The infamous “Two-Week Minecraft Phase” is a phenomena that countless Minecraft players are all too familiar with. Regardless of your level of experience or skill, the excitement of building a base, fighting off zombies and mining for diamonds tends to fade away after a week or two. This leads to a brutal cycle of players creating new world after new world, searching for something, anything, to make the game interesting enough to stick around long-term. However, this desire is never fully met — leading to abandoned homes, half-mined caves and a loading screen full of forgotten worlds.

Speedrunning culture certainly does not remedy the two-week Minecraft phase. Streamers rack up millions of views on their impossibly fast journeys to beat the game, in which they bypass the more relaxed aspects of the game in favor of making it to The End (a dark dimension full of floating islands and ships) to kill the Ender Dragon. This further alienates players from slow-paced, imaginative gameplay in favor of leeching the world for all it’s worth, in as short a time as possible. 

What is behind the two-week phase? A conversation with a psychology major friend connected the adrenaline-seeking haste to the pursuit of dopamine. We engage in the two-week Minecraft phase for the same reason we hunt for that next date or scroll to that next TikTok — we want that hit of dopamine that will give us excitement and feeling. The issue with this is that dopamine is never permanent. The fun of the world wears off. The honeymoon phase ends. We abandon what we have been working towards, because it just isn’t as engaging anymore. We jump into something entirely new, or we set aside the game in search of something better. 

Is there a solution? Some creators suggest sticking with the same world, even when things get boring and the two-week phase has ended. Just like a long-term relationship takes time and effort past the honeymoon phase, an escape from the two-week Minecraft phase requires consistency despite the lack of dopamine. Commitment to big projects or worldwide adventures can make the game fun and more rewarding than a hasty, two-week stint. These goals may be difficult to achieve, but there are benefits to taking things slow and accomplishing hard things that transcend beyond Minecraft. Using the imagination to keep gameplay interesting but also being content with boredom makes a commitment to the same world worth it. 

Too often in life we are focused on what is exciting in order to escape boredom and sameness. When things get dull or difficult, we let go of what we were pursuing for the sake of ease and the thrill of something new. However, taking things slow and being creative can give us a sense of achievement and purpose. Sometimes our goals can seem unattainable or too complex, but slowing down and keeping at them has countless positive effects. 

So, whether you are a victim of the two-week Minecraft phase yourself, or you are finding it difficult to stick to goals or changes without growing bored and restless, force yourself to slow down. Use your imagination and creativity to push yourself to expand your horizons. Your world will thank you for it.