Minecraft is a game with virtually limitless possibilities. You can build anything you want out of whatever you want. You can kill a dragon in the land of darkness. You can fight pig zombies in the underworld. You can even grow vegetables! But sometimes it’s nice to take a break and experience things other people have made for a change.
Where there’s an infinite possibility, there’s an endless number of people willing to say “challenge accepted.” Minecraft map creators go to extreme lengths to entertain, baffle, frustrate, or in the case of this article, stump. In no particular order, here are the best Minecraft puzzle maps to play if you’re looking for a blocky brainteaser.
10 Best Minecraft Puzzle Maps
The Shadowmaker
One of the unique puzzle maps of them all, The Shadowmaker boasts 17 levels (plus nine bonus levels) to solve, voice acting, custom music, two different endings, and a brand-new mechanic all its own.
This new mechanic involves the ability to create and place shadows – little helpers that you can summon at the push of a button to weigh down switches, get to hard-to-reach places, and in general help, you get through the levels. You can also wield light to “scare” them, and chase them into spots you otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach.
The Shadowmaker tackles these unique mechanics in a variety of exciting ways, and the story is worth delving into if you like a good narrative with your puzzles. The map is only compatible with Minecraft version 1.11.2, at time of writing, and it’s had some issues with shaders, but other than that, it’s a solid puzzle map that’s bound to keep you entertained.
The Useless Button
Following a trend of its time, The Useless Button is a puzzle map that involves you and a button that rather wouldn’t get pressed. Unfortunately for it, the goal of the game to is press the button as much as possible. Why? Because it’s a button. And what kind of button exists not to get pressed?
The more you press the button, the harder it tries to make your quest. It makes you do parkour, punch a cow to death, and even perform strange rituals with stained clay, all in the name of making sure you don’t press the button. Are you up to the challenge? Will you be the one to press the button?
At the time of writing, The Useless Button is only available for Minecraft version 1.8, so keep that in mind if you want to play!
The Prismarine Lab
A two-player co-op map, The Prismarine Lab is a series of 30 levels built entirely underwater. The lab itself promises treasure beyond your wildest dreams – if you have the skills to find it. The map promises an ample supply of challenges, including puzzles, parkour, mazes, and halls lines with traps and skill testers designed to kill you before you reach your goal.
The Prismarine Lab is only available on Minecraft version 1.8.9, at time of writing.
Confusing Cubes
As the name implies, Confusing Cubes is full of cubes. And, as promised, they are confusing. You find yourself trapped in a white room with only one way forward – and that way is full of puzzles.
This map will have you searching all over every wall for something you might have missed, demanding your full attention and an eye for detail. Everything you see is something to take note of – it could be important later, whether it be the next room or five rooms ahead. With an hour’s worth of clever puzzles to solve and 800 command blocks to show for it, Confusing Cubes is worth checking out.
This map is only available with Minecraft version 1.14.2 at time of writing.
The Hypercube
The Hypercube is a short and sweet puzzle/parkour map, inspired by Miegakure, a game that requires you to solve puzzles in four dimensions. While 4D may be beyond Minecraft’s capabilities (for now), The Hypercube does an impressive job of emulating its inspiration.
In every level, there are four different sides, none visible at all at once. You switch between them, using their connected pieces to find your way to the aforementioned “hypercube” – a glowing yellow cube that allows you to advance to the next level. All is said and done in 20 minutes, and you’ll feel like a genius when it’s over.
If you’re going to play The Hypercube, make sure you’re using Minecraft version 1.14.
The Tiny Box
Another puzzle map with inspiration from another source, The Tiny Box is a Portal-inspired game with two endings, custom textures, and even a bit of parkour to spice things up.
You start the map in a white room with nothing in your inventory but – you guessed it – a tiny box. This tiny box is now your best friend, a la the companion cube, in that it will help you through the map. It acts as a stepping stool for places too high to reach and all-purpose activator for various parts of the levels. Everything’s dandy until a mysterious voice starts to suggest that the tiny box that’s been helping you doesn’t care about you. But that’s not true. Is it?
Lazer Together
As the name implies, Lazer Together is another two-player co-op map, with more the 20 stages, hidden pixel art, and a final boss waiting to test you and a friend’s teamwork and puzzle-solving skills. It makes great use of the concept of co-op lasers, constantly putting your teamwork skills to the test with simultaneous parkouring, being separated to solve a puzzle, and much more.
At time of writing, Lazer Together must be played in Minecraft version 1.12.2
The Ice Lab
From the same builders who brought us The Prismarine Lab, The Ice Lab is yet another two-player co-op, with an icy theme to its 30 rooms this time. It also promises treasure hidden behind layers of puzzles and parkour. With two and a half hours’ worth of puzzles to solve, this map will challenge you and your friend with logic puzzles, memory testers, seek-and-find, and more still.
If you want to try out The Ice Lab, make sure you’re playing in Minecraft version 1.8.
p.13
Created as a love letter for Minecraft version 1.13, p.13 is positively using the unluckiest number. With 13 rooms and 13 puzzles – Redstone, logic, parkour, and more – p.13 was built to show off the mechanics that 1.13 added to the game.
You probably could have guessed, but p.13 must be played in Minecraft version 1.13.
Escape Prison
Who doesn’t love a good, old fashioned escape puzzle? Escape Prison brings us back to the formula in an exciting way by giving you multiple prisons to escape from. With ten different prisons, parkour elements, glasses that let you see nearby guards, and full voice acting, this map puts a new spin on an old favorite.
At the time of writing, Escape Prison must be played in Minecraft version 1.12
