If you’re going to only play one minecraft parkour map in your lifetime, make it the Epic Jump Map. Not only is it well designed and challenging for beginners and experienced players alike, it has a definite charm and lightness that will appeal to old and young. There’s a definite platformer game feel, the scenery is designed in such a way that you feel a bit like the 16 bit embodiment of an 8 bit character, whatever that might mean to you.

As with all parkour based maps there is a certain amount of frustration you’ll encounter along the way. That’s okay. Frustration is good for the soul and it makes overcoming a series of obstacles all the sweeter.

I felt drawn through this map, nothing was bland and boring, everything was fresh and made with a sense of enthusiasm. A lot of parkour maps make the mistake of looking like they were designed in communist Russia, but this one with its fluffy cloud sky jumps and giant mushrooms takes the player back to a more whimsical time. There’s also a bit of a storyline to keep you entertained when merely leaping from block to block starts to lose its charms.

PRO TIP: Well, sort of amateur pro tip, if you’re finding it very difficult to complete the jumps in the normal view mode, pressing F5 will switch you to third person mode which makes things a lot easier as you can see where you’re going and where you’re standing much more effectively.

Download Epic Jump Minecraft Parkour map!

Cave Parkour is a fast paced map that requires a modicum of jumping skill and a thorough understanding of the sprint button. One unique facet of the map is that it reccomends you play it on peaceful. This is because exploding creepers can cause offense, not to mention completely destroy the delicate balance of the parkour obstacles.

Without giving away any real spoilers, timed pistons have been heavily integrated into the map, meaning you must do more than just jump – you must time those jumps correctly.

This is a pretty challenging map, though it could be suitable for beginners they would have to be tenacious beginners who don’t give up the first few times they have to repeat a series of jumps.

If I were to make a criticism it is that sometimes one can get lost and not be sure of the way forward – not because the jumps are too hard, but because all caves sort of look the same. A few more signs with arrows would have helped, but all in all this is a nice map for those looking for a diamond collecting minecraft parkour challenge!

Download Cave Parkour, Minecraft Parkour Map!

Imagine surviving in Minecraft without actually doing any mining. Wouldn’t that be strange? This is a minecraft survival map that promotes that very mode of survival. With original survival maps coming few and far between, this is something a little different for minecraft survival fans.

One starts the game in a caverous rectangular space with wind and thunder and lightening pounding and striking outside. The atmosphere is quite nice for an attempt at creating pleasant solitude from bare rock and a couple of chests full of supplies. There’s a whole bunch of cobblestone to work with, 3456 blocks, if my calculations are close to correct. There’s also ten grass blocks, nine more than the survivalist really needs, a whole heap of dirt and eggs with which to spawn ocelots, wolves, pigs, sheep and more. There’s also the usual suspects including seeds and bits of watermelon and whatnot.

This is basically the minecraft survival version of grand designs. You have a space to work with, limited building materials and it is up to you to colonize the vast space and make it somewhat homely without succumbing to hunger or a skeleton or suchlike. Strange Survival is an interesting take on minecraft survival that will greatly appeal to those with creative urges who also like to overcome challenges.

Download Strange Survival Minecraft Survival Map!

A PICTORAL GUIDE TO MINECRAFT’S NEW COLORED WOOD PLANKS

The new minecraft wood planks, along with the saplings they grow from. Click the image to enlarge it.

A relatively small patch has changed the way minecrafters build wooden houses forever! In the past it didn’t matter what kind of wood you made your planks from, they always looked the same. But now there are different textures for Apple Wood, Pine, Birch and Jungle wooden planks. If you’ve been building wooden structures out of a mish-mash of wooden planks in the past, never fear, older structures will still be the ‘default’ apple wood plank texture.

Apple Wood Planks = ‘Original’ minecraft wood plank texture.
Birch Wood Planks = Light wood planks
Jungle Wood Planks = Reddish / orange wood planks.
Pine Wood Planks = Dark wood planks.

This minecraft survival map comes in the form of an oversized ant farm. Surrounded by glass on all sides, you find yourself in a room much bigger than any room you’ve been in before. In many ways, it is minecraft within minecraft, with a superscale build that dwarfs the player.

There have been other similar maps before, but none with the attention to detail and impressive minaturization that this map imparts to the player. You are insignificant compared to a crafting table that does not come up to waist height, but towers above you far into the distance. There is a bed, but you could fall into a crevasse in the creases of the pillow and never emerge again. Amidst all this incomprehensibly large splendor, you must eek out an existence, forever staring off into a realm of possibilities your feeble frame cannot hope to endure, let alone understand.

To survive this map you must be like an ant. You must tunnel ceaselessly, you must pass hormone markers on with your antennae and you must be able to carry several times your own weight without complaint. If you can’t do that, this map might not be for you. Or it might be. Who am I to judge.

PRO TIP: If you load this map and find that the walls are bedrock, that’s because the walls are bedrock retextured to be see through. You must use the texture pack associated with the map in order to get the full effect.

Click here to download the Ant Farm Survival Minecraft Map!