Mining Minecraft

Mine data. Craft stories.

What stories can I craft from Minecraft data? I look into the Overworld, the Nether, the End, and the numbers around the game, then write the story the data supports.

Browse papers

Need a short answer first? FAQ hubs (quick answers; papers hold the stories and sources).

Isometric Minecraft landscape with Steve, a creeper, trees, water, and a cave
How many people play?What the numbers can actually support How heavy is a block?If a cube were a real meter Is night half the day?Daylight cycle, timed Did Y=−59 win?1,024 chunks counted
How many people play?What the numbers can actually support How heavy is a block?If a cube were a real meter Is night half the day?Daylight cycle, timed Did Y=−59 win?1,024 chunks counted

Numbers you can retell

Two openers. The punch number lives here—not in the hero chrome.

Audience & sales

300M+

Copies sold worldwide · How many people play?

Systems

1 m³

Every cube as a real meter · How heavy is a block?

Measured in the lab

Original Java playtests. Open for the discovery, not a wiki reprint.

Playtest How far is a village from spawn? In 64 Java worlds, the nearest town usually sat about 500 blocks away. Playtest Why do you see iron on cave walls more than diamond? You can see iron on cave walls about twice as often as diamond. Playtest I counted diamonds in 1,024 chunks. Did Y=−59 win? Four seeds. Every ore block from Y=−64 to 16.

Player questions

Answers first. Math underneath.

Time Is night really half of a Minecraft day? Phase boundaries from the tick clock. Nether Why is the Nether 8∶1? Coordinate scale players actually use. Body What happens if you never sleep? Insomnia counters and phantom pressure. Economy How villager trades changed Emerald asks from 1.8 to 1.21.

Weird numbers

Comparisons and what-ifs that stick after you close the tab.

Body Life expectancy for Steve & Alex 76.5 human years → ~5,508 Minecraft years. Systems How heavy is a Minecraft block? Density what-if for a one-meter cube. Food The food weirdness ladder Saturation vs real calories—odd snacks rise. Minecoins Minecoins around the world Local list prices and buying power abroad.

All papers by topic →

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About

Run by Tycon801 (Minecraft Data Nerd). I mine Minecraft data for interesting and weird patterns: what lines up, what causes what, and what the numbers quietly show. Answers first. Sources and methods underneath. Playtest method: How I test.