It’s easy to dismiss Minecraft as a children’s hobby — the pixelated, cartoonish graphics certainly don’t resemble most popular video games, and there’s no real endgame in Minecraft, just a never-ending builder’s odyssey. Still, the game carries an odd charm, hiding innumerable layers of creation under a simplistic, 8-bit shroud; if you’ve ever dumped out a massive mishmash of Lego bricks onto a carpet and built from imagination, you should understand the title’s spirit. Without characters, words, or any sort of plot to speak of, the game has enraptured many. So many, in fact, that it now stands as the second-best selling video game of all time, trailing only Tetris.

With that kind of massive player base, it should come as no surprise that some of the community’s creations are impressive downright ridiculous. Some projects are conceived and constructed by lone builders with a particular vision, while others are labors of love for big groups of players, working together for years to craft sprawling realms. Some structures are drawn directly from their authors’ imaginations, while some are painstakingly detailed models of previously realized worlds — fictional or otherwise. In any case, it would be downright rude to wax poetic about these creations without a little show-and-tell, so scroll on, dear reader, to see the best that the global Minecraft fraternity has to offer.

Something to keep in mind: Many of these maps are only compatible with specific versions of Minecraft. If you want to experience them for yourself, you might be required to install a separate launcher or texture pack.

These maps aren’t home to any puzzles, enemies, or narrative-driven gameplay — they’re just eye candy, here to be looked at and appreciated. Their creators spent countless hours pouring in bucketfuls of blood, sweat, tears, and cubes, and the results are simply spectacular.

These maps aren’t just showcases for their authors’ artistic talents — they’re meant to be played and enjoyed, utilizing Minecraft’s framework in unique and creative ways to become new games entirely.