Minecraft, from Mojang, remains one of the most popular video games out there, but in theory, there’s only so much time that a kid can (or should) spend in front of his or her computer screen. One solution is Jazwares‘ Minecraft Papercraft, which brings Minecraft into the real world through arts and crafts kits that let kids recreate their favorite scenes. Suitable for kids ages 6 and up, each multi-piece set features foldable cardboard versions of blocks—the foundation of much of Minecraft‘s game play—and various monsters. Each item features squared angles and pixel visuals, making it highly reminiscent of its in-game counterpart.
The newest wave of Minecraft Papercraft sets includes an Overworld Hostile Mobs set, which contains paper basic blocks, as well as the Creeper, the Spider, and the Witch; and the Overworld Snow Biome set with ice blocks and Snow Golem. Each individual object has perforations indicating where to fold, and slots and tabs to lock their sides into place. While the blocks can be completed fairly quickly, the hostile-based paper crafts require folding up multiple blocks, and then attaching them to one another. The results are interesting on a visual level (which come to think of it, is a phrase that also works for each monster in the video game), as well as structurally sound thanks to fairly thick cardboard. But what’s even more important is that the difficulty level isn’t so high, and the building process is actually fun.
For Minecraft fans, Jazwares’ paper craft sets represent a possible segue into the arts and crafts genre. They might even find it as much fun as the video game version, and at the very least, it will allow them to build up their finger dexterity in a whole new way.
