Start a Hunger Games Minecraft server

The Hunger Games plugin turns a Paper server into a last-player-standing arena. Players start on raised platforms in the middle of the map, loot chests, and fight inside a shrinking world border while supply drops and chest refills arrive on a timer. This guide installs it, sets the server properties the plugin asks for and builds the first arena.

Checked against HungerGames 1.9.0 on Paper 1.21.11, October 2026. The plugin's Modrinth page lists Minecraft 1.20 to 1.21.11 for this build and its docs ask for 1.20 or newer, so stay on a version up to 1.21.11 until a newer build appears.

What you need

• A Paper or Purpur server on a Minecraft version the plugin lists. Set it in JAR Manager (see Change your Minecraft version or mod loader).
• An arena map in its own world folder, plus a lobby world (the plugin needs at least two worlds, one lobby and one arena). The main world folder can be the lobby.
• Operator status for whoever builds the arena, from the Players tab with Make operator.

Install the plugin

1. Open the Plugins tab and stay on the Store view. Choose the Modrinth button.
2. Search for Hunger Games. Several plugins share the name, so install the one by CantankerousAlly, whose source is the Ayman-Isam/Hunger-Games repository on GitHub.
3. Restart from the Console tab and type plugins to check it loaded. Its files are in plugins/HungerGames.

Change the server settings

The docs recommend five server.properties values. Open the Config Editor tab, change them, press Save changes and restart.

• Allow flight on, so players are not kicked while they jump on the spawn platforms.
• Entity range (%) at 500, so supply drop fireworks are visible from far away.
• Force game mode on, so players always join in the right mode.
• Default game mode set to Adventure, which stops players breaking blocks.
• Spawn protection (blocks) at 0, so players can use signs and chests near spawn.

Add the worlds

1. Zip your arena world folder on your computer and upload it with Upload files in the File Manager, then use Extract here. The folder must sit in the root, beside server.properties (see Manage your server files).
2. Give the arena folder a different name from your server's world folder. The plugin cannot reset a world that shares the level-name value, which is world by default.
3. Restart, or run /hg reloadconfig <world_name> with the arena's folder name, so the server notices the new world. Run on its own, it only asks for a world name.
4. In game, run /hg teleport <player_name|all> <world_name> to move to the arena, then /setworldspawn to set where players appear and return to.
5. Open plugins/HungerGames/settings.yml in the File Manager and set lobby-world to the lobby's folder name, for example lobby-world: "world".

The docs also recommend these gamerules in the worlds you use for the plugin (the lobby and the arena): turn off PvP, which stops players fighting each other outside games, and turn off announced advancements, the daylight cycle, mob spawning, the weather cycle and the locator bar. Turn on immediate respawn. Gamerule names vary between Minecraft versions. On Paper 1.21.11 they are lower case with underscores, such as keep_inventory, and the older form keepInventory is refused with "Incorrect argument for command". A bare /gamerule is not a full command, so type a name after it.

Build the arena

Stand in the arena world and run these.

1. /hg select gives you a Blaze Rod. Left-click one corner and right-click the opposite corner.
2. /hg create saves the region to plugins/HungerGames/<world_name>/arena.yml.
3. /hg border <num_blocks> <center_x> <center_z> sets the world border, for example /hg border 600 0 0.
4. /hg setspawn gives you a Stick. Left-click blocks to add spawn points and right-click to remove one.
5. Place regular chests, trapped chests or barrels, then run /hg scanarena so they are saved and refilled.

Let players join

• /hg slot create <slot_name> <world_name> makes a slot. Then look at a sign and run /hg slot assign <slot_name>.
• Players can also run /hg join <world_name> and /hg lobby.
• Operators start a game with /hg start and end one with /hg end.

If something does not work

• Signs show the wrong player count: click the sign once to join. The count updates after the world loads.
• The arena will not reset: the arena world folder shares the level-name value.
• New world is not found: restart or run /hg reloadconfig <world_name>.