NASEF Farmcraft has earned an enthusiastic following of students who love to play the game and educators who value the opportunity to teach about agriculture and climate change in this fun and meaningful setting. This overview will provide information on Fall Farmcraft, a guide to dates and resources, and a sneak peek at what’s coming next.
What is Fall Farmcraft?!

In 2022, NASEF is presenting a special program to coincide with the autumn season in the Northern Hemisphere: Fall Farmcraft. This event will continue to use the 2022 custom Minecraft world. Here, players experience an immersive farming world where their decisions mimic day-to-day choices made by real-world farmers. In this way, students grasp the financial and environmental impacts of decisions such as hand- or machine-tilling, which crops to produce (sustainable or short-term high-yield?), how to water and deal with pests, and more.

Of course, the creators of the Farmcraft world know all the ins and outs of the program, but students around the world have impressed NASEF and its development partners, Cleverlike Studios. That’s why we’ve created a unique Fall Farmcraft with a single challenge: beat the creators at their own game.

Developers Brian Dickman and Erik Leitner will play through the game in a single online session, coming up with a final score that demonstrates their ability to produce a valuable crop while maintaining climate and environmental sustainability. NASEF’s Carolyn Navarro will monitor the gameplay and engage participants in the chat during the livestream.

Students around the world are invited to watch the stream and get tips and tricks for their own play. The recording of the stream will be available on NASEF’s YouTube channel so everyone has a chance to see it.

Student teams will have almost a month to play Farmcraft on their own time, working to improve their own score and possibly even do better than the creators! Students should submit a Flip video of their best attempt; in the video they will narrate what they learned through gameplay and what they did to improve.

This fun educational program is presented free to youth around the world by U.S. Department of State and the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF). NASEF Farmcraft 2022 is a free science-based esports competition open to teams in grades 3-12.

NASEF invites new Farmcrafters to join the challenge alongside experienced players. “The fun is in the challenge,” said Carolyn Navarro, executive assistant at NASEF. “I’m relatively new to Minecraft, but I still like to try to improve my mechanical skills as well as my use of the tools and options. Even if I am not able to beat Erik and Brian, I want to work to improve my own skill. It’s exciting to get a personal best score too!”

Dates and Resources

October 20, 2022 at 1 PT / 4  ET / 8 GMT: overview for educators covering:

• Starting a NASEF esports club—play Minecraft and other esports games after school while learning about careers related to esports
• Using Farmcraft and other NASEF curriculum for immersive learning in the classroom day
  Installing and using Minecraft
• Downloading the custom Minecraft world
• Using Flip (formerly Flipgrid) to submit videos

Watch the livestream on NASEF’s YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook channels. The video will be available on-demand on YouTube after October 20.

November 3 at 1 PT / 4  ET / 8 GMT: official “Beat the Creators” stream will air on the same channels. Watch closely for ideas and strategies!

Through November: Teams work together to play through the game. Once you reach your best score, use Flip to record and submit your score and your description of how you improved by playing multiple times and changing your strategy.

Dec. 8 : The final Fall Farmcraft stream on will highlight student videos, including those with the best scores and those with the best illustrations of improvement and teamwork.

What is the application deadline?

We prefer early registration but they will have to register before submitting their Flip videos on December 1.

Sneak Peek

We look forward to NASEF Farmcraft 2023, which will launch in January. During the new season, a brand-new Farmcraft world will be unveiled. It will incorporate new challenges for students and engaging education around agricultural trade and food security.

NASEF will provide facilitator guides for interested organizations, educator guides and lesson plans for implementation in or out of the classroom, and of course a fun season of blended play and learning through Farmcraft 2023. Teams that sign up for Fall Farmcraft are automatically registered for the spring 2023 season.

Don’t miss out! Visit Fall Farmcraft page to register for the Beat the Creator challenge now!