So, the servers were overloaded, went down, and no one could log in to play, so the developer made the game free during the downtime. 
 
How does a server you have to log into to play not count as DRM?  Have I misunderstood what happened?

That was basically the factor keeping me from buying the game, but the awesomeness coupled with the fair price makes it worthwhile despite that limitation.
 
It does seem that Minecraft will work without login, but the asset update system keeps it from being truly 'independent' of 'phoning home'

 Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM.    

" @Infininja: It is yours. If you want to play offline, you can do so. There are no technical mechanisms in place to prevent anyone from doing that, regardless of whether or not they bought it. But if you want to make use of the online stuff, you play by his rules. This is typical of most online services. "

" @LordAndrew: It is of interest, but I'm not sure it's relevant.  My issue is with the claim on this page. 
   

 Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM.    

That statement seems like a blatant lie to me. "

" @Infininja said:

" @LordAndrew: It is of interest, but I'm not sure it's relevant.  My issue is with the claim on this page. 
   

 Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM.    

That statement seems like a blatant lie to me. "

More like this whole topic seems like a blatant troll.  He's not lying, you're just trying to paint him as a liar.  Be wary of splash back. "

 DRM-free doesn't mean it's free, from wikipedia:

"The term is used to describe any technology that inhibits uses of digital content not desired or intended by the content provider. The term does not generally refer to other forms of copy protection which can be circumvented without modifying the file or device, such as serial numbers or keyfiles." - WIKIPEDIA

"What they mean is that there isn't any install limit or special code needed to unlock the game or third party software you need to run in the background to even load the game up let alone physically play it." -Hamz

Though online authentication every time you play is quite limiting, I wouldn't say it falls into Digital Rights Management.

"Don't be ridiculous.  It wasn't clear from my skimming of the web site that there was an offline mode that doesn't require online authentication. "

I think this is being mistaken as an attack on the game when I believe I've expressed my ignorance of the game's feature sets. 
 
@LordAndrew said:

Notch lists "online level saving, centralized skins, friends lists and secure name verification for multiplayer" as the things that require authentication. None of those things could be used without authentication. "

" @SeriouslyNow said:

" @Infininja said:

" @LordAndrew: It is of interest, but I'm not sure it's relevant.  My issue is with the claim on this page. 
   

 Once you've bought the game, it's yours. No DRM.    

That statement seems like a blatant lie to me. "

More like this whole topic seems like a blatant troll.  He's not lying, you're just trying to paint him as a liar.  Be wary of splash back. "

Don't be ridiculous.  It wasn't clear from my skimming of the web site that there was an offline mode that doesn't require online authentication.  Even so, I think the implication of saying your game is "DRM free" is that the whole of it is, not just some.  Others appear to disagree, and think a bullet point like DRM free can be advertised generally but only refer to a specific part of the game.  I haven't berated or called anyone names that may feel that way.  I'm also interested in who "he" is in your response.  LordAndrew or the developer of the game? "

Whats the big deal? log in and play. The shits pure fire. 

"... is more of a way of saying "borrow it to whoever you want, modify the hell out of it, make your own skins, blocks, sound files, etc."

What you've done here cheif is mix up DRM and having to be online to play multiplayer.

" @Infininja: What they mean is that there isn't any install limit or special code needed to unlock the game or third party software you need to run in the background to even load the game up let alone physically play it. "

" @Hamz said:

" @Infininja: What they mean is that there isn't any install limit or special code needed to unlock the game or third party software you need to run in the background to even load the game up let alone physically play it. "

I just noticed that my payment for this game was kicked back. I think I got it for free. I gotta go email him and fix this.  "

" Whats the big deal? log in and play. The shits pure fire.  "

" @Devil240Z said:

" Whats the big deal? log in and play. The shits pure fire.  "

I like the way you put it. "

To the OP: it IS perfectly possible to play Minecraft single player on a computer that has no means of connecting to the internet. You only need to know where the files the game needs are stored, a flash drive, and a computer with an internet connection to get the current version.
 
on windows, the requisite files are at %APPDATA%\.minecraft\bin
as for linux and mac, dunno where exactly the .minecraft directory is, but it'll be in the /bin subdirectory in it. google around for minecraft mod installation instructions, they'll have it.
 
incidentally, posting a link to get the files in there -will- get you flagged, both on the official minecraft forums and here, as doing so is effectively contributing to piracy. However, there is NOTHING illegal about moving the files in the directory to a flash drive to place on another computer you own.
 
Basically, Notch's claims about DRM in Minecraft are exactly the same as StarDock's claims about DRM in their games: The game does not have to phone home for you to play offline, but you can't (legally) get updates without an actual paid account.