The More RAM You Give It

There are three ways to play multiplayer Minecraft: Java Edition, which is free. - You have three options: join a public Minecraft server, create your own or buy a Minecraft Realm. - If your friends are on the same network, you can set up a LAN Minecraft server for local multiplayer.

The simple yet limitless game of Minecraft has millions of players, so it's easy to find friends to play with. However, it can be confusing to figure out how to play multiplayer games with your friends.

You can play multiplayer Minecraft with different editions of Minecraft, depending on whether you have the console-friendly Bedrock edition or the more classic Java edition. No matter which edition you choose, you can only play with other players who have the same version.

Java is the most popular version. There are many ways to play with your friends.

Hosting a multiplayer Minecraft server shouldn't take more than a few seconds.

Here are the facts.

Quick tip: You must all be playing the same version Minecraft to be able to play with other players.

How to play with Minecraft friends

Minecraft's multiplayer mode is built around servers. Each player must be on the same server.

There are thousands of Minecraft servers already out there, which you and your friends can join to play together in moments - see the section below on how to join a friend's or a public server for more details. There is one downside to this: you will be sharing these servers and playing with many people you don’t know.

You can create a Minecraft server with your friends for free if you want to play a private game. It is not an easy task. The server creator will need a computer with good internet speed. If this doesn't work for you, there are other options.

Here are the steps you need to follow in order to join an existing Minecraft Java Edition server or create your own multiplayer servers.

Join a server

1. Launch Minecraft and choose Multiplayer.

2. Click Add Server.

3. Enter the address of the host server in the Server Address box and click Done. This could be an address on the Internet or a URL.

4. Wait for the server to connect. more When it appears in your list, click on it and click Join Server.

Create and join your own server

The following steps will help you set up a server on your Windows 10 computer. The steps should be identical, if not entirely the same, for Mac and Linux computers.

1. Launch a web browser of your choice and navigate to minecraft.net/download. Scroll down and click Java Edition Server.

2. Next, find and download Minecraft server software. Put it somewhere you'll find it. The file will have a .jar extension.

3. Make a folder on your computer, name it anything you like, and then place the.jar file that you downloaded inside it. This is where you'll keep all your server files.

4. Next, create a plain-text document. Right-click in the folder, select New, then text document. Name the text document "start.txt."

Quick tip: You can create an.txt document on a Mac by using the TextEdit program. In Linux, the terminal can be used to issue the "cat” command.

5. Navigate back to the Minecraft server download webpage. Copy the following command text:

java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.1.18.2.jar nogui

Notice that the numbers nearing the end will vary depending on Minecraft's latest version.

6. Paste the string of command text into your start.txt document.

7. Within the string of command text, you'll see the words "minecraft_server.1.18.2.jar." You will need "server.jar" to rename the text. This will change the code line to read:

8. This line of code allows you to change the RAM allocation on your server. The more RAM you give it, the smoother your server can run, but the more stress it'll put on the computer.

9. The RAM is determined using the first two numbers in the code line. These numbers are the RAM amounts in megabytes (MB). By default, it's set to 1024MB of RAM, or one gigabyte (GB).

Quick tip: RAM is not like storage space. One gigabyte equals 1,024 megabytes. Not 1,000. Set the RAM amount in multiples (1,024 megabytes).

1. Launch Minecraft while your server remains open. Select Multiplayer.

2. Select Add Server in bottom-right corner.

3. In the Server Address box, enter either the number "0", "localhost" or the phrase "localhost". JERRY'S BLOG

Use a LAN Server

1. One player should launch a game world solo and then enter the pause option. From there, they'll select Open to LAN.

2. In the menu that appears, choose the game mode and whether cheats are allowed. Then click Start LAN World.

4. The other player (or players) on the same network should launch Minecraft. Instead of jumping into a Minecraft world and clicking the Multiplayer option, click the main menu.

5. Minecraft will automatically start scanning for games on the shared local network. Click Join Server to see the correct world.

6. If the server doesn't appear to be found, players should click Direct Connection. Under Server Address, enter the IP Address of the computer hosting your server. A colon (:) is followed by the five-digit port numbers.