[https://i.imgur.com/WVBmfsm.jpg]

“Oh my god!” Dean yelled.

Dad stood up fast and hit his head hard. “Yeowtch!” Dad cried, pulling his way out of the closet he’d been cleaning. What the heck was going on out there?

Dad stumbled, looking dizzy, and Dean laughed.

“Sorry Dad. Just, OMG, this is insane.”

He was sitting over at the computer, looking through I’mAmazing.com for his upcoming birthday. He was going to turn 12 and start going to middle school, and so his parents were letting him pick out whatever he wanted.

So long as it wasn’t too expensive.

“What is insane, Dean?” Dad asked. He brushed his fingers over his bald head and frowned. It looked like he was going to have a lump where he’d hit his head.

But Dean didn’t answer. Instead he pointed and Dad’s eyes followed. An advertisement was up on the screen, and it looked amazing.

‘From Mojang Studios comes a new era of gaming.

Introducing Minecraft Live – the plugin, live in, interactive other world in which you are the builders.’

There was a bunch of explanation following it, but it basically came down to a system in which you’d get this special helmet and chair. When you put it on, you’d be put into the game. But not just any game. Minecraft!

It was amazing.

You had to pay $500 and spin a virtual wheel. And if you got the one spot of the wheel with WINNER written on it, then you got to go! The big day would happen in one month at Mojang HQ.

And winners got to bring a guest.

Dad’s mouth was wide open, his eyes as well.

“Dad, I want a ticket,” Dean said. “That’s my birthday present. I want a ticket.”

Dad laughed and he smiled. “Five-hundred dollars is a lot of money. But on the other hand we’ve never lived in a game. Living in Minecraft. Hmm. You know what, let’s give it a try.”

Dad clicked on the ad, then took out his credit card and typed in the numbers. It was accepted! A new screen appeared, asking if they wanted to buy 1 spin for $500, 5 spins for $450 apiece, or 10 spins for $400 each.

Dad looked down at Dean and Dean shot puppy-dog eyes up at Dad. Dad shook his head.

“Your mom is going to kill me,” he said, clicking the option for five. The screen flashed the words CONFIRMED and a moment later there was a wheel of variously colored triangles before them. Next to it were two simple buttons. SPIN! And STOP!

So it is going to be a skill game, Dean thought, smiling. He’d figure this out before they ran out of 5.

Dean clacked the SPIN! button and watched the screen, waiting to see the pattern. He’d played so many games that this was going to be easy.

Flash flash flash, the wheel spun its colors, almost a blur. But there was something to it. It seemed to glitch and stagger every ten times around. Just a tiny bit. Probably not noticeable to someone who wasn’t paying such close attention.

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Dean hovered his finger over his mouse button, a strong feeling riding his gut that he had it and that the ticket was his.

He clicked it — and missed it by one triangle.

“Gah!” he yelled.

The computer made a long, wet, farting noise while the screen flashed FAILED! TRY AGAIN! over and over in the most trollish way possible.

Dean growled. But he was going to get this. He still had four tries.

But the second and third tries went the same way, and the fourth was totally off. There they were, the final spin. And Dean was not feeling nearly as comfortable as he had before. He stared and concentrated, the spinner creating spinning whorls within his eyes.

“Come on, Dean! You can do it!”

He stared and waited. His mouth was dry, but his palms were wet. He could do this. He just had to try.

“You better do it, because I just spent $2250 on this, and your mom will murder me if we don’t win!” Dad added.

In Dean’s mind, time slowed down. He could see all of the colors now, very clearly. He could see the triangle marked WINNER, plain as day. He waited til the right moment, and he clicked . . .

A month later they were at Mojang HQ, ticket in hand, and chairs in front of them. A man in a corporate gray business suit was talking to them, while behind him a wild-haired and even more wild-eyed man in a t-shirt, shorts and sandals was rolling his eyes while the guy blah-blahed on about safety rules.

And the moment the suited man finished, the wild-haired one shoved him out of the way and took his place. In his hands he held a slate-grey tablet close to his chest, and the words MineCraft Live were stenciled into it.

“Hey, I’m Jeff, and I’m the head programmer, designer, producer and everything else for this new and amazingly fantastic aspect to the Minecraft game!” He beamed, his eyes shining and full of pride. “You two are absolutely going to love this.”

Dad and Dean shared a look, big dumb grins riding their faces. “We’re happy to be here,” Dad said.

Jeff nodded.

“Alright, here is what you need to do. We’re going to run some options together, you two are going to have to pick what mod you want to play. You can play the vanilla game too if you wish, but I’d advise trying something using our AI quest system and character interactivity mods.”

He leaned over and winked at them as if he was letting them in on a little secret.

“After you’ve looked everything over, just let me know, then I’ll have you lay down, put on the helmet, and away you go! And remember, this is a two-hour session but with our time-compression software, it will feel like a month. Maybe even longer. So buckle up and have fun!”

Jeff handed over his tablet. The screen was full of clickable options, each of which explained what they were and what mods they had, and how those mods would change the vanilla game.

Dad and Dean looked over the variety of options. There were so many, and a lot of them looked interesting.

You could play in the Junkin Jungle as a warrior of the Ooma-Lamba tribe. That one promised over a thousand new animals, ancient jungle ruins, and the predations of modern society upon you lost tribe. It honestly sounded scary, so they passed on it.

They scrolled through and clicked on The Strawberry Forest. In this one you got to be one of the Fairy Knights from the Dames Handsome series. It had level ups, stats, magical spells and abilities, plus new items and loot. And you got to play in the Strawberry Woods itself!

But on the downside, it said it was in Beta and that the lands past the forest were currently inaccessible. Dad and Dean decided to pass for the moment, vowing to return when it was fully ready for them.

They briefly checked out the Volcano Mountain mod. It promised the hottest and most melty experience of any Minecraft mod. They shook their heads, deciding against it. It sounded a bit painful.

What they wanted was something that wasn’t too different yet had neat new structures and places already built and ready to explore. And clicking through option after option, they came upon one mod that was right up their alley.

Minecraft Monarchies – This mod introduces you to the land of Herobrinia, a continent full of kings, queens, princesses, princes, and mobs. Each kingdom has adventurous quests, each city has its citizens, and all of them can talk to you via the new Minecraft Speech programming mod. Adventure, craft, and make your way to becoming a legend in Minecraft Monarchies.

That sounded great. The two selected it, handed the tablet with their choices to Jeff, and then practically jumped into their chairs.

“Last one to spawn is a rotten egg!” Dad yelled. 

Jeff chuckled as he strapped them in. “Have a fun time,” he said, smiling knowingly.

And then they both stood in the game, a door in front of them and windows to the sides.

They were in Minecraft Monarchies!