Game Cup Season 1 Recap

This summer marked the debut of our very first competition: Game Cup Season 1. Around 15 developers, designers and builders faced the challenge of creating a Minecraft minigame in just a few short weeks. Curious about the exciting minigames that came out of it and who claimed the first crown in this season? Find out in this recap!

The Challenge

Teams consisting of two to four members were challenged to design and develop a minigame within a two-week deadline. However, due to various reasons, the timeframe was extended to 3.5 weeks. Following this, the games were showcased during the Grand Finale stream on Twitch, where the minigames were played live. Viewers had the opportunity to vote for their favorite minigame in a user voting. The participants themselves also served as the jury, rating the minigames of other teams in seven categories:

• Balancing: Are the game mechanics fair and balanced for all players?
• Gameplay: Is the gaming experience captivating and enjoyable?
• Replayability: Does the game encourage multiple playthroughs with engaging content?
• Map: Is the in-game map detailed and easy to navigate?
• UI Design: Is the UI (HUD, chat, scoreboard) visually appealing?
• Uniqueness and Originality: Does the game present innovative concepts that distinguish it?
• User Friendliness: Is the game easy to understand and navigate?

We collected and weighted the ratings from both users and participants, and in a YouTube video, we revealed the winners of the first season along with a small prize of €150. If you haven’t seen the video yet, go watch it! We present all the games once again and the winners are announced in a truly epic setting. For those who speak English, please note the video is in German — it's probably best to just keep reading this post.

What they’ve created

Of the seven teams that initially took on the challenge, only four managed to create a minigame. The other three teams dropped out due to critical errors, poor time management or a lack of motivation. It seems the challenge was too overwhelming for them…

Despite this, we are pleased to introduce four exciting minigames that not only take various approaches but also showcase how participants created their own personal challenges!

Flash

The team 240km/h, featuring UflGerstenkorn and Freggyy, has created a minigame that makes you feel like you’re racing at 240km/h: Flash! This classic game was first introduced on the server bergwerkLABS.

Your mission is to be the first to reach the goal of the Map River from bergwerkLABS made by Frakelz. However, the challenge is that you’re running at high speed — your jumps will extend further, and accurately timing your take-off becomes essential. If you’re a fan of jump and run games or nostalgic about minigames from the past, this one is sure to delight you!

By the way, the team also took on the challenge of programming the minigame in Lua.

Rocket Build

This is RocketBuild — a game by Team Rocket featuring EinsLucaaa and D151l! In this game, you’ll compete in teams of up to five players to build a rocket. Your goal is to complete all the stages of the rocket by delivering specific resources to the Rocket Builder, which you can find in the central mine.

To speed up your progress, you can purchase additional spawners for ores that will passively generate resources. You can also upgrade your tools to advance more quickly. If you want to be super productive, consider building automations to mine and process ores automatically. However, be cautious — other teams can raid your storage and steal your resources, so defense is just as crucial as resource gathering. The first team to successfully complete all the rocket stages and make it launch-ready wins the game.

Airport Sim

In the minigame by Team Die Granaten, planes take off too! They’ve designed an airport idle game in minigame format. Your goal is to efficiently transport 500 passengers to their destinations. Passengers will go through various checkpoints, and you'll earn money for every passenger that successfully flies.

You can upgrade four key areas: Security Check, Check-In, Marketing, and Baggage Claim. By improving these stations, you can enhance their efficiency — such as adding more devices at the Security Check or boosting your marketing strategy. However, keep an eye on your passengers’ wait times, as long delays can negatively impact your reputation. Occasionally, passengers might create bottlenecks at the Security Check, or luggage may get stuck on the conveyor belt, requiring your intervention to resolve the issue. You might also need to take on janitorial duties to dispose of any trash! All of this is to ensure your passengers enjoy a smooth and pleasant travel experience.

For developers interested in the technical side, the team built the entire game using Minestom! By the way, Nico_ND1 decided to make the repository open source 💪.

Power Golf

Let’s get those balls flying — swing your club in Power Golf like Tiger Woods! On seven different holes, you'll encounter various obstacles and boosts as you aim to sink your ball into the holes.

Choose the right club to achieve the perfect height and distance for your shots. But don’t hold your swing too long, or you might miss entirely! Explore a beautifully colorful map where you can even use your Elytra to fly if your ball is too far away. In the end, the player with the fewest strokes across all seven holes will be crowned the winner!

Winners of Season 1

Four teams managed to bring an exciting minigame to life in a remarkably short period. Although the Game Cup seeks to determine which team can create the best minigame, we want to highlight that our primary aim is to demonstrate that small teams, with minimal to no funding but plenty of talent, can produce outstanding minigames. Thankfully, most teams shared the goal of showcasing an impressive minigame!

Recognizing the teams for their remarkable achievements is crucial. So, let’s now reveal the winners of Season One. Teams can earn titles in four categories: Best Map, Best Design, Best Innovation, and Community’s Choice. However, the key question is: Who will emerge as the champion of the first season of the Game Cup and win the small prize of €150?

Category Awards

• 💡 Best Innovation: Power Golf by Team Eagle with an average rating of 4.61 stars (followed by Airport Sim by Team Die Granaten with an average rating of 4.11 stars)
• ⛰️ Best Map: Power Golf by Team Eagle with an average rating of 4.11 stars (followed by Airport Sim by Team Die Granaten with an average rating of 3.89 stars)
• 🖌️ Best Design: Power Golf by Team Eagle with an average rating of 4.17 stars (followed by Airport Sim by Team Die Granaten with an average rating of 2.87 stars)
• 🙋‍♂️ Community’s Choice: Airport Sim by Team Die Granaten with 19 user votes (followed by Power Golf by Team Eagle with 5 user votes)

Ranking of Season One

1. ⛳️ Power Golf by Team Eagle with 90,44 Points
2. ✈️ Airport Sim by Team Die Granaten with 64.17 Points
3. 🚀 RocketBuild by Team Rocket with 60.88 Points
4. 👟 Flash by Team 240km/h with 50.60 Points

Congratulations to all the winners! Your hard work and creativity have truly paid off. We also want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the participants who bravely took on the challenge. Your dedication and passion played a significant role in making this event not only possible but also incredibly exciting and engaging for everyone involved.

Each minigame showcased unique talents and innovative ideas, highlighting the amazing potential of small teams. Thank you for your commitment and for bringing such energy and enthusiasm to the Game Cup.

By the way, you’ll soon be able to jump into the games on our Chunks Explorer in Minecraft! Be sure to add the server address chunks.space to your server list now, and get ready to enjoy thrilling minigames and more with the latest Minecraft version on the Chunks Explorer!

Summary

The feedback we received from you after the Grand Finale was amazing. Many members of our community reached out after the winner announcement, sharing how exciting and motivating the event was to watch. A lot of you even signed up right away for the second season of the Game Cup!

We are proud that what started as a small challenge among friends has grown into such an exciting competition with many talented individuals. Four fantastic minigames were created, each taking a completely different direction. The participants demonstrated what can be achieved in a short time without a massive budget or large team.

For us, this was a pilot season, where we gained our first experiences in organizing events. Not everything went perfectly. If you’re curious about what we could have done better in terms of organization and infrastructure, the challenges we faced, and what the second season of the Game Cup might look like, check out our Behind The Scenes article… It’s worth the read!

To everyone who’s ready for the next season and eager to show what you’ve got: Join our Community Discord Server and get your Role to show, that you’re ready to be part of the next season. We’ll see you next year for the epic second season of the Game Cup!