How to make a minigame with commands

Updated: 31 October 2026

1. Setup: run once

/scoreboard objectives add points dummy "Points"
/scoreboard objectives setdisplay sidebar points
/team add red
/team add blue
/team modify red color red
/team modify blue color blue
/team modify red friendlyFire false

This creates a score to count points and two colored teams. friendlyFire false stops teammates hurting each other (see the team command).

2. Start: run when the button is pressed

/team join red @a[tag=red]
/team join blue @a[tag=blue]
/gamemode adventure @a
/clear @a
/effect clear @a
/scoreboard players set @a points 0
/spreadplayers 0 0 10 50 true @a
/give @a minecraft:wooden_sword
/title @a title {"text":"Go!","color":"gold"}
/playsound minecraft:entity.player.levelup master @a ~ ~ ~ 1 1

• Adventure mode: players cannot break the arena.
• Empty inventories and effects: nothing carries over from the last round.
• Random spawns: true keeps teams together (see spreadplayers).
• Title and sound: make the start obvious (see title and playsound).

In command blocks, link these with chain command blocks so they run in order (see the command block guide). Add a 3, 2, 1 countdown before the start, or let players pick the game with a vote.

3. During the game: run all the time

/execute as @a[team=red] at @s if block ~ ~-1 ~ minecraft:gold_block run scoreboard players add @s points 1
/execute if entity @a[scores={points=10..}] run title @a title {"text":"Game over!"}

In a repeating command block these run every tick. The first gives red players a point while they stand on gold, and the second checks whether anyone reached 10. For kill counts and timers see the scoreboard minigame guide, and for a countdown bar see bossbar.

The first line keeps adding points every tick while a player stands there. To count only once, tag the player and exclude the tag afterward. For races use the stopwatch command; for kill goals the mob kill counter; for lives the death counter.

4. End and reset

/tp @a 0 64 0
/gamemode adventure @a
/clear @a
/effect clear @a
/team leave @a
/scoreboard players reset @a points
/kill @e[type=minecraft:item]

Send everyone back to the lobby, reset inventories, effects, teams and points, and clean up dropped items, so the next round can start right away.

On Bedrock

• Bedrock has no /team. Split teams with tags instead (/tag @a[...] add red).
• Write /effect @a clear and /title @a title Go!.
• Scoreboards, /spreadplayers and the new /execute syntax (1.19.50+) all work.

Common problems

• Commands run over and over: check impulse vs repeat. Start commands belong in an impulse block that runs once.
• Chat fills with command output: /gamerule command_block_output false (commandBlockOutput on 1.21.10 and older).
• Bystanders get caught up: tag the players taking part and use @a[tag=player] instead of @a (see the tag command).

Common questions

• Can non-operators start the game? Yes, a button wired to a command block works for anyone. For chat menus, use /trigger.
• Should I use a data pack? Command blocks are fine for small games. As commands pile up, functions are easier to manage.
• Can the arena be reused? Yes, with the reset commands. For games that break the arena, /clone a saved copy back in.

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