Minecraft Education Challenge

Competition Timeline BotB 2025

What do I need to do to compete in the Battle of the Boroughs?

Minimum Requirements:

1. Full names of up to 5 student team members.
   NOTE: 5 students will be required if selected for in-person Round 2 competition.
2. Student team name.
3. A team advisor, coach or designee.
4. Access to the latest Minecraft Education through your nycstudents.net account.
5. Confirmation of Media Consent for each participating student.

Round 1 Submission process (Begins Monday, December 2nd)

December - March: Student teams create and school staff submit builds responding to the 2025 Minecraft Build Challenge Prompt. DEADLINE for submissions will be MARCH 7, 2025.

Prompt: How can you reinvent an area surrounding your school or neighborhood to improve food equity, provide space for nature to flourish, and create opportunities for the whole community to thrive?

World Access: To access the Battle of the Boroughs Minecraft World there are 2 ways.

1. The Schools Reinventing NYC 2025 Link
2. Follow these steps in Minecraft
   1. Launch the game and login.
   2. Select "Play".
   3. Select "Lesson Library".
   4. Select "Search Library", Type "NYC" and choose “ Schools Reinventing NYC 2025”
   5. Select "Create World”

March 7: 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.

Resources: Student Guide  |  Teacher Guide  |  Round 1 Rubric  |  Submission Template  |  Submission Form

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!

Round 3 Battle of the Boroughs Mayor’s Cup Finals

May 31st: 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!

Sample Prompts from Prior Years

Borough Championship Contest Build Prompts 2024

• Brooklyn
  • Preliminary K-5 Prompt
    • Create a sustainable learning space along the waterfront where NYC residents can learn about ways to become more involved with solutions for the climate crisis
  • Preliminary 6-12 Prompt
    • Create a sustainable space for businesses and entrepreneurs, especially for people who will help us solve the climate crisis.
  • Semi-Finals Prompt
    • Create sustainable, flood-resilient, and energy-efficient infrastructure for water taxis, e-vehicles, e-bikes, and other sustainable transportation. Also, consider training facilities to get people involved.
• Bronx
  • Preliminary K-5 Prompt
    • Reinvent the Center so that all residents can easily enjoy the space and establish a good diet where they live. Design ideas for local food production, supplies needed for the food (packaging, transportation, etc), and places for residents to access affordable healthy food.
  • Preliminary 6-12 Prompt
    • Design a community space that promotes inclusivity and provides good, green job opportunities, especially with the surrounding area and the food or community needs supply chain. Consider learning, training, and mentorship to support all community members!
  • Semi-Final Prompt
    • Design a new cultural arts center that serves the community while having a low environmental impact. Include spaces to meet and host activities and how you could create minimal environmental impact in the construction process.
• Manhattan
  • Preliminary K-5 Prompt
    • Imagine you're a city planner tasked with redesigning a place called SPARC Kips Bay. This place is like a big science park where people study health and nature. Right now, it needs to be made better to stay safe during floods, save energy, and be easy for everyone to visit. Your job is to come up with a design to make SPARC Kips Bay stronger, greener, and easier for everyone to enjoy. Think about how you can make it a cool place for science and health while protecting it from floods and using less energy.
  • Preliminary 6-12 Prompt
    • Imagine you're an environmental engineer tasked with designing a flood-resilient and energy-efficient campus for SPARC Kips Bay, a state-of-the-art science park and research campus in New York City. Your challenge is to create a sustainable and accessible campus that can withstand floods and reduce energy consumption while serving the needs of residents and local communities. Consider innovative solutions such as green infrastructure, renewable energy sources, and resilient building materials. Be creative and think about how your design can benefit both the campus and the surrounding community.
  • Semi-Final Prompt
    • Imagine you're an architect tasked with designing a cutting-edge school focused on public health and state-of-the-art life sciences in Kips Bay, New York City. Your goal is to create a modern educational campus that serves as a pipeline for innovative studies for students. Using your creativity, develop a plan for the school of the future. Consider the layout of classrooms, laboratories, and outdoor spaces to promote hands-on learning and collaboration. Think about incorporating sustainable features such as green roofs, renewable energy sources, and water-saving technologies to make the campus eco-friendly. Design a school that will inspire students to explore the fields of public health and life sciences and prepare them for future careers in these areas. During your share, be sure to explain the benefits of your design for both students and the community.
• Queens
  • Preliminary K-5 Prompt
    • Build homes in Willets Point for elderly residents that are accessible, energy efficient, and pleasant. Think about their access to nearby amenities such as green spaces, transportation, and community facilities. 
  • Preliminary 6-12 Prompt
    • How would you design this new school in Willets Point to have a low environmental impact? Consider construction materials, energy use, how urban nature is included, and how students travel to school.
  • Semi-Final Prompt
    • Design how people can get to and from the Willets Point soccer stadium. Outside of the professional soccer games, what other uses could be made available to the community? Also, think about how you design the street, ideas for public transportation, and how you can make sure everybody is easily able to access the stadium!
• Staten Island
  • Preliminary K-5 Prompt
    • Reimagine the waterfront to be better for the environment and also a space for community activities.
  • Preliminary 6-12 Prompt
    • Create a new school in the area that has a low environmental impact. Consider construction materials, energy use, how nature is included, and how students travel to school.
  • Semi-Final 6-12 Prompt
    • Create a zone for civic engagement and activism where future designers can plan sustainably and redesign how travel in the area can be environmentally friendly.
  • Semi-Final K-5 Prompt
    • Create a new school in the area that has a low environmental impact. Consider construction materials, energy use, how nature is included, and how students travel to school.

Backing up your Minecraft World

You can now save your world to the cloud, so you do not need to host from the same device it was created on. This means that the person hosting the world can share it with others as needed but it will reside in their DOE OneDrive account. It will appear in the APPS --> Minecraft Education Edition folder. Please remember to name the world appropriately to assure that you can recognize it as needed.

Past Battle of the Borough Events

Battle of the Boroughs 2023-2024

NYCPS Battle of the Boroughs K-12 Scholastic Esports Competition

New York City Public Schools, in partnership with Minecraft Education and C40’s Reinventing Cities initiative, Battle of the Boroughs Minecraft Build Challenge (BOTB) is a scholastic K-12 Esports competition designed to engage all New York City Public Schools students 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. By participating in this challenge, students will be able to explore the five boroughs, interact with local officials, and learn more about New York City’s improvement plans. Students will develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills in a fun immersive world. Students should refer to New York City Mayor Eric Adam’s message for a glimpse of what this project will look

2024 Minecraft Battle of the Boroughs Video     Minecraft Education eSports

Borough-Based Qualifiers, Citywide Mayor’s Cup & Career to Industry Expo

2024 Battle of the Borough Mayor’s Cup Division Winners

Middle School Division

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

• Pass Request for City Staff and General Admission
• Finals Event Pass Request Form for Competing Teams

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!

• If your team’s submission is selected, you move onto the in-person Borough Qualifying round and will compete against other student teams in a live build challenge!
  • Each live event will double as an opportunities fair, featuring vendors, local organizations, activities and much, much more!
• Winning teams from the Borough Qualifying round will move on to the Semi-Finals to compete for the Borough Championship!
• Borough Champions will compete for the Mayor’s Cup to become NYC Battle of the Boroughs Champions at a large NYC venue!

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