AUTHOR: Joanne Cammish

To understand the digital world: go to the source.

If you want to better understand a game or app that's aimed at young people, it's probably worth taking the time to find out about it from the player at source.

I decided to interview my nephew to get his thoughts on Minecraft. He is a reliable source as he been playing Minecraft for the last 5 years and from here on in will be referred to as Minecraft Guru or MG.  (He will really love reading that title.)

How did you discover Minecraft?

MG: My 'on trend' grandad (gaming grandad?!) introduced me to Minecraft a few years after its release in May 2009.

Should parents let their children play Minecraft?

MG: YES. Definitely yes.

What do you believe that parents need to know about Minecraft?

• It's a creative, fun game to play or own.
• It's educational and challenging, encouraging and motivating players to gain achievements through strategising, planning ahead, making decisions and reasoning in order to...