Revenge plots, thwarted empires, assassination attempts, and gladiator fights to the death… no, these aren’t just key components of Shakespearean epics or unfortunate realities of Ancient Roman society. They’re what can happen when you let 1,300 players simulate civilisation in a Minecraft server for 10 days.
So if you thought Minecraft was just a kids’ game about mining ore and defeating mobs, you thought wrong. Here’s how it went down – and how you can recreate a similar story arc in your own private server with Fasthosts.
Minecraft Rich and Poor: How it unfolded
This 10-day epic, documented over a 2.5-hour-long video with over 10 million views, started with a simple idea: to spawn two separate groups of players on two distinct islands – one abundant and green, the other an arid wasteland – and watch what happens. The only key rule? Once you die, you’re out.
Straight away, factions formed on both islands and cities sprung up. Life on Island One was hard – Westhelm descended into brutality, the Lingulini Mafia went into hiding, and Infernus declared themselves a nation of volcano worshippers. Some abandoned the desert island for the more verdant horizons of Island Two, where fairness and level-headed leadership prevailed in The Cass Coalition, and nations worked together as part of The Commonwealth. Players began to form livelihoods, building bakeries, tending to farmland, and playing key leadership roles in their respective cities.
However, a villain soon emerged on Island Two. Fluixon, a political conspirator from Luminara, sought to stir hostility and paranoia amongst their fellow players. Eventually, they orchestrated a mass-assassination of some of the city’s top leaders at a peace summit, framing their former friend and apolitical figure, Saparata, in the process – forcing them into exile where they were hunted by the whole server.
Despite becoming a fugitive on Island One, Saparata was able to garner sympathy and form an alliance with other key figures – namely Queen Cass, Emperor Schpood, and their military forces. They returned to their home to confront Fluixon, killing them in a one-on-one battle in the colosseum and finally bringing peace to the civilisation.
How gaming can spark creativity
While video games often get a bad rap for encouraging egregious violence and negative behaviour, the Minecraft “Rich & Poor” saga shows that this doesn’t always have to be the case. In fact, players were encouraged to avoid random killing in favour of promoting lasting peace – with violent acts often sparking uproar from the majority of players.
The creative storytelling that emerged from this experiment isn’t surprising either. One 2014 study found that playing Minecraft without any instructions was proven to boost graphic creativity amongst users. And this isn’t the first time that gamers have pushed the boundaries of Minecraft to have a positive impact.
Back in the lockdown of 2020, a group of friends recreated their favourite Birmingham nightclub in Minecraft. After sharing it on social media, the response was so overwhelmingly positive that they decided to host a virtual night out in support for the NHS – ultimately raising over £2,000.
Push your game further with a private server
Sometimes, all you want to do in Minecraft is dig for ore and build your homestead – and for that, a public server is fine. But for those larger projects, like the ones listed above, only a private server will do – giving you full control over your world, the players within it, and the rules of engagement.
So, if you’ve been inspired to create your very own civilisation simulator, make sure you do it with a Fasthosts Minecraft Gaming Server. Our servers are based in the UK and powered by green energy data centres across the country, giving you enhanced sovereignty over your data. Build yours today from just £6 per month.
