'1000 Players Simulate Civilization: Rich & Poor' film review: Sweeping. Silly. The best Minecraft film of 2025

Shifting loyalties, colorful characters, grand conspiracies, assassinations and impeccable editing make ‘1000 Players Simulate Civilization: Rich & Poor' (streaming on YouTube starting July 11) a compelling and sweeping saga told in blocks and pixels.

In short: One thousand Minecraft players thrown into a world – with 500 forced to survive in a wasteland and 500 enjoying life in a paradise.

One of the emerging trends of Minecraft gameplay is a phenomenon known as ‘Minecraft civilization’ simulations – and among the very best architects of these simulations is a YouTuber known as ish.

Ish and his creative team create the initial conditions – creating islands and world conditions – and they drop 1,000 players into their Minecraft scenarios. And from here, Ish steps back and allows the players create their own alliances, civilizations and cultures. What follows is an engrossing hybrid of documentary and sweeping epic anchored in two incredible cores of storytelling: dynamic characters and incredible storytelling. Ish weaves one incredible story out of 1,000 players, dozens of civilizations and too many shifting loyalties and betrayals to count.

All credit to ish and his team for setting up the conditions and retelling one story in one great film – but all this effort would have been wasted were it not for the total buy in from the 1000 players dropped into this Minecraft world. These players take the blank slate of two very different islands – and fill it with vibrant societies, like a mysterious warrior nation of assassins, a Barbie-themed pink village and an Empire where trial by combat is the land’s law. Some players take their commitment to their gaming personas to the next level, such as the Mario-inspiring character who only speaks in a hyperbolic voice reminiscent of Super Mario and another player playing as a rat who only speaks in squeaks.

On paper, watching Minecraft players basically pick sides and role play civilization is absurd – but the characters take the stakes seriously and ish’s editing takes the story seriously. After ish set the initial conditions, the players truly invest into the simulation – which essentially becomes a battle for resources: food, building materials and even raw elements for weapons. A queen living atop a volcano diligently works to protect her sacred land from strip mining. A volatile emperor amasses power – despite his citizens becoming wary of his instability. Some players on the island with plentiful resources want to send aid to the poor island – while other players believe the poor island will invade to take their wealth.

Ish didn’t just craft a story only for diehard Minecraft fans - even people totally unfamiliar with Minecraft can keep up as Ish quickly and concisely explains some of the game mechanics. This video doesn’t get mired in asides about game mechanics - Ish knows that conflict and drama, between individuals and civilizations, is the heart of any good story.

The pure simplicity of Minecraft keeps the game beloved – and at its core, it simply gives players ingredients and challenges players to create. This ‘Rich & Poor' simulation succeeds in creating the fundamental element for great storytelling: drama. Alarming betrayals, unpredictable alliances and shifting power struggles power this simulation from start to finish. And all the disparate story threads and characters come together in a grand conclusion - grand in scale, but wholly grounded in the personalities battling for power, revenge and justice.

Final verdict: ‘1000 Players Simulate Civilization: Rich & Poor' is the best Minecraft film of 2025.

Score: 4.5/5

‘1000 Players Simulate Civilization: Rich & Poor' is now streaming on YouTube starting July 11. The Minecraft adventure has a runtime of 154 minutes and is not rated.