While it’s always nice to hike, read and play when you’re camping, sometimes your kids need to spend a little time gaming as well. We have two sons who like to play the online game Minecraft. This

In Minecraft, players explore an intentionally blocky, 3D world. Players discover and extract raw materials, create tools, build structures or modify the landscape and can fight computer-controlled foes, or cooperate with or compete against other players in the same world. Minecraft has won numerous awards and has been described as one of the most influential and potentially greatest video games of all time.

Minecraft is most fun in a multiplayer mode, where two players can collaborate to build structures. However, if order to play in this mode, the players have to be able to connect their computers over a Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, there are many places you might camp when the campsite doesn’t offer Wi-Fi.

There are two ways to play with other Minecraft gamers: Through Minecraft servers (Hypixel, Mineplex, etc.) and also through LAN games (Local Area Network). This article describes how you can use your mobile phone hotspot to enable multiplayer mode in Minecraft by joining a Minecraft LAN Server.

1. Enable Your Phone’s Hotspot

If you’re using an iPhone, you can do this in Settings > Personal Hotspot. Select “Allow Others to Join”, and set your Wi-Fi password. Then, have your kids both connect to your hotspot from their computers.

2. Start a Single-Player World

The first step, if you haven’t already started one, is to create a single-player world. Under the “Singleplayer” tab, select “Create World” and then select your game options.

3. Open to LAN

After you have started your single-player world, press the escape key (“ESC”), and this will bring up the pause menu. Then, in the lower right corner, select the “Open to LAN” button, customize multiplayer options. Select “Start LAN World” in the lower left corner, and a 5-digit LAN port number will pop up in chat. Write down that number.

4. Find Your IPV4 Address in Settings

On your computer, find your IPV4 address. On a Mac, go to System Preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > and you’ll see a statement, like: “Wi-Fi is connected to [Hotspot Name] and has the IP address 192.166.1.108.” The number will most likely look something like 192.168.x.xxx, numbers will vary). If you’re still not sure what this is or how to find it, there are many helpful articles and videos on the web.

5. “Direct Connect” to Server

After you have your IPV4 address, switch to the other person’s account you want to play with. After they launch Minecraft, click on the “Multiplayer” button on the title screen, and select the “Direct Connect” option on the bottom of the screen.

After you have the Direct Connect screen open, type in your IPV4 address (with periods). Then, type a colon and the port number you wrote down in the previous step after you opened the game to LAN.

Tap the “Join Server” button, and you’ll be able to play Minecraft in multiplayer mode without a traditional Wi-Fi connection.

But remember to get up after an hour and go outside to the real world!