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Sparkane

Minecraft challenge

Hotbar Only

Your sword, pickaxe, food and blocks all have to fit into nine hotbar slots. The 27 slots above them are blocked. You can still use your off-hand and wear armor.

How to start your run
  • Java & Bedrock
  • Private server
  • No extra mods

Nine slots, many choices

Choose every item on purpose

While the challenge is running, 27 storage slots outside the hotbar are restricted. You can keep normal items only in the nine hotbar slots. Your off-hand and armor slots remain usable.

When the rule activates, it moves existing items out of the restricted slots and into the hotbar. If the hotbar has no room, leftover items are dropped on the ground. Barriers mark the restricted slots, and clicks or drags into them are blocked.

27 storage slots are restricted. Your nine hotbar slots are your normal storage for items.

Example round: you find iron, food and a shield, but only have two free hotbar slots. The shield goes in your off-hand, leaving room for the iron and food in your hotbar.

Open crafting table with 27 storage slots blocked by barriers and tools, food and wood in the hotbar.
The 27 storage slots are blocked. Tools, food and building materials share the nine hotbar slots; the crafting table remains usable.

What to expect from your run

Rule complexity
Only nine hotbar slots are free; your off-hand and armor stay usable outside the restriction.
Experience
Good priorities and a consistent hotbar layout help during exploration and combat.
Time commitment
Sorting and restocking take time. Plan your free slots before caves, fights and long journeys.

Plan around nine slots

Tips for Hotbar Only

Leave room for important finds before heading into the next cave.

01Assign consistent slots
Reserve slots for tools, food, blocks and combat so you do not reorganize at the wrong moment.
02Use your off-hand
A shield or another item in the off-hand expands your options without taking a hotbar slot.
03Choose what to keep
Before a chest or fight, decide which item you want to carry. Restricted storage is not a temporary stash.
04Share the load with friends
If you play with friends, share the load: one player carries extra food, another carries building blocks.

Even less room

Combine Hotbar Only with other challenges

A second rule can disrupt your small selection even further.

Hotbar Only + Damage Clears Inventory
Damage can clear your real items. Afterward, you still have only the nine hotbar slots.
Damage Clears Inventory
2 simultaneous challenges · Host needs Pro
Hotbar Only + Crafting Randomizer
Random crafting results must fit into the same nine slots. Leave an open slot whenever you craft.
Crafting Randomizer
2 simultaneous challenges · Host needs Pro

The configurator shows which rules you can enable together. Some combinations do not suit every goal.

Hotbar Only FAQ

How the nine available inventory slots work.

How many inventory slots can I use?

Nine hotbar slots remain available for normal items. 27 other storage slots are restricted. Your off-hand and armor slots remain usable.

What happens to items already in storage?

When the rule activates, existing items in restricted slots are moved into the hotbar. If there is no room, the leftovers drop on the ground; they do not disappear.

What is the challenge goal?

You choose the goal in the preset or configurator, such as defeating the Ender Dragon. Hotbar Only decides which slots you may use on the way there.

Your first run

Start your Hotbar Only run

You need Minecraft, but no extra mods or server hosting of your own.

How to join on Java & Bedrock
  1. 1

    Join Sparkane

    Connect to play.sparkane.com. We support 1.21.11 – 26.3 on Java. The “How to join on Java & Bedrock” guide covers both editions.

  2. 2

    Choose your challenge in the lobby

    Choose the ready-made preset for your challenge at the NPC in the lobby. Its goal and rules are already set. To change them or combine challenges, open the optional web configurator.

  3. 3

    Start your server and invite friends

    Create your server from the preset or your custom configuration and wait for your server to be ready. Invite friends with /invite <Name>. Java and Bedrock players can play together.

  4. 4

    Start the timer and play

    Everyone ready? As the host, use /timer start. You can then break blocks and the challenge rules become active. Use /timer pause and /timer resume to take a break and continue your run.