age of 5 would tend to be ones also of interest to child *predators*. Some servers work to monitor and boot out predators. More or less. More often much, much less.
My suggestion is to look at the "Realms" option and subscribe for a month or two. I would be quite happy to answer questions you may have as best as I am able. There are also a few Mojang devs here on the Mastodon federation who can also answer questions.
Month-to-month lets you drop the service if it doesn't do what you want to move on to other options. Also be aware there is "Minecraft" which is the Bedrock version for your phones, Windows PC machines, and so on, and is most likely the option you are already using. There is also the Java version of Minecraft which is the version I prefer. Without some clever behind the scenes work, the two versions DO NOT cross-platform play. Windows will allow you to play "Minecraft" (Bedrock) and "Minecraft Java".
If you have questions, please do post those here. I will try to watch and answer, and I expect quite a few other very wonderful to chime in. #Minecraft #MinecraftRealms
@Romaq Thank you so much for your detailed reply!
I was definitely quite concerned about who my kids could interact with in the game. I only really want their friends, and family to be able to interact.
I will definitely take a look at the realms function you mentioned!
That sounds like a Realms server or a private server. A private server on your home LAN is "free" as in "free beer." But those are also "hella expensive" in terms of your time and the expertise needed to keep your home LAN from being a huge open hole for invasion from the more unsavory sorts of people. Realms are limited to ten people at a time max, but so would any other decent, cheap external servers on the market. Those of us who love #Minecraft are happy to help guide you, even if we do have a case of myopia and blind spots. Beware of this, but happy to help.
