Survival games that allow crafting can be a lot of fun to play with friends, so, understandably, many such titles come with multiplayer functions so that gamers can help each other fight waves of monsters or construct the finest structures, such as in Minecraft.

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Those wishing to add friends in Minecraft can do so fairly easily with just a bit of menu navigation. Not only can players enjoy this renowned game about building and exploring with friends on the same platform, but now, with cross-platform play, aspiring miners and craftspeople can now collaborate with many more of their friends.

Updated on October 26, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Inviting friends into a game is just the first step, as, afterward, players will need things to do with their friends. Thankfully, Minecraft has nearly infinite potential for fun activities, such as various building pursuits, hunting down rare mobs, or even creating a new game to play by building a novel one within Minecraft using a plethora of blocks and one's imagination.

While some people can get bored of the blocky expanse created by Mojang, having friends along can breathe fresh life into any gameplay experience--especially one with as many features as this.

How To Add A Friend Quickly & Easily

player looking at the menu to add friends and join realms.
Image from YouTube video by YourSixGaming

How To Add Friends Step By Step

From the main menu, select Play to be brought to a sub-menu with a few tabs. The one labeled "Friends" is what players need to connect with allies online.

Then, select "Add Friend" to arrive at a search bar where one can type in the Gamertag of the person that they would like to add.

After their Gamertag has been entered, if it is spelled correctly and is a real tag, the desired account will pop up and grant players a few options: adding them as a friend or adding them as a favorite.

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Difference Between Adding As A Friend Or Adding As A Favorite

When looking at the options on how to add someone as a contact in Minecraft, players should decide based on their relationship with that person.

Adding someone as a friend means that players can send a friend invite, and, if it is accepted, both players can send each other invites to games.

Adding someone as a favorite is a bit different, in that, in addition to the above-mentioned traits, those listed as a favorite will appear at the top of one's friends list and players can see when they are online or begin broadcasting.

How To Invite A Friend While In A Game

While playing Minecraft, players can also invite friends pretty easily. To do so, bring up the menu and then select "Invite to Game" on the right of the screen.

This will lead to a menu listing all of one's friends who are online and offline, even those not playing Minecraft. From here, one can send invites to multiple people at a time by checking the box next to the names of those with whom one wants to build and explore.

How To Add Cross-Platform Friends (On Console)

player about to look for cross-platform friends to add to a minecraft game.

In a very similar method to inviting friends, those on console versions of Minecraft have a particularly easy way of playing with people on other platforms. From the in-game menu, go to the "Invite to Game" sub-menu to be shown a list of the online and offline friends for that specific platform, however, at the bottom of this menu, there will be an option to "Find Cross-Platform Friends".

Select this option to find a menu where one can search for the desired ally's Gamertag and all the same options for adding them as a friend or favorite.

Things To Do With Friends In A Minecraft World

Minecraft house with pig and chicken.

Traditional Activities

As it has been for the last 10 years, players can have a great time building various kinds of structures with their friends. The benefit over doing this solo is that construction will go by a lot quicker, and likely among relaxed conversation. Gamers can build an extravagant house, entire villages, or something even crazier--the only limit is one's imagination!

Players can also go on epic adventures to discover fascinating biomes to uncover hidden treasure. Or, alternatively, one's party can enter the Nether or The End for different dimension expeditions full of danger as well as rare loot.

In a game with as much freedom as Minecraft, players can even make their own sub-games. Redstone contraptions can be used for some crazy machines and systems, where, again, the only real limitation is one's imagination...and time.

New Things To Try In Minecraft

With the many, many mods that have been created since the game's release, players can essentially turn Minecraft into a completely different game if they want. There are incredible visual mods that can totally revamp the aesthetics of a blocky world which affects the textures, lighting, and even some of the weather and physics of the game. These changes will also affect one's character skins, so gamers and their friends will get a new look as well.

When it comes to gameplay mods, there are also some awesome ones to check out, like those that can introduce elements that are both novel and familiar for a twist that can let players try some new things. One, called JurassicCraft, introduces dinosaurs into the game which players can their friends can raise...or run away from. Another, called PixelMon, can let Pokemon fans enjoy the pocket monster battling experience by facing off against their friends in a new setting.

Minecraft is available on Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Xbox 360, Raspberry Pi, Windows Phone, PlayStation 3, Fire OS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Apple TV, tvOS, Nintendo Switch, and New Nintendo 3DS.

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