How to Play Minecraft With Friends in 4 Easy Steps

It’s almost impossible to exist in the world today and not have heard of Minecraft. This game has such a massive following and, whether you love it or hate it, you’ll have some knowledge of this pixelated paradise where the only limits are the ones you’ve created in your imagination.

However, do you know how to play Minecraft with friends? We\ll show you in these quick steps.

How to play Minecraft with friends

As with all things in life, Minecraft is best experienced with friends. There are a few ways to team up with others in this game, but only one of these methods is free, and that’s what we’ll be covering in this guide.

There are two ways to play the game online with your friends, but you should note that both methods require a monthly subscription. You can hire a server from a third-party website, such as Apex Hosting, and fully customize your server to any Minecraft version, or you can use the Realm system built into the game.

Ol’ Reliable: The LAN Method

This is the only free method to play Minecraft with others, but it requires that all of you are operating off the same network.

Step 1: Load your world

Start up your game, select Singleplayer, and load into your world.

Step 2: Open to LAN

Once you’ve loaded in, hit Esc and select Open to LAN. In older versions of the game, this option can be found under Options. Then choose your desired settings and click on Start LAN World.

Step 3:  Select multiplayer

Now the friend who wants to join your game will need to start their game and select Multiplayer.

Step 4: Scan for local servers

This will open up a menu that will scan for Local servers. Your friend will need to select the game that you started earlier and click on Join Server. From there, you’ll be able to play the game together.

Oh the nostalgia!

Most gamers will remember how the concept of multiplayer started; you’d haul your PC and all of its peripherals and screen over to your friend’s house for a LAN weekend. This sacred retreat would be filled with junk food, sleeping bags, late nights, and you’d all arrive back home on Sunday feeling as if you needed a weekend to recover from your weekend.

Minecraft brings some of this nostalgia back with their free co-op method of playing the game, but, as we previously said, you could always rent a server if you value sleeping in your own bed.