Not Enough Bones: Expanding Minecraft’s Skeletal Economy
Bones are one of those resources in vanilla Minecraft that feel oddly scarce. You need them for bonemeal to speed up crop growth, tame wolves, or craft bone blocks for building. Yet the only reliable source is skeletons — those clattering archers that spawn in darkness and often snipe you from a distance. If you have ever found yourself desperately hunting skeletons just to fertilize a wheat field, you know the grind. The Not Enough Bones mod flips this scarcity on its head by asking a simple question: why should skeletons be the only mob to drop bones? After all, almost every living creature has a skeleton. This mod injects a dose of biological realism into the game while making bone collection far more convenient.
Why This Mod Makes Perfect Sense
Minecraft’s world is teeming with animals and hostile mobs, yet their bones mysteriously vanish upon death. The Not Enough Bones mod corrects this oversight by adding bone drops to several common mobs. The logic is straightforward: pigs, cows, sheep, and even zombies now leave behind bones when they die. This small change has a huge impact on early-game survival and modded playthroughs. Instead of waiting for nightfall and risking a skeleton ambush, you can simply tend to your livestock and collect bones as a byproduct of farming. It feels natural, almost like the game should have worked this way from the start.
The mod was born out of the creator’s frustration with skeleton hunting, especially when using mods like BetterBeginnings that demand a steady supply of bones for crafting. In such modpacks, bones become a critical resource, and relying solely on skeletons can stall progress. Not Enough Bones ensures you always have a trickle of bone drops from everyday mobs, smoothing out the early resource bottleneck. It is a must-have for any modpack that emphasizes bonemeal or bone-based recipes.
Current Bone-Dropping Mobs
As of the latest version, the mod adds bone drops to four mobs beyond the vanilla skeleton. Each one contributes to a more balanced bone economy:
- Pigs – Your humble pork source now yields bones, making pig farms doubly useful.
- Cows – Leather and beef are no longer the only rewards; cows drop bones as well.
- Sheep – Shearing for wool or slaughtering for mutton now also provides a skeletal bonus.
- Zombies – The shambling undead already drop rotten flesh, but now they leave behind their own decayed bones, adding value to nighttime encounters.
These additions mean that even passive mob farms or natural animal deaths contribute to your bone stockpile. You can finally craft bonemeal without constantly seeking out skeletons, which is a relief for builders and farmers alike. The mod’s simplicity is its strength: no complex mechanics, just a logical expansion of loot tables.
Seamless Integration and Easy Installation
Not Enough Bones is designed to be lightweight and compatible with virtually any modpack. It does not overhaul core systems; it merely tweaks entity drops, so conflicts are rare. If you are running a modded setup that already alters mob loot, this mod typically stacks without issues. The installation process is straightforward: you can grab the mod from platforms like CurseForge and drop it into your mods folder. For those who prefer a more streamlined experience, the mod is also available through the foxygame.net launcher, a modern and flexible tool that lets you browse and install mods directly from its interface. This launcher simplifies mod management, making it easy to add Not Enough Bones to your custom pack without manual file wrangling. Once installed, the mod works immediately — no configuration needed unless you want to tweak drop rates via a simple config file.
Future Possibilities and Community Suggestions
The mod’s developer has hinted at exciting upcoming features that could deepen the bone economy even further. Among the ideas being considered are growable “Bone Trees” — a whimsical concept where you could cultivate bones as a crop, perhaps using bonemeal on a special sapling. Another intriguing possibility is “Bone Ore”, which would generate underground and be mineable like coal or iron, providing a non-mob source of bones. There is also talk of alternative vanilla-style crafting recipes that use bones in new ways, such as bone tools or decorative blocks. The community is encouraged to suggest additional mobs that should drop bones; after all, the mod’s name implies there are never enough bones. Maybe creepers, with their bony frames, or even fish could join the list in future updates.
Modpack Policy and Credits
One of the best aspects of Not Enough Bones is its open modpack policy. You are free to include it in any public or private modpack without seeking explicit permission, as long as you provide a link back to the creator’s website. This generosity has helped the mod spread across numerous themed packs, especially those focused on farming, survival challenges, or vanilla-plus experiences. The mod owes its existence to a collaboration: coding was handled by DarKnighT_0_9, who turned the idea into reality, while TrollenBros showcased it in a mini-mod review that brought early attention. The developer maintains a tip jar for donations, but the mod remains free and community-driven.
Conclusion: A Small Change with Big Impact
Not Enough Bones might seem like a tiny tweak, but it addresses a genuine pain point in Minecraft’s resource loop. By distributing bone drops across multiple common mobs, it reduces grind, enhances immersion, and supports modpacks that demand high bonemeal usage. Whether you are a skyblock player desperate for bone meal, a builder crafting bone blocks, or simply someone who finds skeleton hunting tedious, this mod delivers a practical solution. It respects the vanilla feel while adding a layer of logical consistency — because in a world full of creatures, bones should be everywhere. If you have ever wished for a more sensible bone economy, Not Enough Bones is the answer, and it fits effortlessly into any modded or vanilla-style playthrough.