Quite a bit, in Minecraft, players often overlook functionality in a Creative-style build, especially if adding functionality means increasing the time it takes to build said structure, or if functionality means more than simply building the portion that the players are most likely to see at first glance.

I'm not trying to say that any players are lazy, but it is true that sometimes we tend to go more for looks when building than whether or not the structure will actually be usable in some way.

Basically, what I am leading up to, is that this morning I finally finished figuring out how to build a 100% working swing set in Minecraft, and the best part is that it can be built in both Bedrock or Java edition of Minecraft. It requires no mods, no addons, no datapacks, and you don't even need to use a single command, meaning you could build it in Survival mode if you want to, although it is a lot easier in Creative mode as it involves mobs.

There are, however, a few flaws in this build if you build it in Bedrock Edition like I did, but I can give you a few tips later on fixing those flaws if you play Java Edition.

By the way, this thing took me hours to come up with, so I hope you enjoy it. Let's now get started!

Supplies

7 Powered Rails

1 Redstone Block

13 Fences of choice

2 Leashes

1 Minecart

14 Wooden Trapdoors of choice

7 Moss Carpets

5 String

14 Grass or Dirt Blocks

1 Saddle

1 Strider

2 Bunnies

Step 1: Stop Building This

This is not an actual step, I am just showing you the most popular design of a Minecraft swing set, and how non-functional it is. Can you really swing on a row of trapdoors? Not exactly. You can't even sit on trapdoors, so what even is the point of building that thing in your world and calling it a swing?

Now that you have seen the old design for swing sets in Minecraft, it is actually time for you to find out how to build a better working one. Scroll down!

Step 2: Build the Frame

The frame of the swing is made of the wooden fence of your choice. I decided to go with oak, as it is my favorite wood, but feel free to use any kind of wood you like.

The frame should be 4 blocks tall and 7 blocks wide, giving it an internal space of five blocks. I highly recommend that you build the frame in this exact size, as I cannot guarantee that a frame wider or taller or both will work out very well.

Step 3: Dig Out a Trench

This swing set involves a lot of what I like to call "underground technology." Basically, what I mean there, is that we will be hiding nearly all the components of this build underground. So, to get started on this underground technology, you need to dig a trench that is 7 blocks long and 1 block deep. It is very important that the middle block is directly under the frame, as seen in the pictures above.

Step 4: Deepen the Trench

For the build to be a swing set, and not a ride-back-and-forth set, the trench must be slightly deeper in places. Dig one more block deep in the entire trench, while leaving the blocks on the side alone. It's hard for me to explain this, so please refer to Picture #1.

After deepening the trench, remove any of the blocks at the bottom, I chose the center block, and replace it with a block of redstone. This redstone will power some rails that you will be adding in the next step.

Step 5: Place Your Rails

Grab out your powered rails and place them at the bottom of the trench you just dug. Also place one on each of the blocks you did not remove, as seen in Pictures #2 and #3. These rails should automatically connect to the ones at the bottom of the trench, forming a ramp. The redstone block at the bottom at the trench keeps the rails powered, otherwise the swing set would not swing.

Step 6: Make the Seat

Now it is time to work on making the part of the swing that you sit on. Spawn a minecart on one of the rails in the bottom of the trench. Next, if you are in Creative mode, spawn a strider as close to the minecart as possible. He should automatically take a seat in the cart. Baby striders, however, do not work, as they cannot be ridden on, and even if they could they would be way too short for this build.

This can still be done in Survival mode, although it is much harder as you do not have access to spawn eggs. You can still attempt to lure one in, following these steps:

Go to the Nether dimension and find a strider.
Use a warped fungus on a stick to lure the strider and make him follow you.
Try to lure the strider back through the portal into the Overworld. You may need to push him into the portal once he gets close enough.
Continue using the warped fungus on a stick to lure him over to wherever you are building the swing set.
Push him into the minecart.

Regardless of which game mode you are in, you need to place a saddle on the strider. After this, give the minecart a push and the strider should be riding it back and forth!

Also please keep in mind that striders die if they come into contact with water, including rain. I recommend building this swing set either indoors or in a savanna biome if you are in Survival mode, or turning off the weather cycle if you are in Creative mode.

Step 7: Hide the Underground Technology

The next thing you need to do is covering up the rails. I have found that moss carpet works well for this, since its color is as close as we can get to matching grass. Feel free to use a different kind of carpet to cover up your rails, but for best results aesthetically, you should probably use the carpet that is the closest match to the ground you are building on.

A very helpful trick for doing this is to use string as a support for the carpet. You can place floating string on top of the rails, then carpet on top of the string. While it is so unrealistic that simply a piece of string is strong enough to support almost anything in Minecraft, it is quite useful for building, especially in this build. The strider can still ride the minecart completely through the string, unlike if there was a block such as stone or concrete there instead.

Step 8: Get Started on the Ropes

Directly next to the trench you just covered up, dig another trench that is 7 blocks long and 2 blocks deep. Line the bottom of the trench with wooden trapdoors of your choice, close them, then spawn or lure a bunny into the new trench. Quickly leash the bunny and tie it to the fence in the part of the frame directly above the new trench, as seen in Picture #5 (another hard to explain step). Cover the trench with grass blocks, as you can see in Picture #6.

Step 9: Repeat

Repeat that process on the other side. You now have both ropes for your swing set!

Step 10: Finished!

Your 100% functional Minecraft swing set is now complete, and you didn't even need to use any commands or build any complicated redstone circuits.

To use the swing, mount the strider and you will begin "swinging" back and forth, when actually the strider is riding in a minecart, giving you the illusion of a swing. However, be careful dismounting, as I have found that if you dismount at the wrong time, you will end up falling through to the rails.

The tutorial is now over, so you don't have to keep reading, but if you play Minecraft Java Edition than you can feel free to scroll down and read some Java-only tips that I have for the build.

Step 11: Tips for Java Users

Here are those tips I promised that can be applied only in Minecraft Java Edition:

You can splash an invisibility potion on the strider to turn it invisible, while leaving the saddle in plain sight, causing it to look more like a swing set.
For a more realistic swinging experience, you can hold a warped fungus on a stick in your right hand and a carrot in your left hand so the strider doesn't turn crooked and so the bunnies follow you, making it feel more like the ropes are attached to the seat.

And that's it! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy having your very own working swing set in your vanilla Minecraft world.