Thanks to Minecraft, the internet is now awash with virtual engineers and builders who have used this groundbreaking video game to create some of the most immense worlds imaginable. Over the years, the game’s loyal community has continued to challenge each other’s creativity, and it’s something that continues to steal the YouTube views month after month.
We’ve been massive fans of the game for a long time, and we’ve written about many of the game’s different topics – such as the Minecraft 4K update and the best automation mods in Minecraft. However, for this article, we’re going to go back to basics by looking at how to build something special – a Minecraft casino!
How to Make a Casino in Minecraft
As you already know, there’s no quick and easy way to make anything good in Minecraft – it takes a lot of time and effort. However, when you’ve finally finished the masterpiece, all that hard work is paid off – and we want to make sure the same thing happens for those casino builders out there. Here are a few ideas of what to think about when embarking upon your casino project.
1) Where to Build the Casino?
Although Minecraft is huge, that doesn’t mean it will be easy to find a suitable bit of land. If you’re building a casino in an already partly-built world then this can prove even trickier, especially if there are other players involved. Therefore, you need to pick and choose your casino’s location carefully, with enough space for the entire building to be built.
Ideally, you would include a nice outer area within your design too. That’s because many casinos are set in picturesque environments, so you’ll want yours to look the part. Also, if your casino proves to be a hit then you may want to extend it in future.
But as long as you’ve got a solid framework in place then you’re good to go. Here are just a few things to think about when building your outer construction:
- Include windows – In previous casino designs, no windows were in place as the idea was literally to let players immerse themselves in the entertainment and lose track of time. However, this concept is a bit old-hat these days (more on that later), with modern casinos allowing plenty of natural light into the venue.
- Shine the light outside as well – Although your casino in Minecraft doesn’t need to look like something out of Las Vegas (although that’s perfectly acceptable too!), you should make sure that it’s easily visible from far away. In particular, the entrance should be especially grand, with a big “casino” logo lit up so that everyone knows what it is right away.
- Security? – Admittedly, this may well be something to consider closer to the grand opening, but all reputable casinos should have a few security guards on hand. They ensure that the gambling stays fun, as you wouldn’t want your casino to get a bad reputation!
In terms of materials, this will be a big project so you’re likely to need a lot in your inventory. However, remember that you don’t need the casino to be the finished project when it opens its doors, as you can easily replace the outer building materials in the future.
Looking for a few examples of exterior casino design? You can check out Planet Minecraft which has an entire library of casino projects.
2) What Does Every Casino Have Inside?
Once the blueprint of the building is in place, you can start to piece together the exact layout of your casino – such as the registration area, the main floor, the slots and games on offer, plus any backrooms for special poker matches and high roller games and tournaments. This is the most important aspect when designing a real land-based casino.
Seriously, there have been multiple tests and case studies conducted with the aim of finding the perfect layout. According to Wired, the current design that’s popular with casino architects is called the “Playground”, so that may be a good fit here too. Featuring high ceilings and lots of sunlight, here are a few characteristics of a Playground casino:
- Focus on atmosphere – The inside of the casino should be welcoming and pleasant, not intimidating. Ensure that there are plenty of places to sit and other things to look at when you build inside. In effect, the idea is to try and make it so that it doesn’t feel like a gambling environment. As stated by Wired, your casino should “make you feel comfortable, of course, but they also constantly remind you to have fun.”
- Make it easy to find your way around – The old idea of casino design was to try and make players feel lost in a maze-like plan. However, the evidence now contradicts this strategy, with data suggesting that players much prefer being able to see what’s on offer. This is why windows are a much-needed feature, as they shine a light on all the roulette tables, slots and casino games available.
- Hotel & Casino? – While this combination would likely push your project’s completion date a lot further down the line, you should consider whether it’s feasible to include a hotel within your casino. You need to keep things classy of course, but it’s a surefire way of improving your revisit rates as guests wander back to the tables for more.
3) Games that EVERY Casino Must Have
A pretty crucial component of making the best casino is to have the most popular types of games. Luckily, there are plenty of games that have been pre-built to save you time – such as the Casino Slots plugin which makes a slot machine in Minecraft for you. It mimics a real-life version perfectly, with costs and prizes supported by pretty much all economy plugins. Other specially adapted gambling games from the Minecraft community are:
- Pig racetracks
- Archery challenges
- Lottery tickets
- Craps
- Roulette tables
However, there’s one crucial rule: don’t go overboard with games! In line with the latest design recommendations, you shouldn’t simply bombard players with endless slot machines and tables. Instead, be a bit more subtle and carefully fit your games within a structured map.
4) Offer a Nice Incentive to Play
Once it’s completely built, you’ll want to plan a big grand opening for your casino. To guarantee that you get players through the door, you can offer them a little reward. There are a variety of ways to do this.
The first is that you take the lead of real online casinos which offer a vast number of casino bonuses to new players who sign up. As soon as a new player joins a casino, they are given extra money to play the games based on how much they deposit. This could be mirrored in Minecraft with your players being given rewards the more they spend, for example.
Alternatively, a good incentive would be to offer a few free drinks like at a land-based casino. Rather than alcohol, the Minecraft casino could serve up health potions so that players feel more refreshed and ready for action!
Have you managed to build the best casino in Minecraft? If so, please let us know in the comments – with screenshots highly appreciated.
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.