What happens when you put 30 Minecraft players in a small, closed map for two months with a limited number of resources? An intriguing experiment earlier this year asked the very same question, and got a somewhat expected (but nevertheless disconcerting) answer: all-out war. The participants were unaware of the experiment's goal, and were only given one rule, "never leave the bedrock walls." Instead of banding together, the players broke into four factions — The Axe, The Brotherhood, The Dwarves, and The Merchant's Guild — and began fighting for scarce resources on the 350 x 350 block map.

The Axe was the first faction to dissolve, and individual griefers — who act just to harass others — began hoarding and actively destroying resources to prevent other factions from having them. At the end of the two-month period, the griefers controlled nearly all of the food, and the rest of the players were forced to resort to crude dirt shelters in an attempt to survive the perilous nights. To read more on the experiment, its outcome, and whether or not this small scale Minecraft dystopia bodes ill for the future of planet Earth, check out the source link below.

Update: Thanks MrMember for pointing out this Reddit thread that claims the experiment isn't real. While we're not positive this experiment is a fake, the all-out war aspect sounds quite plausible either way.