Create a minigames server: BedWars, SkyWars and lobby

Minigames attract huge numbers of players: short games, PvP, a leaderboard. They're also the hardest servers to launch, for a simple reason: an eight-player BedWars game doesn't start with three people online. The whole plan must revolve around this problem.

Start with a single game

The temptation is to open with ten modes. Result: three players spread across ten queues, no game starts, everyone leaves. Open with a single minigame, the one you want to make excellent, and a format that starts quickly: BedWars solo or duos with 8 players rather than teams of 4 with 16.

Add a second game when the first one regularly fills its games at peak hours.

The architecture

A serious minigames server is a network:

• a proxy (Velocity) that receives players;
• a lobby, where you arrive, choose your game and wait;
• one or more game servers, where the games take place.

To start, a single server can do everything: lobby and arenas in separate worlds. Most minigame plugins handle both modes, and you'll move to a network when the single server is no longer enough.

The plugins

• BedWars: BedWars1058 and ScreamingBedWars are free, maintained and widely used. They handle arenas, in-game shops, resource generators and statistics.
• SkyWars, Duels, Parkour: each has its free plugins on SpigotMC, Hangar or Modrinth. Choose them on three criteria: recent update, compatibility with your version, and network mode support.
• 1.8 combat: many PvP players prefer pre-1.9 combat, without cooldown. Rather than running an old version, OldCombatMechanics brings this combat back on a recent server.
• Parties: a party plugin lets you join a game with your friends. It's what brings in whole groups.

Build the maps

A BedWars map is played hundreds of times: it must be readable in three seconds. Symmetrical islands, obvious team colours, bridges the same length for everyone. Build them on a separate build server with WorldEdit, then copy the worlds to the game server.

Each arena is restored after the game: keep maps small. A huge map takes time to reload and keeps players waiting.

The real challenge: filling games

• Schedules. Announce evenings: "BedWars every night at 9 pm". The best time slot shows when minigame players are online. One full game at a fixed time beats ten empty ones.
• Games that start with fewer players, even if it means shrinking the map: a 2v2 that starts beats a 4v4 that waits.
• A lively lobby: a parkour, a displayed leaderboard, one NPC per game. The guide Build a spawn applies to the lobby.
• Votes: a minigames server lives on its visibility. Vote rewards can give cosmetics or in-game shop points, with no lasting advantage.

Performance

Each game loads an arena, generators and dozens of entities (dropped items, arrows, placed blocks). Watch:

• the number of simultaneous games per server: add game servers rather than overloading one;
• generators' dropped items: limit their number in the plugin's configuration;
• memory: the resources and budget calculator gives an order of magnitude per number of players.

A Spark profile during a busy evening will tell you which game costs the most.

Where to start

One game, done well, on a single server at first. Games that start quickly, evenings at a fixed time, and a lobby that makes people want to stay. The network and ten modes will come with the players, not before.