How to play hide and seek in Minecraft

Vanilla Hide and Seek has been a popular Minecraft minigame for years now. The concept is simple. Players are divided into two teams: one group is given a short grace period to find a spot on the map to blend in, while the second team has to find all those in hiding. If any hiders are able to avoid being found, their team wins.

The community has also developed some interesting variations and spinoffs of this game mode, some of which can be found on the Minecraft Bedrock Marketplace. But what are these variations, and how can you try them out for yourself?

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Minecraft Hide and Seek Variations

The first variation of hide and seek that most players will probably run into is hide and hunt. This version of the game is very similar to the original. There are still two teams, one being hiders and the other being the seekers. The difference is that, rather than just having to find people, finders also required to kill them. This introduces many Minecraft PvP elements and items, spicing up the gameplay.

The most interesting variation of hide and seek is known as block hunt. This game version is almost identical to the popular Garry's Mod game mode known as Prop Hunt. Players are once again split into teams. After finding a spot to bunker down, hiders are turned into blocks, and finders are required to figure out the ones that are out of place. There are even taunts hiders can access for bonus points.

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How to play public hide and seek

1) Open the Minecraft you want to play on

Java Edition's main menu (Image via Mojang)

You must decide if you want to play the Bedrock or Java versions of hide and seek before starting. While Bedrock has the advantage of cross-platform play, Java has access to more modded hide and seek types. It really comes down to personal preference.

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2) Add a server

An example of server information being added for a new server (Image via Mojang)

Irrespective of the game version you choose, the process is quite simliar. The following step involves navigating to the menu to add a server. Bedrock players will need to hit "Play" and then "Servers" before scolling down to "Add Server." Java players, on the other hand, must click on "Multiplayer" and then "Add Server."

From this screen, you must enter the server's information and save it under a name that you will remember easily. Use any of Minecraft's most popular servers to play, as many of them, such as The Hive, feature certain versions of Hide and Seek for players.

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3) Join the server and play

Hypixel is a great choice for hide and seek (Image via Mojang)

Now that the server is saved, you should just be able to join freely. From this point, the required steps will depend on the specific server. Most have a designated minigame area, which is most likely where hide and seek, or its different versions, can be found. Navigate there and join the queue for some intense gaming.

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Private hide and seek

1) Choose the game version you want to play

Java selected on the launcher (Image via Mojang)

The first step for playing hide and seek on a private server with friends is quite similar to those for playing on a public server. You must decide which game version you want to play. Once decided, do not launch the game. There is some file manipulation that needs to take place first, along with finding a world.

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2) Find a world

There are plenty of Minecraft world hosting websites, with different users and featured builds. Check out some of these sites to pick a hide and seek world, or team up with your buddies to create your own, taking advantage of Minecraft's build hacks in the process.

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3) Put the world into the game

An example of where to find Java saves (Image via Microsoft)

Once you have downloaded the world you want to play, you must place it in the game's world folder. The folder locations vary across versions, and they are:

• Bedrock: C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds
• Java: C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\saves

But once you locate the folder, all you have to do is drop the downloaded world inside. This will allow Java and Bedrock players to convert these worlds into LAN servers.

Additionally, you can place the world file in the location of your server, but the file path will depend on where you placed the server. Assuming you already have a Minecraft survival server, this option is quite easy. Just move the survival world out and the hide and seek world in. This will cause the server to load the new map instead of your old survival world until you switch back.

Most popular server hosting services can import and export world information, implying if you pay a service to run a private server, you should still be able to essentially drag and drop a hide and seek world into it to play with friends.