On Hobbies Still Going, MOJO Realignment, and Projects Yet To Got Off The Ground

Minecraft – Building Things My Way

One hobby I’ve discovered thanks to the boys is gaming. When they reached the age where they enjoyed playing electronic games more than tabletop games, we all got into the Nintendo Switch. Initially, all four of us had the original version, so we could play our own games while still enjoying gaming together as a family.

We had plenty of fun and laughter, including races and competitions where we couldn’t see what was happening on everyone else’s screen. It gave us another way to spend time together.

But what I discovered was Minecraft, and that’s where things got interesting.

For me, Minecraft is a problem-solving and construction game that lets me put my imagination to work. If I have an idea for a house, I can use it as a starting point and build something around it. The landscape might be flat, hilly, sandy, rocky or just plain wackadoodle. The possibilities change depending on the world I’m playing in.

I’ve particularly enjoyed building underground homes, cave-based dwellings and houses tucked into enormous chasms. There’s something satisfying about starting with an idea and gradually turning it into a place I can walk around and explore.

At the moment, I’m working on a design based on a house I’d genuinely like to own one day. The idea is to develop a visual representation of what I’d like to build in the real world, then eventually take the concept to an architect to work out something practical and suitable for construction.

In other words, I’m using a computer game to help plan a potential future home. Not a bad use of a few hours, really.

Minecraft has also taught me something about myself. I enjoy playing alone, working through problems at my own pace and seeing a tangible result from the time I’ve invested. I’m not interested in combat, competition or the need to beat someone else. I prefer being able to look at something I’ve created and think, I built that.

Whether it’s a house, an underground complex or some other wackadoodle construction, the enjoyment comes from the process as much as the finished result. Some people enjoy racing or battling their way to victory. Good luck to them. I’d rather build something that exists because I imagined it in the first place.

And who knows? One day, something I’ve designed in Minecraft might even become a real house. That would be a satisfying result from a hobby that began with playing games alongside my children.