How to use and customize Minecraft game rules

Minecraft server management isn’t just about keeping things online – it’s about shaping the right experience for you and your players. Whether you’re playing in a small survival world or managing a large server, there are times when Minecraft’s default game settings don’t quite fit. That’s where game rules come in.

Game rules let you adjust how certain parts of the game work. They don’t change the core gameplay – they only fine-tune your experience, making things fairer, more balanced, or just better suited to your goals.

In this article, we’ll explain what game rules are, how they work, and how to change them in your Minecraft world. We’ll also highlight the most useful settings for different types of gameplay.

What are Minecraft game rules?

Game rules are built-in settings that let you alter how certain game mechanics work. They’re a native part of Minecraft’s gameplay customization – no mods, plugins, or external tools required.

Whether you’re playing solo, hosting a co-op world, or running a full-on dedicated Minecraft server, game rules can always be tweaked, and will work the same way across all setups. While they don’t add new content, they let you adjust things like mob behavior, environmental effects, and core survival rules.

You can also use game rules to turn off fire spread, stop the weather from changing, allow players to keep their inventory after death, and much more. They help create smoother, more consistent gameplay, especially on servers where specific styles of play matter.

How to use game rules in Minecraft

Game rules are world settings that are stored in your world data file, level.dat. When you change a game rule, it gets recorded in your world data, where it will stick as long as your world is saved.

There are three main ways to modify game rules:

1. During world creation
2. With in-game commands
3. Through the server console

World creation

Setting game rules during world creation is a simple and straightforward way to enhance your single-player experience. To enable these settings:

Minecraft Java

1. Open Minecraft.
2. Click Singleplayer → Create New World.
3. Click More and Game Rules.

4. Modify the rules as you see fit.

Minecraft Bedrock

1. Open Minecraft.
2. Click Play → Create new world → Create new world.
3. In the new world settings, select Cheats.

4. Make sure Cheats are enabled:
   

5. Modify your Minecraft game settings as desired.

In-game commands

Using in-game commands is the easiest way to modify a Minecraft game rule for an existing world. The command syntax in doing so is:

/gamerule <RuleName> <Value>

RuleName is the name of the rule as stored in your world data, while Value is a true/false setting or an integer, depending on what the rule requires.

For example, if we want players to keep inventory after death, we could run:

/gamerule keepInventory true

To enable these commands, you need:

• Commands enabled, if in Java
• Cheats enabled, if in Bedrock
• OP permissions, if on a Multiplayer server

While the user interfaces in Java and Bedrock may offer a limited list of game rules to be adjusted, you can still modify every single one that is available in that version by running commands.

In Java, simply run your command in the chat window. Here’s how it looks:

In Bedrock, you would do the same thing:

Then you would get confirmation:

Server console

Adjusting game rules through the server console is an easy way to customize settings without logging in to your Minecraft server. Here’s a step-by-step guide to do that on a Hostinger Minecraft server instance:

1. In hPanel, navigate to VPS and press Manage on your Game Panel VPS.

2. Click Manage panel and log in with your credentials.

3. Find your Minecraft instance and click Manage.

4. Click Console.

5. Enter the gamerule command without the / and press Enter. This is how it will look in Java

In Bedrock, you should see:

Whether you adjust your game rules during world creation, with commands, or through the server console, the results should be reflected in gameplay from then on for all players in that world.

List of common Minecraft game rules

When attempting to change these rules, keep in mind that not all of them are available in both Java and Bedrock. There are typically more rules available in the Java version, but the availability of rules does change from time to time.

Core world rules

These game rules control the way the world behaves over time. They’re often used to make the environment more stable and consistent.

Game rule	Description	Example command	Use case
doDaylightCycle	Controls whether time of day changes naturally.	/gamerule doDaylightCycle false	Keeping time frozen for build servers, events.
doWeatherCycle	Manages natural weather changes.	/gamerule doWeatherCycle false	Useful for reducing visual clutter or lag.
randomTickSpeed	Controls how fast blocks update based per game tick.	/gamerule randomTickSpeed 3	Typically used to speed up farming, leaf decay and other block updates.
doFireTick	Enables or disables fire spread and extinguishing.	/gamerule doFireTick false	Preventing fire and lava from ruining wooden builds.
spawnRadius	Defines the number of blocks outward from the world spawn point where a player can spawn.	/gamerule spawnRadius 10	Used to introduce some randomness in player spawns.

Gameplay & survival rules

These game rules control how players experience survival mechanics. They are typically used to tune gameplay difficulty beyond the default settings.

Game rule	Description	Example command	Use case
keepInventory	Lets players keep items and XP after dying.	/gamerule keepInventory true	Often used to lower difficulty and impact of player death.
naturalRegeneration	Controls whether players regenerate health naturally if hunger is full.	/gamerule naturalRegeneration false	Used to make survival worlds more challenging.
doLimitedCrafting	Limits crafting to unlocked recipes only.	/gamerule doLimitedCrafting true	Used in custom maps or to enforce linear progression.
playersSleepingPercentage	Sets % of players required to skip night in multiplayer.	/gamerule playersSleepingPercentage 0	Primarily used in more casual servers.
doImmediateRespawn	Skips the death screen and respawns players instantly.	/gamerule doImmediateRespawn true	Used in PvP servers or minigames to speed up pacing.
fallDamage	Enables or disables fall damage.	/gamerule fallDamage false	Used in parkour maps.

Mob & entity rules

These game rules control how mobs behave. They’re useful for creating peaceful servers, controlling chaos, or adding an extra challenge for survival scenarios.

Game rule	Description	Example command	Use case
doMobSpawning	Controls natural mob spawning.	/gamerule doMobSpawning false	Keeps the world clear for building-themed servers.
doMobLoot	Toggles mob drops.	/gamerule doMobLoot false	Used in PvP or minigames to avoid XP farming or lag.
mobGriefing	Controls whether mobs can break/place blocks or pick up items.	/gamerule mobGriefing false	Used to prevent world damage from mobs like creepers or endermen.
forgiveDeadPlayers	Makes angered neutral mobs stop being angry when the targeted player dies.	/gamerule forgiveDeadPlayers false	Keeps angered mobs aggressive across respawns to add difficulty.
universalAnger	Makes angered neutral mobs attack all nearby players, not just the one who angered them.	/gamerule universalAnger true	Used as an extra difficulty setting for players.

Command & automation rules

These game rules mainly target chat messages, command block behavior, and how visible in-game actions are. They are mainly used to reduce chat clutter and improve server performance.

Game rule	Description	Example command	Use case
commandBlockOutput	Toggles whether command blocks notify admins once run.	/gamerule commandBlockOutput false	Keeping chat clean when using command blocks.
sendCommandFeedback	Toggles whether to log admin commands.	/gamerule sendCommandFeedback false	Preventing commands executed from spamming chat.
announceAdvancements	Toggles advancement notifications in chat.	/gamerule announceAdvancements false	Useful for larger servers to prevent achievement spam in chat.
showDeathMessages	Toggles whether death messages appear in chat.	/gamerule showDeathMessages false	Reducing chat clutter in minigame servers.

Conclusion

Modifying game rules is one of the simplest ways to take control of Minecraft’s player experience without using mods or plugins. Whether you’re running a survival world, building a PvP arena, or setting up a custom adventure map, these settings help shape how the game plays for everyone.

From disabling fire spread to keeping inventory after death, the right game rules make your world feel more polished, balanced, and tailored to your gameplay needs.

Want more control over your world? Start adapting your game rules to build the Minecraft world you actually want to play in.

Minecraft game rules FAQ