Minecraft Education Challenge

JOIN THE 2024 BATTLE OF THE BOROUGHS
MINECRAFT BUILD CHALLENGE!

In partnership with Minecraft Education and C40’s Reinventing Cities initiative, Battle of the Boroughs (BOTB) is a three-round scholastic K-12 elimination-style esports competition. BOTB is designed to engage our young New Yorkers in shaping the future of their city. Building on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the City’s OneNYC 2050 strategic plan, and the Mayor’s Digital Gaming Initiative, student teams will compete to create the most inclusive future-ready city spaces.

Check out this recap from the 2023 Finals

2024 Battle of the Boroughs Minecraft Education

QUICKLINKS

Round 1 Support

Student Guide | Student Guide Slide Deck | Teacher Guide | Teacher Guide Slide Deck | Download Minecraft Education | Download the NYCDOE Reinventing Cities World | Flip Video Walkthrough Guide | Round 1 Submission Form | Round 1 Form Submission Walkthrough | Round 1 Rubric

Time to submit your team’s build for a chance to compete in a live, in-person Esports competition to become your borough’s champions! Borough Championship teams will move on to compete in the citywide Mayor’s Cup Championship Finals!

Teams of no more than five students must first submit their builds by responding to the following prompt:

HOW CAN WE REPURPOSE NEW YORK CITY SPACES TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE, INCLUSIVE, AND FUTURE-READY CITY? WHAT ARE YOUR IDEAS TO CHANGE THE KINGSBRIDGE ARMORY TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY? 

Use one or all of the focus areas to guide you:

  • Community Garden/Market: We need healthy meals and places to learn about creating a healthy environment.
  • Cultural Spaces: We need spaces to learn and connect to our history and culture. These can include art and museum spaces or areas for community cultural organizations to connect, grow, and share their history with the broader community. 
  • Community Centers: Whether after-school programs for youth or seniors, spaces for exercise, or places to connect, we want to make sure the space serves the full needs of the area’s families and communities.
  • Entrepreneurship: Local businesses and owners need space to create jobs and opportunities for the whole community to flourish. Beyond that job training and career development for both new and returning workers will further that effort.

Kingsbridge Armory


HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN ROUND 1 OF THE CHALLENGE

  • To speed up the application process: Ensure that student teams are ready to submit the link to their final build Flip videos. You will need the student team name, names of students, and the final build link to complete your Round 1 BOTB submission. Review a PDF preview of the submission form here. The live form can be found here.
  • Student Teams: You will need to have an adult at your school submit your build walkthrough video using this form.
  • School-based Staff: You will review and submit student team builds and submit using this form.

GUIDELINES & CHECKLIST

  • Review the 2024 Battle of the Boroughs Student Guide.
  • You can access the NYC World in the New & Featured section of the game. You can also find it in the library in the sustainability section. In addition, you can directly download the 2024 Battle of the Boroughs Minecraft World.
  • Load the world using Minecraft Education and explore the different spaces, taking care to meet the different city officials and representatives who can give you more information.
  • In the final world location, you will be led to the build plate where you can begin to build your challenge solution.
  • Use the 2024 Battle of the Boroughs Teacher Guide to get more specific information to support you in your build.
  • Review the rubric and the challenge prompt before you start so you understand what the judges are looking for.
  • Work on your challenge submission and design a solution using blocks, items, characters, and/or coding in Minecraft.
  • Once you are ready to submit, you (and your teammates) will use Microsoft Flip to create a video tour of your Minecraft build, with a voiceover explaining your project.
  • Submit your project through a Flip screen recording that is no more than 2 minutes in length by March 1st. Please make sure to use your @nycstudents.net email address that was assigned to you by the NYCDOE to submit your recording on Flip. (If you do not know what your @nycstudents.net email address is, ask your teacher or an adult at your school so that they can assist you.)
  • Teachers: You will also submit your student video information in the Team Submission Form.
  • Check out these tips for using Flipgrid including other options to enhance your video.

COMPETITION TIMELINE

Round 1 Submission process

November - March: Student teams create and school staff submit builds responding to the 2024 Minecraft Build Challenge Prompt

March: Student team submissions are reviewed by NYC Public Schools Central Staff according to a specific rubric. Selected teams will be contacted to participate in live events.

Round 2 Borough Qualifying Rounds & Semi-Finals

April - May: Select teams accompanied by their advisors will compete in live, in-person esports Battles in their boroughs. Families and community members are invited to join and support! Borough Championship teams will prevail!

Collage of Sample BotB Competition photos

Round 3 Battle of the Boroughs Mayor’s Cup Finals

June: Borough Champions accompanied by their advisors will compete for the citywide Mayor’s Cup alongside a Video Game Industry Education, Community & Careers Opportunities Expo featuring the chance to engage with industry professionals, community organizations, and other leaders in the NYC Video Game Industry! Families and community members are invited to join and support!

BOTB Finals Photos

Get Started with Minecraft Education

Minecraft: Education is free to all NYC Department of Education students through their DOE student account. Review the Technical Guide for more information on installation and troubleshooting.

Download Minecraft

  1. Download Minecraft: Education for Windows, Mac, iPad, or Chromebook.

    1. If you have a DOE-issued iPad, the Minecraft app should already be on your device.

    2. If you have a school-issued Chromebook (from 2019 or newer), you will need help from your school's technology teacher to download the software. 

  2. Sign in using your NYCDOE student account. You will need to ask your school or teacher if you’re unsure about yours.

Guide to Multiplayer

Minecraft’s multiplayer mode is one of the most popular and effective ways to leverage Minecraft and is a great way to keep students connected with classmates, even when collaborating from home. Working together encourages collaboration, communication, and problem-solving as students work together on projects in a shared Minecraft world. The Education Edition of Minecraft makes multiplayer mode much easier to engage in.

Players can be in different locations on different internet services, but they must all be using the same domain (i.e. DOE’s nycstudents.net or schools.nyc.gov). The teacher can host a world or students can join another player’s world if given the join information. The abilities of players in multiplayer mode can be restricted in settings. You can find a full overview of procedures and restrictions in the Minecraft Education Multiplayer Guide. A school or home’s configuration or firewall settings can cause issues, but the guide does offer troubleshooting support.

For technical questions, email us at [minecraft@schools.nyc.gov]

Guide to Coding

Computer programming is what created Minecraft, but you can do your own coding easily inside Minecraft with incredible results. Whether using slash commands or building with the agent, you can program large sets of blocks to be placed quickly. It’s a much faster way to build a whole city block or subway platform than doing it manually. You can also use the agent to manage processes like farming or water management while you tour your build space.

Whether you have participated in the Hour of Code or you’re new to coding, we’re here to support you. 

  • Press C to call your agent and get started.

  • Choose your coding editor. We recommend MakeCode for beginners.

  • You can select a new project to start your own design or choose one of the many built-in tutorials like build a house, gold stairs, or chicken rain.

  • For more guidance, you can View Library and Choose Subject Kits in the menu to find several built-in computer science and digital citizenship worlds and connected lessons.

  • You can explore the full 200 hours of K-12 Minecraft coding or start with an online training course for teachers.

For Minecraft coding or general computer science education questions, email us at CSeducation@schools.nyc.gov.

Past Battle of the Borough Events

Battle of the Boroughs 2022-2023

Video of the Battle of the Borough Finals at the Intrepid

THE 2023 BATTLE OF THE BOROUGHS FINALS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED!

JUNE 10th | USS Intrepid

Space is limited. To register for passes Fill out the form .

We’re partnering with Minecraft Education and C40’s Reinventing Cities initiative to guide all K-12 students in creating our future New York. Building on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the City’s 32 goals in PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, and existing mayoral initiatives students will compete to create the most inclusive future-ready city spaces. Students and teachers across the city can find support below.

Battle of Boroughs Finals Details

The event will include the junior and senior championships as well as notable speakers and gamers, a vendor zone, college and career information, a DJ, and prizes

Date: Saturday, June 10, 2023

Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM (Junior Championships-)(Senior Championships-)

Location: Intrepid Museum

Round 1-3 Support
Student Guide (K-5) | Student Guide (6-12) | Teacher Guide | Flip Guide Download Minecraft Education | Download the NYCDOE Reinventing Cities World

Recorded Webinars: Feb. 14 Webinar | March 4th


THE LIVE ESPORTS COMPETITION & OPPORTUNITIES FAIR!

PRO TIP: Expect awards, prizes, SWAG, and much, much more!

Mayors Cup - Minecraft Battle of the Boroughs