Bedrock MinerWare MinerWare Microgame Tier List

[h0pefulll]

I miss Java MinerWare, man.

Hey everyone, I'm back to rank all the little microgames in MinerWare! Of course, the rankings are based on solely my personal opinions, a player who has had a lot of experience playing one of the best minigames that has been featured on CubeCraft! ... and Bedrock MinerWare.
And because there's a lot of microgames, I'm not going in-depth with all my thoughts.

To clarify, these microgames are just the ones that are currently found in Bedrock MinerWare (because it's the only one available), which means some hood classics from the Java version aren't being ranked. Also, some of the Premium microgames aren't included, since I haven't played them enough and I haven't made bad financial decisions. Oh, and individual tiers aren't ordered.

S	Drop to the ground - A very unique challenge that, because of the randomly generated obstacles, is always a treat. Dodge anvils - Very good challenge. Avoid TNT - Requires quick analysis and reflexes. Very fun! Colour Floor (boss minigame) - Good stuff. Controlling a large area is fun, and the splash potions provide good strategy and prevent the microgame from coming to a halt when some players have set up walls. Don’t Get Whacked (premium microgame) - a great idea for a microgame, good fun hiding! Cross the Road (premium microgame) - Good ol’ Crossy Road/Frogger!
A	One in the chamber - a relatively unique take on a PVP microgame. Wait for it - provides a good variety of little challenges! Very good stuff. Find the button - can be a little tricky to find. The fact that players can punch each other whilst searching is also a nice inclusion. Mini Survival games - looking for loot is fun. Snowball fight - very briefly fun, but one of the teams is gone in an instant. Maybe a bigger map could help make this microgame last a reasonable amount of time? Ignite the TNT - I like robbing other players of their success. TNT Run (boss minigame) - TNT Run is always good fun, but in MinerWare it always ends too short. I can survive for longer! Evade the Pig (premium microgame) - A little nerving, but fun! Collect Coins (premium microgame) - satisfying, yet still a decent challenge. Cross the Bouncefield (premium microgame) - fun, though fairly luck dependent.
B	Build a Golem - you can pelt the snowballs. Teehee! Answer question - critical thinking? I like it! And there's a lot of questions! Platform plummet - a fun and unique challenge. Nerd pole - A way better Stack Blocks. Splat! (premium microgame) - I have a Splatoon bias. This microgame would be better if there was combat, though.
C+	Sumo Smash - a perfectly okay microgame. It feels a bit luck dependent, but trying to stay on the platform is engaging. Fight and Sleep - an interesting idea for a microgame, but surviving from the zombies is a bit too easy. Explosive bow fight - boom boom boom. It’s neat. Find the [item] - a decent challenge! (when it works…) TNT Tag - the modified terrain is a great touch, but I wished there were more variants. TNT Catch - the terrain is cool, and the challenge is engaging, but I don’t get where the “catch” bit comes from. Thimble - I can single-handedly say that I am the reason why this minigame is now just okay. Stand on colour - if you’re colourblind, I’m so sorry. This minigame is otherwise alright. Bow Spleef (boss minigame) - Perfectly okay, but it feels like it drags a bit, especially when there’s less and less players. Bow spleef in general is a bit finicky, and it’s difficult trying to hit blocks below players, when collision with the player themselves completely deletes the arrow. Escape the Crocodile (premium microgame) - more interesting than other parkour microgames, but it’s still too easy.
C	Mine Ore - easy and purely luck, but not flawed. Good Door, Bad Door - This microgame got a good rework, but it’s not particularly exciting. Mushroom parkour - generic parkour. Bouncing gladiators - a bit jank with what’s considered a win, but it’s okay. Last knight standing - standard PVP. Nothing wrong with it, just nothing special either. Knock Back - You’re (probably) not surviving this one. Cactus slap - too often do you walk into a cactus (or spawn in one!) on accident, and this microgame ends too quickly. Sneaking - a bit boring, but it has its own purpose of being a dead simple microgame, which I can tolerate. Stand on Diamond - it’s okay, I guess. A much more interesting take on the King of the Hill genre, though.
C-	Swim to the platform - King of the hill, with a bit more strategy? Hide under block - it’s okay. Lava floor - Daniel (a worse Thin Ice, but not by much to be honest). Thin ice - The Cooler Daniel (get it????) I like the little mining effect that happens before an ice block breaks, but it doesn’t seem to happen exactly at the same time as the ice block breaks.
D	Avoid the hot potato - A worse TNT Tag. Fill the tank - a bit boring. Stack blocks - made severely worse after the bonus text was removed. Catch butterflies - I’m very aware this is to accommodate mobile players, but this one lasts for too long!! Tower climb - how not to do a PVP microgame. Cook’s request - waiting for other players takes too long, and there really isn’t a challenge. What if you could mess up the food? King of the hill - Very difficult to win this one, feels like your success is out of your hands. Hole in the wall - a really great idea in concept! But the walls are way too slow, way too easy, and there’s very little variety in them. Shoot the creeper - a decent idea in theory, but the collisions in their current state are too jank!
E	Less is better - I think there’s a way to get good at this one, but I certainly haven’t found it. And statistically, you haven’t either. Shear sheep - CubeCraft managed to make shearing sheep feel incredibly unsatisfying. There’s a really big delay between right-clicking to shear a sheep and the sheep actually being sheared. Find the sapling - Lame, lasts too long for what it is. Harvest the crop - Lame, lasts too long for what it is.
F	(This is where Hook the Mob would’ve gone. I've been able to feel joy every day since its been gone.)
N/A	Castle Clashers (premium microgame) - I’ve never played this one yet. Don't Get Spotted! (premium, boss minigame) - it’s been too long since I played this once, and I don’t remember if it’s good or not.

Please let me know if there's a minigame currently in Bedrock MinerWare that is missing from the list above.

I've always been a fan of Java's MinerWare, but the selection of minigames in Bedrock is more limited, more mediocre, and more boring, in my opinion. And the loss of the Hard mode of MinerWare is the worst loss of 2022. There's a reason why it's in my signature. Adding on to that, the removal of the bonus texts that state who did the best in the microgame and what fraction of players won the microgame further killed the replayability of MinerWare. It was satisfying to see that you won the microgame out of only a few! And it was engaging trying to exceed the objectives because there's a little reward at the end of it! For example, in the Catch Butterflies microgame, the player with the most butterflies caught was told in chat.
This change was done to remove clutter, but the only thing that did was remove flavour. And that's what Bedrock MinerWare lacks: flavour.
Thanks for reading, and please harshly critique my thoughts on Fill the Tank.

 

[WorriedSkate940]

Honestly that hook the mob game was my favourite. I won everytime I played it.

 

[OnlyTijmen]

A great list!
Its only when I see them all together that I realise the insane number of microgames, and all of them unique in their own way! I agree with most of your points, and especially some of the minigames that seem to be too easy.

Oh and I fully agree with your sadness on the bonus text being removed. I liked to know who sheared the most sheep, or who was the fastest in some gamemodes :(

 

[Hoshi]

I wholeheartedly agree with the loss of Java MinerWare being a terrible loss for the network. Not specifically for it being Java, but rather for CubeCraft's take on the game when it only has to accomodate to a certain set of players (example here being PC). Way more fun, less bugginess (compared to Bedrock, usually), ability to vote for Hard Mode, more of a challenge, and so on. Truly miss it.

YES, the bonus text! I have honestly been complaining about it for so long... ;w;
With the bonus text, the game really is a lot more fun and immersive and totally not bland. On Java, I could genuinely play MinerWare for hours on end and continue enjoying it throughout an entire day. On Bedrock, not so much. I'm genuinely upset about the removal of this specific game on Java.

Honestly that hook the mob game was my favourite. I won everytime I played it.

You are truly a menace to society... lol

 

[Casualpoalrbear]

Nice list I don't personally agree with some of it (colour floor and avoid the tnt being so high while TNT tag is kinda low and I would swap less is better and cook request) but that the beauty of different opinions/gameplay style.