The very point of esports is to have players compete together in the same gaming environment, just as traditional sports are played in the same arena, be that a tennis court, football pitch or ice rink.
To do this, you need either all player devices attached to a Local Access Network (LAN) (usually in one location like a school or library), or each player must be on the internet on their own devices in separate locations. While the former makes multiplayer and esports teamwork easier, you may not have that option and so below you will find connection instructions for both.
The ‘Make and Model’ and ‘Code Clash’ tenant (the address after the @ of your Office365 email address) can host or join a multiplayer game.
In order for players to enter an esports gaming arena, it must first be hosted somewhere. This means one device is used as a master device, with the game loaded onto it and hosted online for others to join. In most cases in esports in education, this will be the teacher’s or esports facilitator’s device, though you may have several host devices if you are running smaller group sessions across many players.
Once you have chosen your host device, it is time to set up the game for others to join.
Step 1 – Open Minecraft Education and log in.
Click ‘Play’
Step 3 – Select the world you wish to play from your game library, and click on it
Step 4 – Click on ‘Host’ to host a game with the selected world
Note: If your game is already in progress you can host by pausing the game (ESC key), click the ‘Friend’ tab, then click ‘Start Hosting’ and ‘Confirm’.
Give players the ‘Join Code’ to allow them to join your game. To access this code at any time during the game, pause the game (ESC key), then click the Friends tab.
To access this code at any time during the game, pause the game (ESC key), then click the Friends tab.
The Join Code is made up of image icons. Players wishing to join the game will have a set of these icons they must choose from. If they choose the icons matching your own, they will have access to your world.
You can click the refresh button at the end of Join Code images to select another code. This can also be used to lock the game once all players are in. Anyone who has the original code will no longer be able to join once the code has been refreshed.
If a player leaves the world for any reason, they must rejoin using the latest code.
You may end the game at any time by clicking the ‘Stop Hosting’ button under the Join Code icons.
If the Host exits the game, all players will be automatically disconnected!
A Host device must always be active in order for the game to be played from start to finish.
You can set up a maximum number of players in the chat function
Press ‘T’ while in game to open the chat function.
Type the command ‘/setmaxplayers’ then add a number to the end, up to a maximum of 30
You can set up different permissions for your players by clicking on the ‘Crown’ icon.
Select the level of permissions you wish your students to have. Set this to Member’.
To compete in a multiplayer game, you need players to join the Host game.
Step 1: Each player should launch Minecraft Education and click ‘Play’ on the main menu.
Step 2: Click ‘Join World’ at the bottom center of the screen
Step 3: Enter the’ Join Code’ by clicking on the different pictures in the correct order given by the host.
Step 4: Click ‘Confirm’ to join the game and begin playing with others.
It is possible to host a game and to invite players from outside, on separate internet connections to join you.
To do this, they must meet the following conditions:
You can check this on the main menu of the game, looking for the number in the bottom right corner of the screen. For example – ‘v1.12.60’.
If your game versions do not match, update those devices that do not. We recommend all devices match the Host device and that the Host device is running the very latest version.
In order that players on a separate internet connection can join your game, you (the Host) must open a port on your network. A port is like a door that lets internet traffic flow in and out. Games like Minecraft are assigned these ports to channel traffic to and from them in multiplayer scenarios. You must open a specific “door” in your network settings to let them pass through your Firewall or Antivirus, and forward them to your device.
The first step is to identify the host device IP address. While this is NOT the address you need to give to players joining the game later, this IS the address that you need to Port Forward to.
Step 1 – Open Minecraft Education and log in.
Step 2 – Click ‘Play’
Step 3 – Select the world you wish to play from your game library, and click on it. Any world will work for this.
Step 4- Click on ‘Host’ to host a game with the selected world
Step 5 Once the world opens, press ‘Esc’ and note the IP address on the left of the screen
This is the address of your device. If you have multiple devices on one network they will all have a similar but ultimately different IP addresses.
For example:
Device a – 192.168.1.16
Device b – 192.168.1.20
Device c – 192.168.1.24
Note your local IP address, you will need this for Port Forwarding. This is the address that your router will open port 19132 to so players can access your game.
Step 6 – This is often the step missed when trying to Port Forward for Minecraft Education.
Now you must forward port 19132 both UDP and TCP. Each make and model of router is different and so this cannot be explained here.
You’ll find more information about port forwarding here and here. The main thing to note is that when asked which IP address you wish to port forward to, you use the host device IP address from step 5.
Step 7 – Now find your router’s Public IP. You can find this on the internet by visiting https://www.myip.com.
On the page that opens, you are looking for the address under ‘Your IP address is:’.
Note this IP address.
Now you must whitelist the website https://meeservices.azurewebsites.net/ on your router, Firewall and Antivirus. For some guidance on how to do it, you can consult this website.
Once you have completed these steps on the Host network, players can join your hosted game:
Step 8 Give the Public IP address you got from ‘myipaddress.com’ to the players that wish to join your game from outside your network.
Step 9 – To join the Host game, players must click on the icon of three dots in the bottom corner of the screen; ignoring the join code option
Step 10 – Ask players to enter the public IP address of the Host device, found in Step 7, then click the Join button.
You will note the port field contains the same port number you allowed access to during port forwarding in your router.
Performance issues:
If the performance decreases with new players joining:
Connection issues