--- description: Microsoft is joining hands with Code.org to bring Minecraft to a major coding event next month. title: Microsoft Is Doing Something Really Smart With Minecraft image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e9be33240760542/6988717cab6d779c946a72ed/minecraft-hour-of-code-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Microsoft Is Doing Something Really Smart With _Minecraft_ ## Video: Tech Time: Why Super Mario Bros. is One of the Best Video Games Ever Made [Watch (HLS stream): Tech Time: Why Super Mario Bros. is One of the Best Video Games Ever Made](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/b86vuoEJ.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2015-09-10. TIME Tech Editor talks about the genius of Super Mario Bros. as the NES game turns 30._ by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 4:06 PM CUT  Microsoft / Code.org by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 4:06 PM CUT So this may be what, when Microsoft paid a bazillion dollars for _Minecraft_ last year and everyone said “This could go really, really well or really, really poorly,” would be an example of it going pretty darned well: Microsoft is joining hands with [Code.org](http://code.org "undefined") (the diversity-focused nonprofit aiming to massively popularize computer science) to bring _Minecraft_ to a major coding event next month. That event, dubbed “Hour of Code” and set to celebrate its third anniversary, is Code.org’s annual push to “broaden global participation in computer science.” It’s held as part of Computer Science Education Week from December 7-13, another computer science popularization program originally run by the Computing in the Core coalition, led by Code.org for the first time this year. The _Minecraft_ angle involves [a free online coding tutorial](https://code.org/mc "undefined") designed for kids six and up. Click the link and if your child knows anything about _Minecraft_, they’ll instantly recognize the whiskered face in the three-minute video: Jens Bergensten, or “Jeb” as he’s popularly known, connecting the dots from his foray into programming as a kid to his role today as _Minecraft_‘s creative lead at studio Mojang in Stockholm. ### See Microsoft's New Flagship Store Compared to An Apple Store  Apple Store The Arndale Centre store in Manchester, England. Hufton + Crow  Microsoft Store Microsoft's new flagship store opening on Oct. 26, 2015 in New York. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store genius bar in the Fifth Ave. Apple Store in New York. Apple  Microsoft Store A help desk and checkout counter. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store The Regent Street Apple Store in London. Hufton + Crow  Microsoft Store Dell computers are on sale with other laptops behind them. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store The Regent Street Apple Store in London. Hufton + Crow  Microsoft Store The glass stairs to the second floor. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store The Regent Street Apple Store in London. Hufton + Crow  Microsoft Store Displays line the walls of the first and second floors. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store The West 14th Street Apple Store in New York. Apple  Microsoft Store Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store An Apple store in Tokyo. Koji Sasahara—AP  Microsoft Store Headphones on sale. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store Apple Watches in the 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York. Spencer Platt—Getty Images  Microsoft Store Fitbit watches. Josh Raab for TIME  Microsoft Store Surface Pro computers with the Microsoft logo that will raise and lower itself with the sun. Josh Raab for TIME  Apple Store The Chicago Apple Store. Brian Kersey—Getty Images  Microsoft / Code.org Over the course of about an hour, the tutorial helps kids understand the basics of computer science by showing them how to get Alex or Steve–the closest thing _Minecraft_ has to female and male leads, respectively–to traverse a simulated 2D swatch of a _Minecraft_ world (imagine the camera positioned above the world looking down). Instead of typing in text, kids use a tool called Blockly, a Google project that represents lines of code as blocks, making it easier to visualize how commands and loops and logic statements fit together. The tutorial’s 14 puzzles increase in complexity and involve doing things like getting Alex or Steve to move toward a tree and harvest wood. Once a puzzle is solved, the tutorial pulls back the curtain to reveal the lines of text that comprise the actual JavaScript program. I’ve fiddled with a bit of the tutorial, and can say it seems very cleverly paced, breaking concepts up into a few puzzles at a time, then pausing for video explainers (by other Mojang employees) that build on what’s been learned to introduce new or more efficient ways of approaching the next programming idea. All told, it’s an easy idea to get behind, a more than worthy way to grow your child’s fascination with _Minecraft_ into a set of skills that both undergird and encompass one of the most creative mediums in the world. 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