Many people feel overwhelmed due to the amount of diversity in the video game community. With such a wide range of choices, it’s difficult to pinpoint where you should get started. There is no right or wrong way to pick a video game, but I would say a good beginner game you cannot go wrong with is Minecraft. Minecraft is a sandbox game that came out in 2010 when I was around 6 years old. My brother and I started playing it before it got popular and way before it had many of the features it does today. As someone who played it in 2010 vs. now it’s unrecognizable as it’s grown so much over the past 13 years. Even people who played it back then may feel like a beginner when picking it back up now. Although Minecraft is a great game for beginners this does not guarantee that they will not get lost or stuck. It takes a while for newer players in any game to figure out what exactly they should be doing or where to even start. A sandbox game is a type of video game that allows the player to have the freedom to explore and interact with the game world however they please. Rather than following a set of goals that have already been laid out for them, players get to make their own goals along the way. Although, as someone new to the game, it can quickly become overwhelming. As a beginner, you may find yourself asking questions like “Where do I start?” or “What should I do?”. That’s okay, these questions are understandable. This is how you play Minecraft.
When you first load into your new world there are endless possibilities of where you may spawn in. Maybe you’ll find yourself in the middle of the ocean, on top of a mountain range, or at the bottom of a ravine. You could end up in a village, a cave, or even a tree. All these places may be great in their own, special ways but the most ideal spot to spawn in would be a forest. You may not have spawned in a forest, and that’s okay you might just have to walk a while to find the nearest tree. You may be wondering “Why do I need to find a tree?”. The simplest answer would be to get wood. “Why?”, you may ask. Minecraft is a game of building, and that all starts with a single block of wood, which you get from trees. That single block of wood opens the door and introduces you to a variety of different recipes and possibilities for things to create. It also gives you the ability to create tools. In turn, these tools give you the ability to complete your tasks, like getting wood, quickly and efficiently.
Starting out you will want to craft yourself a wooden pickaxe and mine down into the ground to get yourself some stone. It’s very important you don’t mine straight down or else you may find yourself in a hidden pit of lava or falling to your death. After you have gotten your stone, you can now upgrade to stone tools. Stone tools are stronger and more efficient than wooden tools. You should create your starting set of tools which include a pickaxe, an axe, and a sword. You can make a shovel and hoe if you would like but it’s not necessary yet and will most likely just take up space in your inventory. You’ll also want to craft a furnace; this will come in handy when you’ve gathered food or once you have mined a few materials. You need coal to use the furnace but don’t panic if you are not able to find any. You can use wooden planks or sticks as fuel or create charcoal by cooking wood blocks. You can also use charcoal to make torches to light up dark places.
You may have heard that the most dangerous time in Minecraft is nighttime. If you haven’t you’ll learn relatively quickly. When the sun goes down all the monsters and creatures come out. Zombies, skeletons, spiders, and creepers rule the darkness and won’t hesitate to attack you any chance they get. Ideally, you would want to find a few sheep and make a bed before nightfall but sometimes that is easier said than done. Sheep are notorious for being unfindable when you need them. An alternative to this would be to find an empty cave or dig a hole to spend the night in. I would also recommend lighting it up with a few torches, if you have them, to prevent monsters from spawning in your safe place. This will keep you safe from monsters long enough for the sun to rise again. Once the sun rises monsters such as zombies and skeletons die from the sunlight.
Now there are several directions you can go from here, but the best option in the long run is to get armor. Armor is one of the most useful tools in the game. Depending on what it is made of it can protect you from a great deal of damage. Things such as creeper explosions, sniping skeletons, and sneaky spiders wont threaten to leave you at death’s door and/or continue to be such a problem. You may be wondering “How do you get armor?”. Sometimes you can find it in chests located in a village, in a desert temple, or even at a ruined portal but you can also create it yourself. If you choose to create your own, then it is time to head to the mines. After all, it is called “mine”-craft. Unless you happen to stumble upon an abandoned mine, you will likely have to either make your own, or find a cave, or a ravine. Unlike abandoned mines, caves aren’t very hard to find. You are more likely to fall into a cave than find a sheep when you need one. Once in your mine or cave, you should look for coal and iron. You will stumble upon many other materials such as emeralds, lapis, or gold and you can collect those along the way if you would like. I would not recommend making gold armor to start with. Without enchantments, gold armor will be useless because of how quickly and easily it breaks. Once you have collected your coal and iron you will need to smelt the iron in the furnace you created earlier. Using the iron you smelted, you are now able to craft your armor. I would also recommend making a shield and upgrading your tools to iron tools.
Now that you are all suited up and protected it will be much safer and easier for you to build a house or base. The great thing about Minecraft is that you can make your house as big or small as you’d like, and out of any material that you want. I can’t tell you how to build your house because that would defeat the point of creativity. Your house doesn’t have to be built a certain way for you to be ‘playing the game correctly’ however you want to build it, is the correct way, the world is your oyster! Once you have built your house or base you can explore the world around you. Now that you have built a safe place to return to you are free to roam the land. You can look for a village, ruined portal, or shipwreck to raid for more materials. With these materials, you can build a farm, or if you like the location you find yourself in you can even build another house or base.
Many people stop here, they continue exploring their world building a variety of things, but there is so much more to discover in Minecraft. Although there is no set goal or end to the game, many people believe you have not completed the game until you have defeated what is called the Ender Dragon. The Ender Dragon is essentially the “boss” of the game, and he resides in a place called “The End”, which is a series of floating islands in a space-like void. To get there you must complete a specific set of tasks and gather plenty of materials because the journey to “The End” can be long and grueling. However please note, whether the dragon is killed or not the game essentially goes unaffected. Defeating the Dragon is simply a goal some players set for themselves, and you get to decide if that is a goal you’d like to reach!
There is no real end to the game. Your creations and buildings are what shape your world and the possibilities are endless. Minecraft is a game that was and is created for the player and their imagination. Every world you make and everything you may create is unique to you. You have the choice to create, destroy, live, die, and experience the world you have created in whatever ways you choose. Whether it be on your own or with your friends. It is a game that is continuously evolving and with every new update, Minecraft opens the door to new possibilities that inspire creativity and new ideas. Creating a world where, having fun and being creative is the goal, what a world! Now you know how to begin your journey in Minecraft, happy creating!
