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The 11 most ambitious virtual computers ever built inside Minecraft

By Rob Price
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Minecraft virtual computer
Igor_Timofeev/Planet Minecraft

Most people in Minecraft are content to build mud castles and sheep pens. But some gamers yearn for more. These folks have taken things a step further by building virtual computers inside the video game.

A virtual computer typically has the same functionality as the physical machine it's replicating, but rather than being built out of wires and silicon, its simulated inside another program and is powered by virtual signals instead of electricity. 

Minecraft is not the only video game where people have built virtual computers, but it provides some of the most ambitious examples. With the right material, almost all of these creations would be replicable in real life.

This 16-bit computer has all the basic components of a real computer: 256 bytes of ROM, 32 bytes of RAM, and a processor. In lieu of electricity, it's powered with signals sent through "redstone," a material in Minecraft that can transmit a basic on/off binary signal, just like in real computer components.

This scientific graphing calculator that works just like the real thing. The calculator uses "redstone" instead of than electricity.

Here's a word processor and calculator that has working keyboard and screen. (In later versions the user added a mouse and a music player.) So why do people do it? "The basic answer," one Reddit use says, "is because we can, and the resources exist to do it."

(In later versions the user added a mouse and a music player.)

So why do people do it? One Reddit user says that "the basic answer is because we can, and the resources exist to do it." It's a challenge, to push the tools available to their absolute limit.

This 17-minute video about this "Bluestone" computer provides an in-depth look at the incredible detail and intricacies involved in virtual computing. It uses all the same principles as traditional programming.

"People build all sorts of crazy useless things in the game. It's all about thinking about making something out of nothing," says stupidjesse. "It's the fact that we can pride ourselves in knowing we made something awesome."

Not every Redstone creation aims to replicate "traditional" computers. Just look at this programmable drum kit created by "disco-."

Here's an even better one: Minecraft *in Minecraft*. It's 2D, but players can explore the world, dig, place blocks, and build ladders.

These constructions are typically distributed online for free when complete. The community that has subsequently evolved helps inspire would-be creators, and inspires them to build ever-more advanced constructions. Long tutorials are also available for beginners.

A 2012 update introduced "command blocks." These allow the size of constructions to be dramatically miniaturised. It's less pleasing for purists, but allows more ambitious projects — like this iPhone.

After unlocking it using a (customisable!) passcode, there's 20 functional apps available – spread out over multiple home screens.

If that's not enough for Apple lovers, Igor_Timofeev has something else for you. It's an iMac, complete with a Word Processor.

Skip to the 0:40 second mark to get a look at the guts of the machine.

(There's no control blocks either: It's all manually constructed.)

Want more than just one computer? CalDaBeast built a functional Internet. It can only transmit 4-bit binary info ("in this case, 1-9) between 7 computers. But once again, it's fundamental real-world CompSci concepts.

Minecraft Internet
The Internet, In Minecraft CalDaBeast

(Here's a link to the download.)

The "Commandore 32." It can plot graphs, and run Paint and Tic-Tac-Toe. And it even comes with its own programming language — making it easy for anyone to develop apps for.

Cody Littley's project might be the most impressive, however. He's built a 1 kilobyte hard drive.

He's also the perfect example of what drives people to build these virtual computing projects. Though he could save real data on the hard drive, he "didn't have anything in mind that I wanted to store on it," he told WIRED.

"I just built it for the sake of the challenge."

  (For reference, you can buy a 1 terabyte hard drive on Amazon for $59.99 — 1 billion times the size.)

BONUS: A calculator in PS3 game Little Big Planet. Minecraft isn't the only game where people explore virtual computing. Any game of sufficient complexity is suitable. Here's an 8-bit calculator capable of double-digit addition and subtraction.

SECOND BONUS: Here's another Little Big Planet creation — a digital clock.

Now see...

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Reporter Rob Price sitting at a table
Rob Price
Rob Price was a senior correspondent at Business Insider, based in San Francisco. He wrote investigations and long-form features about platforms, people, and power in Silicon Valley.His stories variously led to attorney general investigations, large-scale internal reviews at major tech companies, high-profile personnel departures, citation by state and federal lawmakers, and the closure of a well-funded startup. His 2022 story on the Bitfinex hack is being adapted into a feature film, and in 2024 he received an SPJ NorCal Excellence in Journalism award for his reporting on AI and relationships.Rob's scoops and exclusive stories were cited by The New York Times, Bloomberg, the BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, CNBC, Politico, The Guardian, Axios, and many other national and international publications. His writing has also been published in or syndicated by The Washington Post, The Independent, Vice, Slate, and elsewhere, and he appeared on CNN, the BBC, CBS, Reuters, ABC Australia, and other broadcast media to discuss technology, business, and culture.He worked for Business Insider from 2015 to 2025. Prior to joining the features team, Rob covered Facebook and Silicon Valley, and before that wrote about tech business, policy, and the gig economy in London. Between September and October 2019, he was acting executive editor for Business Insider's UK bureau. He also sat on the board of directors for the San Francisco Press Club, the leading non-profit media advocacy group in the Bay Area, and was a volunteer crew member at the Marine Mammal Center, the world's largest animal hospital for marine mammals. You can contact Rob Price via email at robaeprice@gmail.com, or +1 650-636-6268 (Signal / WhatsApp / Cell). Selected stories:— They spoke out against their employer. Then they were hit with trade secrets suits.— The rise of 'shadow stand-ins'— App, Lover, Muse: Inside a 47-year-old Minnesota man's three-year relationship with an AI chatbot— Deel Speed: The inside story of a $12 billion HR startup's breakneck growth— Private islands, flying cars, and psychedelic parties: Inside the wild post-Google lives of Larry Page and Sergey Brin— 'I want your Instagram account': First came the threatening texts, followed by the SWAT teams. Then someone wound up dead.— Inside Iconiq: How Mark Zuckerberg's banker built a secret Silicon Valley empire and made billions— Gaia was a wildly popular yoga brand. Now it's a publicly traded Netflix rival pushing conspiracy theories while employees fear the CEO is invading their dreams— A drunken late-night assault allegation has roiled the secretive world of Mark Zuckerberg's private family office. Personal aides are speaking out about claims that household staff endured sexual harassment and racism from their colleagues.
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