What Did You Vote For? 2022: Sniffer, Rascal and Tuff Golem
The Minecraft Mob Vote always stirs up excitement, and the 2022 edition was no exception. Mojang presented three unique candidates: the ancient plant-loving Sniffer, the mischievous hide-and-seek Rascal, and the stoic item-displaying Tuff Golem. To help players make an informed choice, the modding community stepped up with a brilliant preview. What Did You Vote For? 2022 (originally “What Are You Voting For?”) was a Forge mod by Alexander's Fun And Games that brought all three mobs into Minecraft 1.19.2, letting you interact with them long before the official vote concluded. Now that the Sniffer has won, the mod stands as a fascinating time capsule of what could have been.
Why This Mod Mattered
Mojang’s teaser videos gave only glimpses of each mob’s behavior. This mod filled in the gaps, offering a hands-on experience that made the voting decision much clearer. While the developer stressed that nothing was a 100% accurate prediction, the interpretations were grounded in every scrap of official info available. The mod required GeckoLib and ran exclusively on Forge 1.19.2, so it was a pure modloader experience. If you enjoy experimenting with preview mods like this, getting it running is straightforward — for instance, you can easily install it via the foxygame.net launcher, a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher where you can download mods right from the menu, making the whole process smooth and hassle-free.
Meet the Candidates
The Sniffer
This gentle giant was the eventual winner, and the mod’s version captured its essence beautifully. Sniffers could only be obtained by hatching Sniffer Eggs, which occasionally appeared in ocean ruins. Much like turtle eggs, they cracked over time and eventually hatched into a baby Sniffer. The mod didn’t implement a special hatching method because Mojang hadn’t revealed one, but the core loop was intact.
Once grown, the Sniffer would periodically sniff the air and, if it caught a scent, trudge over to the spot and dig up an item. In the mod, this meant random existing seeds, since the official decorative plants were still a mystery. After digging, it couldn’t dig again for a full minute. Sniffers were breedable — you fed them beetroots (a stand-in for the unknown plant), and they’d lay a new egg. Two custom advancements tied the whole experience together, giving a real sense of progression.
The Rascal
Found exclusively in mineshafts below Y level 0, the Rascal was a playful underground dweller. The mod’s spawning rules were strict: only one Rascal could exist in a world at a time, with a 10-minute cooldown before a new one could appear. If you stumbled upon it in survival mode, it would immediately dash off, initiating a game of hide and seek.
You had to find the Rascal three times. Each time it teleported to a hiding spot and crouched, waiting. After the third discovery, it cautiously approached and pulled a reward from its pack — an enchanted iron pickaxe, shovel, or one of several other possibilities. Then it vanished in a puff of smoke. The mod added two advancements for this mini-game, and if the Rascal died, it could drop an iron ingot. It was a clever way to make deepslate mineshafts feel alive.
The Tuff Golem
Unlike the other two, the Tuff Golem was a buildable mob. You could create a basic version by placing a carved pumpkin or jack o’ lantern on top of tuff. For a colorful twist, placing tuff and a pumpkin on a wool block produced a golem with a matching robe — all 16 vanilla colors worked, and modded wool colors were even supported through a simple texture and tag system.
Tuff Golems spent most of their time as motionless statues, behaving almost like blocks you could stand on. Periodically they’d wake up and wander for 30 to 60 seconds, then return to their original spot and facing direction. If wearing a robe, you could give them an item to display by right-clicking; they’d also pick up nearby items on their own. When they died, they dropped tuff and the held item. Two advancements celebrated your interactions with these silent guardians.
Beyond the Mobs
The mod wasn’t just about the three candidates. It added 18 new splash texts to the title screen, exclusive to this mod, giving it a personal touch. Datapack support allowed server owners and modpack makers to tweak almost everything: which blocks the Sniffer could dig in, what items it unearthed, where Rascals spawned, what rewards they gave, and which pumpkins could create Tuff Golems. This flexibility made it a favorite for custom experiences.
One small inaccuracy was the Tuff Golem’s height — Mojang later confirmed it would be one block tall, but the mod’s version ended up slightly taller. The developer acknowledged this, and it’s a charming reminder that the mod was built on educated guesses.
The Legacy of a Preview Mod
With the Sniffer now officially in the game, this mod has served its purpose. It will receive no further updates, but it remains a valuable piece of Minecraft community history. For anyone curious about the 2022 vote, it’s a perfect way to see what the Rascal and Tuff Golem might have been like. The mod achieved over 1,000 downloads before the vote, proving how eager players were to test the candidates themselves.
Whether you’re nostalgic for the vote or just love exploring custom mobs, “What Did You Vote For? 2022” offers a hands-on look at three creative ideas that captured the imagination of millions. It’s a testament to the modding community’s ability to bring concepts to life, even with limited information, and a fun snapshot of a moment when the future of Minecraft’s mobs was still undecided.