How to Play Minecraft

24th Jan, 2023

Minecraft is the world's most played game, fittingly for its 10th anniversary. For those who are new to Minecraft, they may be curious how to play it.

Minecraft is not like any other video game. There are no clear objectives or tutorials to help you get started in Minecraft. This beginner's guide will help prepare you for your first adventure in Minecraft.

Minecraft's open-ended, infinite world is what makes it so much fun. You can do whatever you want. It'll help you to understand the basics.

The Objective and Basic Controls in Minecraft

This guide will focus on Minecraft on Windows, Mac and Linux. Once you have mastered the basics, you can apply them to any version of Minecraft on any platform.

Although there is no main objective to Minecraft, there is a flow of gameplay that is recommended. You will start in a vast open world and need to gather materials from scratch to build shelter, food, and a bed. Then you'll have to survive the next day.

You can then start mining for precious resources like iron ore, diamond, and other metals to make powerful tools, weapons, armor, and other products. As you play longer, you will be able explore the open world, locate villages, loot hidden treasures, and fight mobs.

Let's start with the basics.

Start by opening Minecraft. Click Singleplayer, then click Create New World.

Click the Game Mode button until Survival appears. Survival mode is where the fun begins. You must survive and gather all the resources for yourself. We recommend that you stick to the default controls. Here's a brief overview:

- Movement – W, A, S & D keys- Jump- Spacebar
- Run - Double tap W
- Crouch/Sneak Hold Shift
Access inventory - E
Use the mouse to navigate around
- F5 – Cycle through different camera views
- Attack or break blocks - left click
Right click to use or place items
- Place the item you are holding onto the ground. Q
- Cycle through your inventory using 1-9 number keys
Let's try it. You can move to a nearby tree block and break it by pressing the left mouse button. The tree block will break and drop a log. Take four pieces of the tree and break them up.

To open your inventory, press E. You'll see the logs in the bottom row. This row is your quick slots tab. To equip any of these, you can press 1-9. You can equip more items from the rest of your inventory, but they cannot be quickly equipped. To change the location of items in your inventory, you can click and drag them.

Minecraft is a game that requires you to mine or craft everything. If you want to build tools, for example, you will need to mine the base resources and then craft them. It begins at the most basic level, and then goes up from there.

To build a tool, for example, you need to start with a log. Next, build planks. Then craft sticks. Finally, use planks and sticks together to create a tool.

A crafting table is required for almost all crafting. You can use your logs to create one. Click and drag your logs to the four squares next to your character's name in the inventory menu.

You'll notice 4 new items in your output box. These are planks. To convert your logs to planks, right click on this four times and then drag them into the main inventory. It may seem strange at first, but it will get easier over time.

Next, click the left button to select the 16 planks that you have created. Then right click once while hovering over each box next to your character. The output box will now contain a new item. It's a crafting board.

Left click to place your planks in a blank area in your inventory. Next, left click to select the crafting tables. Next, move your cursor to the bottom of the toolbar and click left to drop it there.

Next, press E to exit the inventory.

You can now look at any spot on the ground and right-click to place it.

Next, take a look at the crafting table. Click on the right arrow. The new interface for crafting tables will be displayed. To access the extended crafting table menu, click the green book. To see how items are made, you can click on the items on either side. You'll find more crafting recipes as you play. Or, you can search the internet for them.

We will need to create some basic tools for now. Tools can be used to help you get more resources in Minecraft. The following tool types are available:

Pickaxes to quickly mine rock and ore.
- Axes to cut trees faster
- Shovels for digging dirt faster.
- Hoes to prepare soil for planting seeds.
- Swords for attacking enemy mobs.
There are many other tools that can be used in more specific situations, but we will only use these for now. Click on the stick in your crafting table to do this. To make 4 sticks, you will need 2 planks that are stacked on top of one another in the crafting interface.

8 sticks are required. Use the right click to grab your planks, and the left click for each additional plank. Place your planks in the inventory and use the left click to retrieve the sticks from the output container.

You will now be able to unlock new recipes for building basic tools. Click on the tools tab in your crafting table inventory. Next, click on each tool to create it. For now, just craft a pickaxe, shovel, and axe. These tools can be crafted using the same techniques we have previously explained.

Your inventory should look something like the picture above once you are done. Press E to exit the crafting table. You have now built your first tools. Now it's time for you to get to know the world around.

Surviving your First Night

To make it as simple as possible, just equip the shovel by pressing corresponding hot key numbers. It was 1. Next, take a look at the ground and click right to dig three blocks.

Next, take a look up and equip the dirt that you just mined. It should be on the four key. Next, right-click to place a block. It will now become dark. The important thing is that your safety is paramount.

Now wait until the morning. It should take approximately 7 minutes. You can either listen to the dangerous creatures outside or take a short break and return in 7 minutes. If you do not keep your game open, the timer will be paused.

You can look up in 7 minutes and hold the left click to dig the dirt. If it's still dark, you can place the dirt again and wait a while. You can now dig the blocks in front you to make a step you can use to get out of the hole you've been hiding.

Now that you have built your first house, it is time to put up a shelter. You only need walls, a roof and a door. You can sleep in a bed so you don't have to wait all night. The night will be automatically skipped.

You can build walls and ceilings from any material. You can make it from planks or just plain dirt. These resources can be found in the ground or from trees using the tools you have already made. You will need a lot of blocks.

Sometimes Minecraft can be tedious. You will need to collect many blocks by digging, cutting, and mining.

Start to place the blocks to build your first home by equipping your tool bar with the blocks. Another craftable item you can make is the door. This can be done in the crafting table using planks. To craft the door, simply open the crafting menu and use the interface to the left.

The bed is the final piece. This can be a bit more difficult. You will need to explore the area and look for sheep. Attack sheep if you find them. After they are killed, they will shed wool and mutton. This is your first venture to look for sheep.

It should not take more than a few minutes to find them. Just make sure you know how to get back home. To make a bed on the crafting table, you will need three blocks of wool the same color and three planks.

Now you will have your first home. To save time, you can sleep in your bed at night to avoid the night. You can also respawn in this bed if you die.

Two more items are required before we can explore Minecraft further. We will need to build a chest for storing our items and a furnace to heat food.

Chests are easy to make. To place a chest, follow the instructions in the image. The chest can then be placed by clicking on it and dragging items into its inventory.

Cobblestone is needed to build the furnace. This can be mined using a pickaxe from below the ground. Use the shovel to begin digging through the dirt. You will hit stone quite quickly. You can dig down using stairs, as shown above, until you hit stone.

The pickaxe can then be used to collect stone. To build a furnace, you will need eight cobblestones. The furnace crafting layout can be viewed above. Place the furnace in your home. Now it's time for you to pay attention to your quick slots. These are your health- and food bars.

Slowly, your food will start to go down. If it gets too low, you can lose your health. You will slowly regain your health if you eat enough. You must eat food to fill it up. You will need mutton from the sheep that you killed earlier. However, you must prepare it.

Right click the furnace to cook your food. Next, place the meat into the top box. In the bottom box, add fuel. This can be any kind of wood or coal.

If you don't have wood, you can easily gather logs from trees. The food will eventually be cooked and will be displayed in the output box to the right. You can eat food by placing it into your quick bar slot, equipping and holding the right click.

Exploring the World

The crafting table can be used to build better tools that last longer and mine blocks faster. Cobblestone is the best option to upgrade your tools. You will also find iron and diamonds if you dig deeper. Iron is the next upgrade to stone, and diamonds are even better. Stone will suffice for now.

To find iron and diamond, you will need to dig deep. This can take a while. You can explore the world and learn how Minecraft works. As you play, you'll learn more. Minecraft is all about exploring and learning how you can play.

It's up to you what you do next. You can dig deep to find abandoned mineshafts full of loot and dangerous enemies. You will need to explore the sky to find hidden temples or trade your loot. You will need to find a saddle hidden in structures in order to ride a horse. Or, you will work towards getting diamond gear.

There are many options. You can learn more about Minecraft by watching videos on YouTube and reading through wikis such as Minecraft Gamepedia. We hope this beginners guide to Minecraft will prove to be helpful.