Mob Dash!

Mob Dash! is a game about frantically hunting mobs. The game will call out a target mob, and the first team to kill that mob gets the points. The game can be set to a time or score limit as a win condition. The game can be played as a singleplayer challenge, but is meant as a multiplayer, competitive game.

The current version of the game is made for Minecraft 1.19.4.

Overview

As the game starts, a title shows up designating a target mob. That type of mob is now the one to kill. The first team to kill the mob gets the score, and a new mob type is called out. The current target mob is displayed on the action bar (above the hotbar), together with the score awared for killing that mob.

Installation

To install, place the zip file for the datapack in the datapacks folder of your level. If you had already started the world, run /reload to activate the pack. You should see a world border appear and start seeing a menu in the chat.

To install in a new Singleplayer world, you can also drag and drop the datapack zip file to the Datapacks screen in the Create New World options.

Settings

When you first join the game, you'll be placed on a random team. Use the Switch Teams menu option to select a team.

There are two scoring modes - Flat and Progressive. Switch between them using the Scoring menu option. In Flat mode all mobs are equally valuable, no matter how hard they are to kill. In Progressive mode, harder mobs that take longer to kill are worth more. It is recommended to play in Progressive mode.

There is also a Difficulty menu option. The difficulty controls how quickly the game will start assigning harder mob targets.

You can set time and/or score limits for winning the game. After clicking the menu option, fill in the number of minutes or win score at the end of the command that gets placed in your chat line and hit enter.

When everyone is ready, start the game using the Start Game menu option.

Server Setup and Preparation

You'll likely need a pretty powerful server to run Mob Dash! The minigame itself is not very demanding but the goal of the game encourages players to run in different directions and explore new chunks. If possible, use a mod like Chunky to pre-generate terrain at least several thousand blocks out. For longer games, consider also pre-generating some Nether terrain.

The game is known to work with a vanilla server or a Fabric modded server and should work with performance mods like Lithium, Phosphor and Starlight. Server frameworks like Paper change the spawning rules of the game in ways that tend to make the game less playable and are not recommended.

Having a discord server or other voice communication for the teams is also recommended.

Game Tips

Try to split up the different mob types between different team members. For instance, early game it might make sense to have one player go for hostile mobs or cave mobs while another player stays on the surface.

Use any tricks available for mobs that can come with you or remain in known locations, like picking up fish in buckets, carrying eggs and capturing hostile mobs in boats.

Mob Reference

Tier 1

Zombie
Skeleton
Creeper
Spider
Cow
Chicken
Pig
Sheep
Cod
Salmon
Squid
Bee
Bat
Rabbit
Horse

Tier 2

Axolotl
Glow Squid
Goat
Enderman
Dolphin
Drowned
Witch
Iron Golem
Piglin
Hoglin
Ghast
Strider
Magma Cube
Zombified Piglin

Tier 3

Zoglin
Blaze
Wither Skeleton
Piglin Brute
Guardian