Category: Community

Mira had spent all summer repairing the steps of the pyramid. She knew every chipped corner, so she noticed at once when the lowest step shifted overnight. In the gap was a clay tablet, small enough to slip into her pocket. It bore the seal of a pharaoh whose name had been scraped from the old maps.

The tablet told a story about a ruler who stored the grain for an entire valley. When the rains failed, his subjects came to the pyramid for food. The Pharaoh opened the granaries, then sealed himself below with the last of the seed grain. He made the temple guards promise to wake him when the river returned.

It returned the following spring. The guards were gone by then, and the door had settled too deep for anyone to lift. Centuries later, when Mira fitted the tablet into a hollow in the stair, she heard a heavy tread below. Then came a voice as dry as the stone. “Who has come for the harvest?”

Play it in Minecraft. Head to the pyramid and look for the route down to the Pharaoh’s chamber. Bring food and armour, and leave yourself room to move when he winds up for a slam.

Server mc.samskingdom.com

A Stargate-inspired adventure is now open in Sam’s Kingdom. Find the gate in the desert, dial the correct address and step through a blue wormhole. On the other side, a puzzle chamber stands between you and the way home.

When the Kingdom’s explorers first discovered the great stone ring, they found a small dialling console beside it. The console had seven lettered buttons. After studying the markings, the explorers worked out an address and entered it in the correct order.

The ring roared into life. Blue light spread across its centre, forming a shimmering surface like a pool of water standing upright. The expedition’s scout took a breath and stepped through.

A moment later, he was standing inside a sealed chamber. There was a locked door ahead of him, but no open gate to take him straight back. He would have to solve the chamber’s challenge before he could leave.

He began searching the walls. Each one held a plaque and a button, with a light nearby. The clues gave him something to work on, and he moved around the room, examining each wall carefully.

When he completed the challenge, the locked doorway opened. Beyond it stood a second Stargate—the route home. He stepped through and emerged beside the desert gate, where the rest of the expedition was waiting.

Now the gate is ready for the Kingdom’s next explorers. Can you work out the address, complete the chamber challenge and make it back?

Try the adventure. Join our Minecraft server at mc.samskingdom.com and find the desert Stargate near X −1386, Z −1746. Use the seven lettered buttons to dial it. Once inside the chamber, search all four walls for the plaques and buttons. Completing the challenge opens the doorway to the return gate.

Visit the Minecraft server website

Jack climbed the beanstalk to find a goose. Its owner, the Cloud Giant, had borrowed it to keep him company through the winter. He’d promised to return it at the first thaw. By midsummer, the goose’s keeper had sent three letters up the stalk and received three feathers in reply.

The climb took Jack most of the morning. Near the top, he found the last letter snagged on a leaf. The Giant had written on the back in letters so large he’d run out of room. “She can leave whenever she wants. She’s waiting for her egg to hatch.”

Inside the castle, the goose was asleep on a bale of hay. The Giant stood in the courtyard, stamping at the cracks in the floor. With each stomp, the castle sank a little closer to the top of the stalk. Jack put the goose under one arm and ran for the ladder. The egg was still in the Giant’s keeping. It’s there for the next climber to win.

Play it in Minecraft. Climb the beanstalk to Cloud Castle near X −318, Z 142. The Giant appears on his own and returns 20 minutes after a defeat. Each player can claim two kills. Look for the Slayer Wall on the east side of the courtyard.

Server mc.samskingdom.com

Every spring the harbour children made little boats from driftwood and raced them on the outgoing tide. One year, when the last boat caught in the reeds, a girl named Ada waded in after it. A hand rose from the water and placed it back on the current. She saw a green coat, a bronze buckle and a face that had been underwater a very long time.

The harbour master had heard of the Tidewarden. Long ago, he had kept a lantern burning at the mouth of the harbour so the fishing boats could find their way home. On the night his own boat went down, the lantern was still burning when the sun came up. Since then, anyone passing the old watch at low tide could hear him counting the boats.

Ada carved a tiny lantern on the prow of her driftwood boat and sent it out the following spring. It came back with a little salt on the deck and a new notch in the wood. Someone on the far side of the water was keeping score.

Play it in Minecraft. Find the Tidewarden’s arena and bring a friend for the fight. Look for the Slayer Wall around X −1424, Z −834. It records players who land the killing blow.

Server mc.samskingdom.com

A new Minecraft world can feel enormous when you first arrive. In Sam’s Kingdom, a good starting point is simply to slow down, look around and get to know the places that make up the kingdom.

Start with the castle and the surrounding public areas. Notice the buildings, follow the roads and see how the different parts of the kingdom fit together. A garden, a marketplace or an arena can give you ideas for what you might like to build or take part in later.

Please treat other players’ creations with care. Being able to visit somewhere does not mean you can take items or change the building. If a space is private, respect that choice and ask before entering. A friendly question is always better than guessing what another player intended.

You also do not need to arrive with a grand building project. Your first contribution might be a useful suggestion, a welcoming message or a small idea that grows over time. Communities develop through the people who keep showing up and taking an interest.

When you are ready to explore, the Minecraft address is mc.samskingdom.com. Check the Minecraft information on this website for joining details, and take a look at the plot map to get your bearings.

See you in the kingdom!

King Sam