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I'm running a local Minecraft server, and would like to connect to the server from 2 different computers with the same Minecraft account.

When I try, it says

Failed to login: Invalid session (Try restarting your game)

and kicks the user from the game, so only one user can play at a time. Does this mean I need 2 Minecraft accounts to play in this situation?

I ask because the message doesn't explicitly state anything like "Your user is already logged in. Please use another account", so it got me wondering if I could do this, since I know of other games that allow LAN games using only one account.

My intent is not to pirate the game, but to ensure I do need to buy another copy before I do!

MrLemon
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Brad Parks
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    This is by design. – SevenSidedDie Mar 21 '15 at 00:43
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    Asking for a way around it is asking for piracy. – House Mar 21 '15 at 00:45
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    No it's not. I'm not trying to pirate Minecraft. I'm just trying to ensure that I don't buy 2 licenses if I don't have to. Lots of games let you play like this, and the error message I'm getting isn't clear, so I want to be sure before I actually do have to buy another license before I do! Good point... thanks! – Brad Parks Mar 21 '15 at 01:05
  • Trying to play with one account from two clients is piracy, regardless of what you think. If you want to be honest, buy another license. – MBraedley Mar 21 '15 at 01:39
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    Not true. It all depends on how the application is licensed. The error message doesn't say "You need another account", or "Your license is being used in multiple clients". It says something completely different, which does not explicitely suggest this in anyway. – Brad Parks Mar 21 '15 at 01:57
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    I believe he is using the same username with another person in his family, and wants to play a LAN game with them. I believe using the same username for multiple people in the same household is allowed. – angussidney Mar 21 '15 at 02:57
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    @AngusAtkinson: That's exactly what I'm doing.... thanks for putting it this way as it's a much better way of saying it. I'll put this in my question above! – Brad Parks Mar 21 '15 at 10:36
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    After the edits, the question is much clearer as to its intent, and I'd say it is on topic. It's a real issue, and OP is not asking for ways to commit piracy, but rather whether or not this ambiguous error message means that he will need another account. – MrLemon Mar 21 '15 at 11:36
  • You're right, it does depend on how the game is licensed. You read the license when you agreed to it, right? ;) There's no need to shout about "some games let me do this so I don't know" when the answer is right there… – SevenSidedDie Mar 21 '15 at 19:41
  • Actually, the answer isn't right there. I've never read the EULA before, but just did, and it basically says "don't distribute your license", but you can install and run the game on your own computer. This specific use case isn't addressed, and, as the question this was a duplicate of shows, it's possible on a local LAN. That's all I was asking. Thanks for the feedback! – Brad Parks Mar 21 '15 at 21:54

2 Answers2

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You can't run Minecraft on 2 different computers with the same account because they will be registered as conflicting messages.

ryquack
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Minecraft accounts are intended for use by only one user at a time. Technically two users should not even play offline using the same Minecraft account. Starting a multiplayer game and attempting to login with the same account produces an error for this reason (whether on a LAN or a server). You must buy another account (licensing another copy of the game) for two users to play in a multiplayer game.

intcreator
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