HotPotatoA round-based, last-player-standing minigame. Pass the potato or get eliminated.
By zArrowTan, part of Arrow Plugins.
OverviewHotPotato is a round-based, last-man-standing minigame. Players are handed a hot potato, and when the round timer runs out, anyone still holding one is eliminated. Pass it by hitting another player before time's up, and the last player standing wins. It runs on its own purpose-built game engine, with arena, queue, and round logic all in-plugin, so it's lightweight and self-contained with no external minigame framework needed.
The hot potato item, pass it before the timer ends
How a Match Works- Players join a lobby queue for an arena.
- Once enough are queued, an on-screen countdown begins.
- A round starts, one or more players hold the potato, and a timer counts down.
- Hit another player to pass the potato before the timer ends.
- When the timer hits zero, everyone still holding a potato is eliminated.
- Rounds repeat until one player remains. The winner gets fireworks and configurable rewards.
The current holder glows so everyone can spot them
The in-game scoreboard during a round
Core Features- Self-Built Engine: no external arena framework, one tick loop drives every active game
- Multiple Arenas: each with its own lobby, spawns, spectator and return points, min/max players, potato count, and round length
- Configurable Potatoes: set how many are in play, the holder is marked with a hotbar item and a colored head indicator so everyone can spot them, with configurable holder and runner potion effects
- Anti-Grief: players in a game can't break, place, or bucket blocks, so the map stays intact between rounds
- Lobby Leave Item: a right-click item to leave the queue, same as
/hotpotato leave - Rewards: run console or player commands on win or loss, with PlaceholderAPI substitution
- Stats & Leaderboards: tracks wins, losses, and potato transfers, stored in YAML, SQLite, or MySQL
- PlaceholderAPI: exposes
%hotpotato_*%placeholders for scoreboards, chat, and other plugins - Live Reload:
/hotpotato reloadapplies config and powerup changes to running games, no restart
The leave item in the waiting lobby
PowerupsFloating, pickup-able powerups placed per arena, fully config-driven in
powerups.yml.- Built-in types: Speed, Jump, Invisibility, a Knockback Stick, and a Blindness Wand
- Rarity-weighted spawns: common, rare, and unique, with optional random rolls each respawn
- Eye-catching: each shows a floating name and lore, bobs and spins, and uses a custom head texture or material icon
- Forgiving pickup: a horizontal radius plus a vertical band so they're easy to grab
- Respawn each round to keep the action going
A powerup with its custom texture and floating hologram
Hit by an enemy's Blindness Wand while holding the potato
Arena Bounds- Draw an invisible box around the play area with two corners
- Spectators who fly out are returned to the spectator spawn
- Players still in the round are held inside: walkers get a gentle shove back, and anyone flying out in creative or spectator is teleported to the edge
- Tunable push strength, with an option to let admins fly out
- Fully optional per arena
Commands & PermissionsMain command
/hotpotato (alias /hp).Player Commands
/hotpotato joinjoin an arena queue/hotpotato leaveleave the queue/hotpotato listlist available arenas/hotpotato helpshow the help menu
Admin Commands (require
hotpotato.admin)/hotpotato reloadreload config and powerups/hotpotato arenathe full setup subtree: create, set lobby, add spawn, set spectator, set return, set min, set max, set potatoes, set round time, set corner1, set corner2, and save
The help menu, including the admin setup commands
LocalizationShips with English and French. All player-facing text lives in language files, with support for legacy color codes and hex colors.
Requirements- Minecraft: 1.18+ (Spigot or Paper)
- Java: 17 or higher
- Storage: YAML out of the box, SQLite or MySQL optional
- Optional: PlaceholderAPI for placeholders
Installation- Drop the jar into your
plugins/folder. - Start the server once to generate the config files.
- Set up an arena with the
/hotpotato arenacommands, then/hotpotato reload.
MetricsThis plugin uses bStats to collect anonymous usage stats. You can opt out anytime in
plugins/bStats/config.yml.
Support & DocsFull setup and configuration guides are in the documentation. Need help, found a bug, or want to suggest a feature? Join the Discord.
