Matchbox

Matchbox is a Minecraft social deduction minigame where everyone looks identical, but one player is secretly the Spark.

The Spark must infect players without getting caught. Everyone else must watch carefully, talk it out, and vote out the Spark before too many players are eliminated.

No names. No obvious skins. No easy proof. Just observation, paranoia, and trust.

How It Works

Each round has three phases:

1. Swipe Phase

Players move around the map while the Spark secretly infects someone.

The Medic can try to find and cure the infected player before it is too late.

2. Discussion Phase

Everyone is brought together to discuss what happened.

If an infected player was not cured, they are eliminated.

3. Voting Phase

Players vote on who they think the Spark is.

If enough players agree, that player is eliminated. If not, the game continues and the pressure increases next round.

The game ends when:

• The Spark is voted out, or
• The Spark eliminates enough players to win

Roles

Spark

The hidden impostor.

The Spark can infect players and may receive a special ability such as:

• Hunter Vision: briefly reveal nearby players
• Spark Swap: secretly swap positions with another player
• Delusion: create fake infections to confuse the Medic

Medic

The only player who can save others.

The Medic can use Healing Sight to detect infections and cure one player each round.

Innocents

Everyone else.

Watch, remember, discuss, and vote carefully.

Why Matchbox Feels Different

• Everyone looks identical during the game
• Player names and identities are hidden
• The Spark can mislead players using special abilities
• Voting uses a dynamic threshold, so players must actually agree
• Games are session-based, clean, and safe for servers
• Multiple games can run at the same time

Nicknames

Players can choose a custom nickname that becomes their identity during a game.

• Your nick replaces your real name in chat, the player list, and above your head
• Nicks are unique per game, no duplicates are allowed
• They activate when a game starts and are removed when it ends
• Your preferred nick is saved, so you don’t need to set it every time
• You can generate a random, realistic username if you don’t want to pick one

This keeps identities consistent within a match while still preserving anonymity.

For Server Owners

Matchbox is built for Paper servers and is designed to be safe, configurable, and easy to run.

Features include:

• Automatic player state restoration
• No block breaking or world damage during games
• Configurable phase lengths, roles, abilities, voting, cosmetics, and chat
• Parallel game sessions
• Official map support
• ProtocolLib-based skin and visual handling

Setup

1. Download:

   • Matchbox.jar
   • ProtocolLib-5.4.0.jar

2. Place both files in your server’s plugins/ folder

3. Download the official M4tchb0x map:
   https://www.planetminecraft.com/project/m4tchb0x-maps/

4. Extract the map into your server folder so it sits alongside your other worlds

5. Open server.properties and set: level-name=
   Make sure this exactly matches the name of the map folder you just added

6. Restart the server

Matchbox ships with a ready-to-play default setup for the official map, including spawns, discussion seats, timings, and player limits.

Requirements:
Paper 1.21.10+
Java 21+
2–20 players

Basic Commands

Players

• /matchbox join
• /matchbox leave
• /matchbox list

Admins

• /matchbox start
• /matchbox begin
• /matchbox stop
• /matchbox setspawn
• /matchbox setseat

Aliases: /mb, /mbox

Links

• Source & Docs: https://github.com/OhACD/MatchboxPlugin
• Discord Support: https://discord.gg/BTDP3APfq8