<pre style="line-height: normal;">1. Introduction

2. Minecraft Basics

3. First Night Walkthrough

4. Further Minecraft Concepts

4.1 Biomes

4.2 The Nether

4.3 Dungeons

4.4 Farming

4.5 Fishing

4.6 Mining

4.7 Building

4.8 Liquid Physics

4.9 Navigation

5. Block Reference

5.1 Natural Blocks

5.2 Manufactured Blocks

5.3 Utility Blocks

5.4 Mechanical Blocks

5.5 Plants

5.6 Ores

5.7 Liquids

5.8 Non Solid Blocks

5.9 Nether Blocks

6. Item Reference

6.1 Tools

6.2 Weapons

6.3 Armour

6.4 Food

6.5 Crafting Materials

6.6 Vehicles

6.7 Dyes

6.8 Other Items

7. Mob Reference

8. FAQ

9. Legal/Contact/Thanks

---------------

1. Introduction

---------------

Minecraft is a sandbox construction game developed by Markus 'Notch' Persson, a

Swedish programmer. He started working on Minecraft in May 2009, and the game

gradually gained popularity, until in July 2010 it was mentioned on the

official Team Fortress blog, and promptly exploded in popularity. The game can

be downloaded from www.minecraft.net, for the price of 14.95 euros (about 13 UK

pounds, 20 US dollars). It is expected to increase in price to 20 euros when

the finished version is released.

The game itself will be discussed more in the next section, for now I'm going

to go through what this guide will cover. I implied above that the game is not

finished - this is true. The current version - referred to as the beta version

and as the Survival gameplay mode, is the only one being actively developed.

There is also a 'classic' or 'creative' mode, which is free to play on the

Minecraft website, and only features the building element of the game.

Multiplayer versions of both of these also exist, however I personally have

relatively little interest in them, and so I do not intend to cover them in

this guide. I will also not be covering classic in any further detail, instead

I will concentrate on the beta version. I will also note that this version is

recieving frequent updates, so this guide will also be updated as soon as

details of applied updates become available. The guide will only cover the

current version of the game, information about future updates will not be

included however well known that information is.

One thing this guide will not be, for the most part, is a traditional

walkthrough. I described Minecraft as a sandbox game, and I really mean this.

Compared to this, games such as Grand Theft Auto are as linear as a straight

line. In Minecraft, the only goal is to survive, and how you do that is up to

you. There are other things you can do in the game, such as build massive

structures and explore caves, but there is no set way to do this. I will talk

about things like this, but in a more general way, rather than giving specific

instructions. What is accepted, however, is a fairly standard way of starting

the game, so section three will walk you through this. You're welcome to ignore

and do your own thing, but you may find things hard going. First though, we

need to discuss some of the basic concepts of the game.

-------------------

2. Minecraft Basics

-------------------

When you start Minecraft, you will be presented with a world consisting of

various natural features, such as mountains, plains, oceans, lakes, beaches and

caves. Each world is generated completely at random and in theory is infinitely

big, although in practice it is limited, although this limit is still 8 times

the total surface area of the Earth. New areas generate as you explore the map,

and all areas are totally random.

The map is made up of 'blocks' or cube-like structures that make up everything

that can be seen on the map. These blocks represent anything from dirt, sand

and stone, to water, lava, and even the clouds that float above the world. The

blocks can be 'mined' by hand or with a variety of tools, and taken into the

player's inventory. From there, they can be placed back into the world, to

allow for building of anything from a simple house to a large castle, basically

anything the player can thing of. This will be explained in more detail and

through a guided example in the next section.

The game also implements a day/night cycle which lasts 20 minutes. There is 10

minutes of daytime, then a 90 second sunset followed by 7 minutes of night and

eventually a 90 second sunrise. This is crucial to the game because at night,

and any other area where it is dark, such as the vast natural caves that exist

underground, monsters can spawn and attack the player. Monsters can damage

health, represented as a series of hearts near the bottom of the screen. Health

can be regained by eating food, which will be explained later, as will the

different types of monster.

It is also possible to lose health as a result of fall damage, walking into

cacti or lava, having certain block types fall on your head and staying under

water too long.

If all health is lost you will die, and respawn at the original spawn point of

the world you are in. Any items you were carrying will be dropped at or near

the point of death, and you have a limited time (5 minutes) to return to the

location and pick them up again, or else they will simply disappear.

There are four difficulty levels in Minecraft - easy, normal and hard all

feature monsters spawning, and the amount of damage they deal increases with

harder difficulty. There is also peaceful, in which hostile mobs don't spawn,

aside from one which cannot deal damage, leaving the player free to explore at

night and in caves without getting attacked.

It is possible to switch between difficulties at any time, switching to

peaceful will cause monsters to disappear, although this is frowned upon as a

way of getting out of trouble.

The main controls for Minecraft are as follows:

WASD - movement

Spacebar - jump

1-9/scrollwheel - select items from toolbar

left click (hold) - mine block

right click - place block or use item

mouse movement - look around

left shift - sneak (prevents falling off ledges)

I - open/close the inventory

--------------------------

3. First Night Walkthrough

--------------------------

When you first spawn on a Minecraft world, you start with nothing, and have one

full day (10 minutes) before the first night starts and monsters can spawn. So

however you plan to continue in your Minecraft adventure, the first day should

always be spent building some sort of shelter in which to avoid being attacked.

This shelter also needs to have artificial light provided, as monsters will

spawn anywhere it is dark, including your shelter if you don't light it.

The first thing required to set about this aim is wood. More than likely, a

number of trees will be present near your starting point, although depending on

your starting biome you may need to walk a short distance to find some. Once

found, you need to approach the tree and you should notice a black highlight

box around one of the blocks that make up the tree trunk. Hold down the left

mouse button and your hand will start 'mining' the block. Once it is fully

broken it will disappear and what looks like a smaller version will drop. This

This is picked up simply be walking near it and may happen automatically. Also

note that the remaining tree above this block doesn't fall - only a few

Minecraft blocks obey gravity.

You'll want to mine all available wood in the tree, and also do so from one or

two more trees. You'll notice the block appearing in the toolbar at the bottom

of the screen. This is where you can select blocks or items to use in the

world. Certain things, like the wood blocks you've just collected, will stack,

up to a total of 64 in one slot. Others can only have one item per slot.

Once you've got enough wood, open your inventory. There are a few things to

note here - at the top left is a representation of your character, and slots to

place armour which can protect you from damage. At the top right is a

two-by-two grid which is used for the 'crafting' of various items.

We'll use this to turn the wood we've just collected into something more

useful. Wood in its natural state is virtually useless unless you use it as a

building material. Select the wood with the left mouse button, and click to

place it in one of the slots in the crafting square. You'll see a different

block appear in the output slot to the right of the grid. These are wooden

planks, and you get four plank blocks for each tree trunk (log) block. Click

continously on the output square to turn each successive log block into planks.

Once you have them all, you need to put one in each slot the crafting grid

(right click). This will create a crafting table, which you need to take and

put in a slot in the toolbar at the bottom of the inventory screen. This will

allow you to place it in the world. Close the inventory and select the crafting

table. Right click to place it somewhere in the world and then right click it

in the world to bring up its interface. You again have your inventory displayed

but now you also have a three-by-three crafting grid.

This can be used to craft more complex items. The first thing you want to make

is something that only actually requires the smaller grid - wooden sticks. To

do this, place two plank blocks one above the other in the grid. This will make

four stick items appear in the output slot. You'll want at least 8, but I'd

make 16 initially. It's up to you.

Once you've made your sticks, you can make some tools. There are a number of

different types, for now though we'll just make a shovel and a pickaxe. I'm

going to use ASCII diagrams to show the 'recipes' for these items.

Pickaxe:

----------------------

| | | |

|Wood |Wood |Wood |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Stick | |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Stick | |

----------------------

Shovel:

----------------------

| | | |

| |Wood | |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Stick | |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Stick | |

----------------------

These allow you to mine certain types of block quicker, and will be useful

going forward. It's worth noting that extensive use will make them degrade, and

so you will be constantly building new ones. As the game goes on you will also

gain access to better materials than wood for building tools. Once you've made

the tools, you should 'mine' the crafting table and take it with you, to save

you having to build another later and waste wood.

For now, the next thing you need is coal. Around the map you should be able to

see stone blocks, these have a grey, stoney texture and are commonly found on

the side of cliffs and mountains, and in areas at ground level, often entrances

to caverns. Mixed in with stone are blocks that contain coal. Coal appears the

same as a normal stone block, but with black markings within it - this is the

coal. I can't tell you where to find it, as your world is completely random,

but once you have you will need to select your wooden pickaxe and use that to

mine the coal. When you do it will drop lumps of raw coal, which are what you

need to pick up.

You need to use the pickaxe because stone and coal blocks do not drop pickups

if mined by hand, or indeed with any other tool such as the shovel we built

earlier. Once you have a few lumps of coal, you'll need to open your inventory.

You can use the small crafting grid there to make torches, which require one

piece of coal above a stick. This will create four torches. Torches can be

placed on blocks to create light around it, preventing monsters from spawning.

If you are having trouble finding coal, try going into the game's options

screen and changing the render distance to 'far' (if it isn't already) to give

you more visible area to look for a cliff or other structure that may contain

coal.

If you still can't find any, then you can instead make charcoal, which has all

the same properties of coal. You'll still need to find some stone, when you do

you'll need to mine 8 blocks of it. Once you have them, place one in each of

the outside slots on the crafting table to create a furnace. Place this in the

world, and right click it to open its interface. You'll want to place some wood

in both top and bottom slots (above and below the flame graphic) and this will

create charcoal from the wood. Use this in exactly the same way as you would

coal.

You now have everything you need to create a shelter. Find an appropriate spot

(I personally like the side of a mountain or cliff for my first shelter) and

start digging it out. You'll want to use the shovel you built for dirt blocks,

and the pickaxe on stone. Once you've hollowed out a suitable area (it doesn't

need to be too big) place torches around it (right click on suitable blocks)

and use any available block type (I use dirt) to cover the entrance. My

personal preference is to cover all but one block, to give a way of seeing when

night has ended whilst preventing mobs getting in. If you do go down this

route, you'll also want to dig an area in the shelter where there is no line of

sight to the window, as there is a type ofmonster (skeletons) who use bows and

arrows and can fire through the window. The alternative is not to have a window

at all. As with pretty much everything in Minecraft, it's up to you.

-----------------------------

4. Further Minecraft Concepts

-----------------------------

The above section basically covers everything you need to know in order to

survive the first night. But what do you do during that night, and then when

the sun comes up again. Personally, I like to spend the first night digging

around in the shelter in the hope of finding more coal or other useful

resources, as well as building more tools and other equipment, and the next

morning exploring the area and deciding whether to build a permanent 'house'

there or somewhere else.

It's also worth noting that some monsters remain in the world after the sun has

come back up, so you'll probably want to make a sword to give yourself a better

chance of killing them.

But it's entirely up to you. Some of the other things you can do in the game

include:

-Farming

-Exploring caverns

-Mining for different ores

-Building large structures

-Creating 'electrical' circuits

And much more. This section will talk about some of the other things you can do

in the game, as well as discuss game concepts such as biomes and 'The Nether'.

--4.1 BIOMES--

Biomes are separate areas within a Minecraft world that have different climatic

conditions. This refers to the colours of grass and tree leaves, the general

height and layout of the land, the types of blocks that are most common and

even the presence of snow and ice. The boundary between biomes is currently

quite harsh, although it is planned to make them smoother. Worlds started prior

to the update which added biomes will not have them in previously generated

ares, however as new world areas ('chunks') are generated whenever the player

moves near the current edge of their world, these areas can have biomes in the

same way as a new world. The biomes are as follows:

-Rain Forest-

A heavily wooded biome with abundant trees and lakes. Trees may grow with

leaves all the way to the ground, and are more likely to have branches.

-Swamp-

This biome will have a number of small pools, and has a greater than normal

chance of containing reeds.

-Seasonal Forest-

This will have more trees than Woods, but not as many as Forest or Rain Forest.

-Savanna-

Largely flat terrain, with few trees.

-Woods-

A biome with roughly an average amount of trees.

-Taiga-

Snowy biome with the same amount of trees as Rain Forest or Forest.

-Forest-

Has the same amount of trees as Rain Forest, but they don't have the extra

properties of Rain Forest trees.

-Desert-

This will have mostly sandy terrain, and will contain a large amount of cacti.

Can technically contain trees, however many fewer than Woods, but as trees can

only grow on dirt it is very unlikely to find a tree.

-Plains-

Large open grassy areas, with very few trees.

-Tundra-

Snowy terrain, with a similar lack of trees as in Plains.

--4.2 THE NETHER--

The Nether is a special world which can be visited by making a portal. A portal

can be made by making a 4 by 5 'door frame' made of obsidian. The inside of the

frame must then be set alight with a Flint and Steel item. It is possible to

leave out the corners of the frame, and so only 10 blocks of obsidian are

required.

Once the portal has been stepped through (or rather stood inside, as if you

simply walk straight through it nothing happens), a corresponding portal is

created in the Nether. There is a loading screen whilst the game saves the main

world and loads (or generates) the Nether. Like the main world, the Nether is

randomly generated, persistant, and can be built in with all existing blocks.

The Nether contains unique mobs and block types, and also has a large amount of

lava, making journeying accross it quite dangerous. Any distance travelled in

the Nether is equivalent to 8 times the distance in the main world, meaning

two portals 8 blocks apart in the real world will be side-by-side in the

Nether. As well as at the bottom, the Nether also has indestructible bedrock at

the top.

Currently there is an issue where leaving the Nether will not always return you

you to the same portal you came through originally, but to a different one

somewhere else in the main world. This occurs when the game tries to put the

Nether portal somewhere it can't go, such as in a wall. It will instead move

the portal to a safe location, however this will mean that when you go back

through the portal it will put you in the corresponding main world location of

where the Nether portal is, not where it should have been (i.e. your original

portal). Notch is aware of this and working on fixing it.

--4.3 DUNGEONS--

A dungeon is an underground 'room' which contains a mob-spawner block. This

block will regulary spawn either spiders, zombies or skeletons. It can be

disabled by surrounding it with torches, or can be destroyed by a strong

pickaxe.

A dungeon can be identified by the fact that the walls and floors are made up

of cobblestone, a block that doesn't usually appear naturally. Further, the

floor is often made of a special 'mossy' cobblestone block.

A dungeon will also usually (although not always) contain a chest, which will

contain items such as string, iron, buckets, and also saddles and apples, which

are only found in these chests.

--4.4 FARMING--

Most natural plants in Minecraft can be grown by the player, however there is

also a specific type of plant that can only be obtained by being farmed. There

is no set way to make a farm in Minecraft, but a general procedure is as

follows:

First, a safe farm area must be created. This is because any walking on the

crops, from either the player or a mob, will cause the crops to be ruined.

Either a greenhouse, or a fenced off area will suffice. Note that it is

possible to sneak (hold down shift) on crops without destroying them. Also note

that if you do use fences you should take further precautions to ensure spiders

can not get in, as they can jump over a fence.

Water must then be provided - crops will grow provided there is water no more

than four blocks away. A suitable walkway, made of any non-dirt material will

also be required to allow you to move around the farm safely. Finally, enough

light must be provided to ensure hostile mobs don't spawn at night.

Once this is done, seeds must be located. Craft a hoe, and use it to till grass

blocks, ideally outside of the farm. This will remove the grass from the dirt,

and sometimes drop seeds. Once you have enough seeds (you need one seed item

for each block you wish to farm) you need to till all remaining grass/dirt

blocks within the farm, and place the seeds in them. It is important you don't

leave any grass untilled, as animals could spawn on it and trample the crops.

If all this is done correctly, the crops will in time grow and can be harvested

to produce wheat. The wheat can in turn be crafted into bread, which can be

eaten to restore health.

--4.5 FISHING--

IF the player has crafted a fishing rod, they may fish in any body of water.

This is regardless of the size of the water area, or indeed whether or not it

is natural.

To cast the rod, it needs to be equipped and the right mouse button pressed.

The rod will be cast, and it can be reeled in by right clicking again. When

cast, the bobber will eventually sink into the water before coming back up. The

rod should be reeled in at this point. If done correctly, a fish will be thrown

out of the water and land nearby on the ground. If the timing is wrong no fish

will be caught. The bobber must also be free-floating; if the water is too

shallow it may get caught on a block and not catch any fish.

--4.6 MINING--

There are many different ways of mining in Minecraft. My personal method

involves digging a 3 by 3 shaft down into the ground all the way to bedrock,

and then digging a tunnel coming away from this with further branches. I'm not

here to tell you how to mine, or to list all the different methods people use.

There are a few general tips that can be useful however:

-Never dig straight up or straight down unless you know what is there. I have

died after both digging down when there was lava underneath, and digging up and

having sand fall and suffocate me. There could also be a deep drop underneath,

or even a monster filled cavern or dungeon area.

-If you do have no option but to dig straight up, try putting a torch at your

feet. Any sand or gravel falling on to it will be destroyed, saving you from

suffocation. This won't protect you from other hazards, however. (thanks to

squirrels4ev for this tip)

-Underground dirt/gravel pockets could be an indication of nearby ores. It can

be a good idea to clear these pockets out, as it is an easy way to find ores.

-A chest and crafting table at the bottom of your mineshaft can be useful. Rare

ores can be put in it so you don't risk losing them if you die, and extra tools

or food can also be stored so you don't have to return to any other storage

area you may have. Similarly, if you have some sticks in the chest you can

easily make more tools without having to return to a 'main' crafting table.

--4.7 BUILDING--

It is possible to build a large variety of structures in Minecraft, from simple

houses to towers or castles, or anything your imagination can think of. Like

with the mining section above, I'm not here to tell you what to build or how to

build it, but there are again some tips I can give:

-By sneaking (left shift) it is possible to effectively hang off the edge of a

block. This can make building easier when there is no other way to reach the

side of a block you want to build on, and can reduce the need for some form of

temporary 'scaffolding'. Sneaking also means you won't fall off the edge of

blocks, which can again be useful for building tall structures.

-If you look straight down and jump, you can place a block below you. This can

be useful for building structures or for making a temporary 'scaffolding' tower

that can be removed later.

--4.8 LIQUID PHYSICS--

There are two types of liquid in the game - water and lava. Both have slightly

different properties depending on whether or not they are flowing.

Water will slow a player's movement, and if flowing will carry the player with

the current. It is possible to replace water or block it's flow by placing

blocks in it. Still water can be picked up with a bucket, which cannot be

placed back in the water. If placed somewhere else it will create a water

'source block' and flow for up to seven blocks, this will reset if the water

level changes. A placed source block can be picked up again, causing all water

it genereated to rapidly disappear.

An 'infinite spring' can be created by making a two-by-two hole and filling

opposite corners with water. Whichever water block you then pick up, it will

always be refilled.

It is possible to swim in water (although you have a limited air supply) and it

is also possible to swim up waterfalls. A fall into water that has a depth of

two blocks or greater will negate fall damage.

Lava has similar characteristics. Flowing lava works in the same way, but only

three blocks before it stops, and at a slower rate. Lava flows also take longer

to disappear after a source block is removed. The infinite spring trick does

not work with lava.

Lava's most notable characteristic is that it will deal damage to either the

player or a mob if they come into contact. IF this happens, you will burn to

death unless put out with water. Lava will also destroy any item dropped into

it.

The interaction of water and lava can create either cobblestone or obsidian.

A lava flow (horizontal) meeting with water will generate cobblestone, and

still lava will generate obsidian if provided with water.

--4.9 NAVIGATION--

Whilst there is no directional compass in Minecraft, just one that points to

your original spawn point, it is still possible to navigate using certain world

features.

-Both the sun and the moon will always rise in the east and set in the west.

-Clouds will always drift to the north.

-Cobblestone and Netherrack have a notable 'L' on the top of the block. If this

is aligned so it is on the left side of the block, facing the way it would be

if you wrote one on paper, you are facing north (thanks to squirrels4ev for

this tip)

Navigating natural cavern systems can also be tricky, especially as some can

get quite confusing. I would advise some sort of system to try to avoid getting

lost along these lines:

-Put torches on the same side (let's say right) of the cavern as you go through

it, so when you are trying to get out you always keep the torches on your left.

-Always follow the same rule when the cavern branches, for example always

explore the right hand branch first.

------------------

5. Block Reference

------------------

I am defining a 'block' as anything which either appears naturally in the world

or can be placed in it by the player after being crafted or otherwise made.

--5.1 NATURAL BLOCKS--

-Stone-

Stone, described in the walkthrough above, is the most common naturally

occuring block in a normal Minecraft map. It should be mined by use of a pick,

which is the only way of collecting it. Stone actually drops a different type

of block, cobblestone, which has a different texture.

Once reclaimed by smelting cobblestone in a furnace, stone is used in two

crafting recipes, to make a button or a pressure plate. It is also a common

building material.

-Dirt-

Dirt, which appears with a brown texture, and can have grass growing upon it,

is a very common block, forming a layer of ground above the stone that makes up

most of the world. It can be mined easily by hand, and always drops a 'resource

block', but can be mined quicker with a shovel. It can also be destroyed by

explosions.

Dirt is not a common block for building, and has no crafting uses, but is used

for customising the landscape, and for farming.

-Sand-

Sand is a reasonably common block, being found next to bodies of water, whether

small like lakes or ponds, or large like a full ocean. Like dirt, sand can be

mined by hand, and always drops a resource block, but can be mined quicker with

a shovel. Sand can be destroyed by explosions, and also is one of the few

blocks to be affected by gravity, meaning it will fall if the block under it is

removed. If the player is standing under it, it will fall on them and suffocate

them, this is one reason it is inadvisable to mine straight upwards.

Sand is not commonly used for building due to its weakness, however it can be

smelted in a furnace to make glass, and it is part of the crafting recipe for

TNT.

-Gravel-

Gravel, which has a grey, grainy texture, is usually found in cliff sides, pits

and caves. It shares a number of its characteristics with sand - it can be

mined by hand, but faster with a shovel, and is also affected by gravity.

There is also a small chance (about 8.5%) that instead of a gravel resource

block, gravel will drop flint when mined (flint is not a block, and so will be

covered in the next section). Gravel has few practical uses - it isn't a common

building material, and is not used in any crafting recipes. It can however be

placed back in the world in order to have another go at getting flint.

-Clay-

Clay is a relatively rare block, sometimes being very hard to find, although it

is generally found near water. It has a fairly smooth grey texture, and is best

mined with a shovel. Instead of a clay resource block, it drops four pieces of

raw clay, which can be crafted back into a clay block with the following

recipe:

----------------------

| | | |

| | | |

----------------------

|clay |clay | |

|piece |piece | |

----------------------

|clay |clay | |

|piece |piece | |

----------------------

Clay can also be smelted in a furnace to create clay bricks, which can in turn

be crafted into a brick block. Other than this, clay has few practical uses.

-Obsidian-

Obsidian, which has a dark purple texture, is a very rare block which is found

where water and lava interact. It takes a long time to mine even with the

strongest type of pickaxe (diamond), which is the only tool with which it can

be mined. Obsidian can be used as a building material, and is also used to

create portals to the Nether.

-Snow and Ice-

Under the biome system, certain areas will be snow areas. A layer of snow will

generate on top of all exposed blocks. This layer has to be removed before

mining the block underneath, however this can be done easily with any tool. If

mined with a shovel, however, it will yeild a snowball, which can be thrown at

things or crafted to make a full-size snow block - four snowballs are needed,

with the recipe being the same as for the clay mentioned above. These have no

pratical use aside from building.

Ice will form on any exposed water, and it is possible to walk on it, although

the ice is slightly slippery. It cannot be mined, instead ice either returns to

being water or is simply destroyed. Tools are not usually required, however

when underwater you will want to use a pickaxe.

Both snow and ice can be melted by placing a source of fire, such as a torch or

lava, near them; however a crafted snow block cannot.

-Bedrock-

Bedrock is an indestructible block type that appears at the very bottom limit

of a minecraft map. As with all Minecraft blocks, the pattern in which it

generates is random, which means holes in it can appear, leading in to what is

referred to as 'the void', an area outside the map. Should the player fall into

it, they will rapidly die. When they do, all their items will be irretrievable,

due to the instant disappearance of all items that drop into the void. It is

not possible to build blocks in the void.

--5.2 MANUFACTURED BLOCKS--

-Wood-

Wood, as discussed in the guided walkthrough above, is a block that is crafted

from log blocks. It itself has a number of properties - it is vulnerable to

being burned, and yet is still a popular building material. It is also used in

a large number of crafting recipes, as well as being potential fuel for a

furnace. When placed, it can be re-mined, an axe being the best tool with which

to do so.

-Cobblestone-

As mentioned in the Stone entry, Cobblestone is the resource block dropped when

Stone is mined. It does occur natually, however only in areas known as

dungeons, which will be explained later. Like stone, it is best mined with a

pickaxe.

It is a common building material, as well as being usable in a number of

crafting recipes - most notably the furnace, as well as stone tools and swords.

It can be turned back into normal stone by smelting it in a furnace.

-Brick-

Brick blocks are formed from four indivdual clay bricks (using the same

crafting recipe as shown in the clay entry), the bricks themselves being

smelted in a furnace from pieces of clay. This makes brick relatively hard to

come by, as clay is itself rare.

As would be expected, brick is used as a building material. When placed, it can

only be mined with a pickaxe. Brick has no other practical uses.

-Glass-

Glass is created by smelting sand in a furnace. It is a clear block, and as

such it is mainly used for creating windows or glass ceilings in various

building projects. It is also transparent, allowing it to let light through -

the only block that has this property. Glass cannot be re-mined once placed,

instead it will break, doing so easily without the use of tools.

-Bookshelf-

Bookshelves are purely decorative blocks that can be crafted in the following

recipe

----------------------

|Wood |Wood |Wood |

| | | |

----------------------

|Book |Book |Book |

| | | |

----------------------

|Wood |Wood |Wood |

| | | |

----------------------

As said, they serve no practical purpose. They are flammable, and cannot be

re-mined once placed, they will instead be destroyed. The books required will

be discussed in a later section.

-Wool-

Wool is a block that can be obtained naturally by attacking sheep, which will

cause them to drop Wool blocks (represented by them losing their wool) or by a

full crafting grid of nine pieces of string, which are dropped by spiders. It

is a very weak block, being flammable and vulnerable to explosions. Other than

as a potential building material, or for dying, its other main use is to make

paintings.

These are low-resolution images, taken from various sources, which can be

placed on a flat, vertical surface. They do not interact with the surface or

any other block in any way. There are a variety of images, one of which is

randomly chosen when a painting is placed. The recipe for a painting is as

follows:

----------------------

| | | |

|Stick |Stick |Stick |

----------------------

| | | |

|Stick |Wool |Stick |

----------------------

| | | |

|Stick |Stick |Stick |

----------------------

-Iron-

A full Iron block is created by filling the crafting grid with iron ingots. It

can be used as a building material, however is more commonly used as a more

compact 'storage' solution for iron ore, as by putting an iron block in the

crafting grid it can be turned back into the nine iron ingots which made it. It

currently has no other uses.

-Gold-

Like iron, gold blocks are created from nine gold ingots, and can be converted

back, again in the same way as iron. They can also be used to make golden

apples, by placing an apple in the center of the crafting grid and surrounding

it with gold, similar to the painting recipe above. This can then be eaten to

restore all your health, however the large amount of gold needed makes it very

uneconomical.

-Diamond-

Like gold and iron, diamond blocks are simply made from nine individual

diamond gems, and used as either building material or storage, as it again can

be converted back to the gems.

-Lapis Lazuli-

As with gold, iron and diamond, Lapis Lazuli blocks are made by combining nine

pieces of Lapis Lazuli. The created block can be used in a similar way as these

other items - for a building material, or for storage, as again the conversion

can be reversed.

-Stairs-

Stairs, made of either wood or cobblestone, are, as the name suggests, used for

making staircases in building projects. You have to be careful when placing

them, as they take a large amount of time to remove, and the orientation

depends on how many blocks are next to the space in which you are trying to

place it. The crafting recipe for stairs involves placing either wood or

cobblestone in the places marked on the diagram below:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

This recipe produces four stair blocks.

Stairs, once placed, allow for the player to walk up them without jumping.

-Stone Slabs-

Stone Slabs, like stairs, allow the player to change level without jumping.

They are made from cobblestone, and are only half the height of a normal block,

allowing them to be placed in such a way as to allow smooth walking between

levels.

They are crafted from a horizontal line of three pieces of cobblestone, which

produces 3 steps. If a step is placed on top of another existing step, it will

be treated as one single block, and only drop one slab when mined. Gravel and

sand will be destroyed when falling onto slabs, although gravel will not drop

flint when destroyed in this way (thanks to squirrels4ev for confirming this).

-Fence-

Fences, made from wooden sticks, can be used as a building material to surround

areas. They have the interesting property that, whilst one block high for most

purposes, they are considered one-and-a-half blocks high for the purpose of

collision detection. This means that they cannot be jumped over. Fences will

automatically link together when placed, and can be re-mined best with an axe.

It is not possible to place fences directly on top of each other, but by

placing a fence on top of another block, then destroying that block and

replacing it with another fence, the same effect can be achieved. Fences are

crafted by placing one stick in each slot of the bottom two rows of the

crafting grid, for a total of six sticks. This will create two fence blocks.

--5.3 UTILITY BLOCKS--

-Crafting Table-

The crafting table was discussed in the walkthrough section. It is crafted from

a two-by-two square of wood, and in turn provides a three-by-three crafting

grid, making it essential for the vast majority of crafting recipes.

-Furnace-

The furnace is used for smelting various block types, and also for cooking

pork. It is created from cobblestone in the following pattern:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

Once created, the furnace can only be picked up with a pickaxe. It requires

fuel to run, with coal, wooden planks, sticks, logs, buckets of lava and even a

crafting table or a chest being suitable. Once the fuel is placed in it (by use

of a right-click accessed interface) items can be placed in it to smelt or

cook.

Once an item is placed in the furnace, then providing it has enough fuel it can

be left to do its job over time. The exception to this is when cooking pork,

which doesn't stack, and so individual pieces must be removed before another

piece can be cooked.

Items that can be smelted or cooked in a furnace will be mentioned in their own

entry.

-Chest-

A chest, crafted from wood in the same pattern as for a furnace, is a device

used to store other items, functioning in much the same way as the player's

inventory. It has the same size as the normal inventory, and two chests can be

placed next to each other to create a large chest with double the capacity. If

a block is placed on top of a chest it cannot be opened.

Chests also have a crafting use, being used to make storage minecarts, which

will be explained later.

-Jukebox-

A Jukebox is a block which, when provided with a record (a hard item to come

by) will play the music on that record. It is crafted from eight wood blocks in

the same formation as a chest, with a single diamond gem in the middle. If

records cannot be located, the jukebox serves no other purpose.

-TNT-

TNT, as would be expected, is used to create an explosion. It will explode

(after a short 'fuse' wait) when hit by the player after being placed in the

world. It can be used as a quick method of landscaping the world, or for traps.

It is crafted from four sand blocks (SA), and five pieces of sulphur (SU) as

shown in the diagram below:

----------------------

| | | |

| SU | SA | SU |

----------------------

| | | |

| SA | SU | SA |

----------------------

| | | |

| SU | SA | SU |

----------------------

-Mob Spawner-

A mob spawner, which appears as a transparent 'lattice' like block with fire in

the middle, is a type of block which appears in special areas known as

dungeons. The mob spawner block will be in the middle of the room and will

regularly spawn either Skeletons, Zombies or Spiders, regardless of the general

lighting conditions of the room.

The Mob Spawner can be stopped by completely surrounding it with torches, and

can be destroyed, although not picked up, a strong pickaxe (iron or diamond)

being recommended to do this with.

-Jack-O-Lantern-

A Jack-O-Lantern, crafted by placing a pumpkin above a torch in the crafting

grid, is usable as a source of light. Unlike a torch, they will stay lit under

water. Like a pumpkin, they can only be placed with a block underneath it.

-Cake-

Cake is a special type of block, currently the only block which can be eaten to

restore health, healing 1.5 hearts per use. A cake block can be used up to six

times, for a maximum heal of 9 hearts. As it is a block, it must be placed in

the world before it can be eaten. The crafting recipe for cake is as follows:

----------------------

| | | |

| Milk | Milk | Milk |

----------------------

| | | |

|Sugar | Egg |Sugar |

----------------------

| | | |

|Wheat |Wheat |Wheat |

----------------------

--5.4 MECHANICAL BLOCKS--

-Minecart Tracks

Minecart tracks can be placed in the world as tracks on which Minecarts can

run. The full operation of minecarts and minecart tracks will be discussed

later in the guide. The tracks are crafted from six iron ingots and a single

stick, in the following recipe.

----------------------

| | | |

| Iron | | Iron |

----------------------

| | | |

| Iron |Stick | Iron |

----------------------

| | | |

| Iron | | Iron |

----------------------

-Lever-

A Lever can be placed on a wall and is used as a switch to open doors or change

directions on minecart tracks. It can also be used in redstone circuits. It is

crafted by placing a single cobblestone block in the crafting grid with a

single stick above it.

-Pressure Plate-

Pressure Plates can be placed on the floor next to any object that requires

power, such as an iron door, or connected to an item via a wire, and will

activate when either the player or a mob walks over them. They can be made of

either wooden planks, or of normal stone (which has to be smelted from

cobblestone) by putting three blocks in a horizontal line accross the crafting

grid. To reclaim a placed pressure plate a pickaxe should be used.

-Stone Button-

Stone buttons can be placed on a wall and serve a similar purpose to pressure

plates, activating items it is placed next to or connected to by wires. They

are made of smelted stone by placing two blocks in the crafting grid arranged

one above the other.

-Door-

Doors allow for controlled entry into an area. They start off closed, and must

be opened before they can be walked through. There are two types of door -

wooden, which can be opened manually by right clicking it, and iron, which must

be opened by means of an adjacent pressure plate or stone button. Mobs cannot

open wooden doors, but they can step on pressure plates and so open an iron

door. An open iron door will automatically close within a couple of seconds of

being opened.

Whichever kind of door you are making, the crafting recipe is as follows:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | |

----------------------

-Redstone-

Redstone is a special kind of material which can be collected and used in a

variety of ways. It can be crafted into a compass or a redstone torch, and also

be placed on the ground to create 'electrical' circuits. The system for doing

this is very advanced, with many logic gates and other systems possible.

The specifics of redstone circuitry goes beyond the scope of this summary. A

more complete guide may be added in a later update. Currently, the minecraft

wiki has good information on the subject, and GameFAQs has a good redstone

guide by another author.

-Dispenser-

A dispenser is a special block type that can be used to store items and then

give them out when powered by redstone. Items are placed inside it in the same

way as with a chest, and any time it receives power it will dispense a random

item from those contained within it. Most items will simply drop out, however

arrows, eggs and snowballs are fired with usual effects. This can make them

useful in mob traps.

The crafting recipe is as follows:

----------------------

| | | |

| CS | CS | CS |

----------------------

| | | |

| CS | Bow | CS |

----------------------

| | | |

| CS | RS | CS |

----------------------

CS: Cobblestone

RS: Redstone Dust

-Note Block-

A Note block is a musical block that plays a specific note when hit or powered

by redstone. Once placed, the note played can be changed by right-clicking the

block, two full octaves are available, starting at F# of the lower one and

ranging to a high F# at the top of the second, after which it will cycle back

to the start. Different instruments can also be played depending on what block

is placed under the note block:

Wood based: Double bass

Sand/Gravel/Soul Sand: Snare Drum

Glass/Glowstone: Clicks/Sticks

Stone based (inc bricks, Netherrack and Obsidian): Bass Drum

Other blocks: Harp

They are crafted by placing a single piece of redstone dust in the middle of

the crafting grid and surrounding it with wooden planks.

--5.5 PLANTS--

-Sapling-

Saplings, which take the appearance of small trees, are dropped ramdomly when

tree leaves are destroyed, whether naturally or by the player. They can be

re-planted by placing them on grass or dirt, and provided there is an adequate

source of light, will regrow into another tree. This allows for the supply of

wood to be replenished.

-Log-

Logs are natural wooden blocks that make up the trunks and branches of trees.

Whilst they can be mined by hand, the ideal tool is an axe. They are also

flammable, although a possible bug in the current version of the game means

they will burn indefinitely if only set alight on one side. Once mined, they

can be used as a building material or for crafting into wooden planks. They

have no other use.

There are currently three different types of logs, each with a different

texture. These different types will not stack with each other in the inventory,

but all have the same properties.

-Leaves-

Leaves are found as the tops of trees. They can be destroyed easily by hand,

and whilst a sword can remove them faster, the sword will be damaged faster

than it would be normally, so hands are the ideal way to remove leaves. Leaves

not connected to wood, or indeed any other block, will, over time, wither and

be removed of their own accord. As mentioned above, the destruction of leaves

in any manner can drop saplings. Leaves cannot be picked up when destroyed.

-Grass-

Grass is a covering that will grow on dirt when exposed to sunlight. It itself

cannot be mined or picked up, and in most cases cannot be removed separately

from the block. The exception is when tilled by a Hoe, which is required for

farming. Grass is also the only surface on which neutral mobs (cows, chickens,

sheep and pigs) will spawn.

-Cactus-

Cacti are plants that usually grow near the sea, given that they only grow

on sand. If walked into by the player or a mob, they will deal damage. It can

also be cooked in a furnace to get a green dye. Its only other purpose is to

grow more cactus.

-Sugar Cane-

Sugar Cane is a plant that grows on grass or dirt when it is next to water.

When harvested, cane can be replanted in order to harvest more, or crafted into

paper, which in turn can make books and bookshelves. A single piece of sugar

cane can be crafted into sugar. It also has the interesting property of being

completely fireproof.

-Flower-

Flowers are fairly common plants that grow on any exposed grass or dirt block.

They can be easily picked up by the player and replaced in the world. They come

in both red (rose) and yellow (dandelion) varieties. Each different flower can

be placed in the crafting grid to create two pieces of either red or yellow

dye. Their only other use is as decoration.

-Mushroom-

Mushrooms, of which there are two types - brown and red - are relatively rare

plants which grow in dark areas. These are most commonly caves, although it is

also possible to get them growing at night on the surface. They are useless on

their own, except for decoration, but if both types are found they can be

combined with a wooden bowl to make mushroom stew, a very potent food item.

Mushrooms are currently the only plant that can be found growing naturally in

the Nether, and are quite common in this world.

-Crops-

Crops, otherwise known as wheat, can be farmed in Minecraft. The farming

procedure is described in section four above. Once harvested, wheat can be

crafted into bread.

-Pumpkins-

Pumpkins, which currently can only be found as pre-carved jack-o-lanterns, can

be rarely found in the world. They can be worn as a helmet, however this offers

no protection, and also provides the player with a view of the world that looks

as if you are looking out of the pumpkin through the carved face. Pumpkins do

not obey gravity, however they cannot be placed without a block below them.

They can also be crafted into lit jack-o-lanterns.

--5.6 ORES--

There are six types of ore in the game - Coal, Iron, Gold, Redstone, Diamond

and Lapis Lazuli. All are found in the same way - appearing as a stone block

with different coloured areas representing the type of ore it is.

All ore needs to be mined with a pickaxe to drop anything, and gold, redstone

and diamond will only drop when mined with an iron or diamond pickaxe, iron

and lapis lazuli require stone or better.

Coal will drop a single unit of raw coal, iron and gold will drop ore resource

blocks which must be smelted in a furnace to produce ingots of the respective

material. Redstone will drop four pieces of redstone dust, and diamond a single

diamond gem. Lapis Lazuli will drop between 4 and 8 pieces of Lapis Lazuli dye.

The levels that different ores can be found at are as follows (note the 'void'

is level 0 and sea level is level 64):

Diamond/Redstone: Common to level 16, rare to level 19.

Lapis Lazuli/Gold: Common to level 32, rare to level 35.

Iron: Common to level 64, rare to level 67.

Coal: Common to level 128 (the top of the map).

As mentioned above, iron and gold ingots, as well as diamond gems and

lapis lazuli dye, can be combined to make full blocks of these materials.

--5.7 LIQUIDS--

-Water-

Water appears naturally in the world, forming static areas such as lakes and

the ocean, as well as flowing water created from springs. Water can only be

picked up in buckets. Picking up a spring (referred to as a 'source block')

causes all water flowing from that spring to rapidly disappear. Placing water

in an existing body of water has little affect, however placing it on another

block creates a fresh spring. You can also replace water by placing another

block in place of the water. This can be used to fill lakes, and to cut off

water currents flowing underground - a useful technique as flowing water can

hinder a player's movement if they try to move against the current.

It is possible to swim in water, however you only have 15 seconds before you

start to drown and lose health. Water deeper than one block will also negate

fall damage.

Buckets of water cannot be placed in the Nether.

-Lava-

Lava is a hazardous liquid block that most commonly appears underground,

although can appear at the surface. Falling into lava damages both the player

and mobs, and also destroys any item thrown or dropped in it. Like water, it

can be picked up through use of a bucket. It flows in a similar way, and shares

the properties of springs, however the rate of both flow and of disappearance

after a source block is removed is slower than water. Lava also emits light, so

hostile mobs won't spawn where there is lava.

Lava is common up to altitude level 16, and can rarely be found higher than

this, even up to surface level.

Lava is also very common in the Nether, especially in the form of 'lavafalls'.

--5.8 NON SOLID BLOCKS--

Non solid blocks, some of which have come under other categories (levers are an

example) can be placed on existing blocks and removed separately from the block

they are on. Further blocks cannot be built on them, but they don't obstruct

movement.

-Ladder-

Ladders can be placed on walls to allow for vertical movement up and down. They

only need to be placed on every other block allowing for conservation of the

wooden sticks used to create them. The crafting recipe is as follows:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

-Torch-

Torches are an extremely useful object used to provide light, which can be

placed on most other blocks. The light they provide prevents hostile mobs from

spawning near them. They are crafted from a single stick, and a single piece of

coal placed above it. This recipe creates four torches. Torches cannot be

placed underwater, and will go out and drop if they come into contact with

water. If placed on sand or gravel the torch will drop if the block it is

placed on moves due to gravity. They also cannot be placed on glass.

-Redstone Torch-

A redstone torch, crafted in the same way as a normal torch but with redstone

instead of coal (and it only creates one torch instead of four) is used as part

of redstone electrical circuits.

-Sign-

A Sign is a decorative block on which the player can write a message. Any text

can be entered by the player, and so they can be used for any purpose that is

desired. They are crafted from six wooden plank blocks (W) and a single stick

(S) in the following recipe:

----------------------

| | | |

| W | W | w |

----------------------

| | | |

| w | W | W |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

-Fire-

Fire can be created by the player using the flint and steel item, and will

progress slowly to burn all flammable blocks adjacent to it, and can even jump

small gaps. The player and mobs can also be set on fire if they come into

contact with it, and cause loss of health. It can be put out by going into

water.

--5.9 NETHER BLOCKS--

Whilst any block can be built in the Nether, certain types of block occur only

within this world.

-Netherrack-

Netherrack, which has a red, vaguely cobblestone like texture, is a very

abundant block type within the Nether. It can be mined with a pickaxe, and has

the interesting property that it will burn indefinitely if set on fire, making

it a source of everlasting light. It has no current crafting use, but can be

used in building.

-Glowstone-

Glowstone, which has a golden appearance, is a block which naturally gives off

light. It will do this even underwater, so can be useful if underwater light is

required. It can be easily destroyed without a tool, although a pickaxe may

help. It will drop Glowstone dust, which can only be used to craft back into a

Glowstone block, by placing a piece of dust in each slot on the crafting grid.

Glowstone currently has no other practical use.

-Soul Sand-

Soul sand is a block which appears with a brown-ish texture with what appear to

be faces upon it. It has a number of interesting properties - it slows down any

mob or the player if they walk on it, and also does less fall damage if fallen

onto. It is best mined by hand, as no tool is designed for it.

-----------------

6. Item Reference

-----------------

An item is any non-block object that the player can have in their inventory and

use to interact with the world. Some are dropped by mobs when they are killed,

but most require crafting.

--6.1 TOOLS--

By my definition, a tool is any item that can be used for effective mining or

removal of a particular type of block. By this definition, there are four types

of tool in the game - Shovel, Pickaxe, Axe and Hoe. Shovels are used for mining

dirt, sand, clay and gravel. Pickaxes work on stone, cobblestone, all types of

ore, obsidian and stairs. Axes can be used on logs, wooden planks and chests

and hoes are used to till land for farming.

All tools have a durability, represented by the 'health bar' below the tool's

inventory image. When used on a block for which it is not intended, tools take

double durability damage. When durability runs out the tool is simply

destroyed.

Tools can be made out of wood, cobblestone, iron ingots and diamond. They can

also be made out of gold ingots, however gold tools have very low durability

(although they are faster on some blocks than diamond tools).The better the

material the quicker they work and the more times they can be used before being

destroyed.Also, some blocks can only be destroyed with iron or diamond

pickaxes.

The amount of uses provided by different materials is as follows:

Gold: 33 uses

Wood: 60 uses

Stone: 132 uses

Iron: 251 uses

Diamond: 1562 uses

The crafting recipes for the shovel and pickaxe are in the walkthrough part of

the guide, however will be repeated here for the sake of completeness, along

with those of the hoe and axe. In the recipes, S represents a wooden stick,

and M your chosen tool material.

Axe:

----------------------

| | | |

| M | M | |

----------------------

| | | |

| M | S | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

Pickaxe:

----------------------

| | | |

| M | M | M |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

Shovel:

----------------------

| | | |

| | M | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

Hoe:

----------------------

| | | |

| M | M | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

--6.2 WEAPONS--

-Sword-

A sword can be made to help defend yourself against hostile mobs, and also to

kill neutral mobs quicker. It is made out of the same selection of materials as

the tools described above, and has the same properties of durability, including

taking double damage if used for an unintended purpose. As would be expected,

better swords do more damage.

A wooden/gold sword does two hearts of damage, a stone sword three, iron four

and diamond five hearts.

The crafting recipe is below. Again, M represents your chosen material and S a

wooden stick.

----------------------

| | | |

| | M | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | M | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | S | |

----------------------

-Bow and Arrow-

Bows and arrows allow for ranged attacks against mobs. Arrows are fired using

the right mouse button provided there are some in the inventory, they do not

need to be equipped or loaded into the bow (the bow must of course be the

active item). Arrows will do two hearts of damage to all mobs. If an arrow

misses its target it can be picked up again.

Bows do not have durability, so one bow is all you will ever need, provided you

keep it on you at all times (as I would recommend). They must be crafted from

three wooden sticks and three pieces of string, which are dropped by spiders.

Arrows can be crafted from a single stick, a feather (Fe) and a piece of flint.

They can also be dropped by skeletons.

The crafting recipes are as follows:

Bow:

----------------------

| | | |

|String|Stick | |

----------------------

| | | |

|String| |Stick |

----------------------

| | | |

|String|Stick | |

----------------------

Arrow (produces four):

----------------------

| | | |

| |Flint | |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Stick | |

----------------------

| | | |

| | Fe | |

----------------------

-Snowball-

Snowballs can be thrown at mobs, and whilst they won't do any damage, they will

still knock them back and can knock them off cliffs. They will also remove a

sheep's wool without hurting it, and can kill slimes.

--6.3 ARMOUR--

Armour can be made and worn to protect from damage. There are four different

types of armour - helmet, which gives 1.5 armour points, chestplates (4 points)

leggings (3 points) and boots (1.5 points).

Armour can be made out of leather, gold ingots, iron ingots and diamonds. Like

with tools, gold armour is not very useful, and the other materials gain in

effectiveness and durability. Like tools, armour has durability and will need

replacing over time.

Armour is made solely of the chosen material, and the crafting recipes are as

follows:

Helmet:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| | | |

----------------------

Chestplate:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

Leggings:

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

Boots:

----------------------

| | | |

| | | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

Once crafted, armour must be placed into the dedicated armour slots in the

inventory (to the left of the image of your character) to have any affect.

--6.4 FOOD--

Food is any item that can be eaten by the player to restore health. It should

be noted that the current game contains items that appear to be food, however

cannot be used for this purpose, these will be listed in a later section.

-Pork-

Pork is found by killing pigs, which will drop between zero and two pieces of

pork on death. It can be eaten raw to restore one-and-a-half hearts, or cooked

in a furnace to produce 'grilled pork' which is more effective, restoring four

hearts. It is probably the most common food item in the game, due to how easy

it is to find. Grilled pork can be found 'naturally' by killing Zombie Pigmen

in the Nether.

-Apple-

Apples are only found in chests in dungeons (described above). When eaten, it

restores two hearts. It can be combined with gold (one apple in the middle of

the crafting grid surrounded by gold blocks) in order to make a golden apple,

which will completely restore your health. However the rarity of apples and

gold makes this not very economical.

-Bread-

Once you've farmed wheat (see above), it can be crafted into bread by placing

three pieces of wheat in a horizontal line in the crafting grid. Once crafted,

bread will heal two-and-a-half hearts. It is harder to obtain at first than

pork, but once you have a functioning farm it can be a more reliable food

source. Wheat also stacks, so it is possible to take a stack of wheat with you

when exploring, and either take or build a crafting table to make bread when

you need it, rather than filling an inventory with pork.

-Mushroom Stew-

If both types of mushroom can be found, it is possible to make mushroom stew.

For this you need to make a bowl, place it at the bottom of the crafting grid

and place one of each type of mushroom above it. Once made, it heals five

hearts. The bowl is reusable.

-Fish-

Fish can be caught by the use of a fishing rod. Any body of water can be

fished regardless of size or whether it is natural or not. They heal a single

heart when eaten, however they can, like pork, be grilled in a furnace, which

makes them heal two-and-half-hearts.

--6.5 MATERIALS--

Materials are items that are used in the crafting of other items.

-Coal-

Coal is produced by mining coal ore blocks, and is used to power furnaces and

make torches.

-Charcoal-

Charcoal, which has the exact same properties of coal, can be created by

burning logs in a furnace.

-Iron/Gold Ingots-

Both iron and gold ingots are created by smelting iron/gold ore in a furnace.

They are both used to create tools, swords and armour, as discussed above. Iron

can also be used to make numerous other items, including buckets and compasses.

-Diamonds-

Diamond gems are dropped by diamond ore blocks. They are extremely rare, but

make the most useful and durable tools, swords and armour.

-Sticks-

Sticks, used in a wide array of crafting recipes, are created from wooden

planks as described elsewhere in this guide.

-String-

String is dropped by spiders when killed, and is used to make bows and fishing

rods.

-Sulphur-

Used in the making of TNT, sulphur is dropped by creepers when killed, but not

if they blow themselves up

-Feather-

Feathers are dropped by both chickens and zombies in the main world, and by

zombie pigmen in the Nether, upon death. They are used in the crafting of

arrows.

-Bowl-

A bowl is required to make mushroom stew. It itself needs to be crafted to

obtain, it is made out of wood as follows (note the recipe produces four bowls)

----------------------

| | | |

| | | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| | x | |

----------------------

-Flint-

Flint is obtained from some (but not all) gravel blocks when mined. It is used

in the construction of arrows and flint and steel.

-Leather-

Leather is obtained by killing cows, and can be used to make leather armour.

-Clay Bricks-

When raw clay obtained from mining clay blocks is smelted in a furnace, the

result is a single clay brick. They are used to craft brick blocks when placed

in a two-by-two square in a crafting grid.

-Sugar-

Sugar is obtained by crafting a single piece of sugar cane. Its only use is in

the crafting recipe for cake.

-Egg-

Eggs are laid at random by chickens. They can be thrown, which can cause a

chicken to hatch. They are also used in the crafting recipe for cake.

-Bone-

Bones are dropped by skeletons on death, and are used to make bone meal dye.

--6.6 VEHICLES--

-Boat-

Boats are used to travel across water within the game, most commonly the ocean.

They must be right clicked to enter or exit. They can be controlled by the

player by use of the WASD keys.

Boats are crafted using wooden planks in the following recipe:

----------------------

| | | |

| | | |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | | x |

----------------------

| | | |

| x | x | x |

----------------------

-Minecarts-

Minecarts are vehicles that run along pre-placed minecart tracks. A basic

minecart is crafted using iron ingots in the same formation as for the boat

above. Powered minecarts, which are propelled using coal as fuel, and storage

minecarts, which can be used to transport items, can also be crafted by placing

either a furnace or a chest above a standard minecart in the crafting grid.

The use of minecarts is hard to explain using just text and ASCII diagrams, so

I will instead link to some videos made by Youtube user 'AlmtyBob' showing how

they are used:

Thanks to squirrels4ev for pointing me towards these videos.

--6.7 DYES--

Wool obtained from sheep can be dyed a number of different colours. In all

cases this is done by placing the wool and the dye in any position on the

crafting grid. The different colours of wool can then be used for decorative

purposes.

There are three different categories of colour the wool can be dyed: Primary,

Secondary and Tertiary.

-Primary Colours-

These are all created by using a natural object as the dye or source for the

dye.

Rose Red: Place a rose on the crafting table.

Dandelion Yellow: Place a dandelion on the crafting table.

Lapis Lazuli: Mine a Lapis Lazuli ore block. This is a blue dye.

Cactus Green: Cook a cactus in a furnace.

Ink Sac: A black dye dropped by squid. Also obtained from black sheep.

Bone Meal: Place a bone on the crafting table.

Secondary Colours:

These are created by combining primary dyes.

Orange Dye: Rose Red + Dandelion Yellow

Cyan Dye: Cactus Green + Lapis Lazuli

Purple Dye: Rose Red + Lapis Lazuli

Grey Dye: Bone Meal + Ink Sac (also obtained from grey sheep)

Light Blue Dye: Bone Meal + Lapis Lazuli

Pink Dye: Bone Meal + Rose Red

Lime Dye: Cactus Green + Bone Meal

Tertiary Colours:

These require at least one secondary dye to be created.

Magenta Dye: Purple Dye + Pink Dye

Light Grey: Bone Meal + Grey Dye (also obtained from light grey sheep)

--6.8 OTHER OBJECTS--

-Flint and Steel-

Created by an iron ingot and a piece of flint, the flint and steel object can

be used to create fire by using it on any flammable block. It is also used to

create portals to the Nether. The crafting recipe is:

----------------------

| | | |

| | | |

----------------------

| | | |

| Iron | | |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Flint | |

----------------------

-Bucket-

Buckets, made of iron ingots in the same pattern as used for a bowl, are used

to pick up liquids like lava and water. They can also be used to milk cows if

used on them, this milk can then be used to make cake.

-Compass-

A compass, which can be constructed with iron ingots and redstone, will point

at all times towards the player's original spawn point. It will do this even if

stored in the inventory as opposed to the more accesible toolbar. The compass

will not work in the Nether. The crafting recipe is as follow:

----------------------

| | | |

| | Iron | |

----------------------

| | Red | |

| Iron | Stone| Iron |

----------------------

| | | |

| | Iron | |

----------------------

-Watch-

A watch, made using the same recipe as the compass but with gold ingots instead

of iron ones, is an item that will indicate the time of day. This is similar to

the compass, in that it will do so regardless of whether it is in the toolbar,

main inventory or a chest. Like the compass, it will not work in the Nether.

-Fishing Rod-

A fishing rod, made of sticks and string, can be used to fish in any body of

water. The recipe is:

----------------------

| | | |

| | |Stick |

----------------------

| | | |

| |Stick |String|

----------------------

| | | |

|Stick | |String|

----------------------

The rod can also be used to pull mobs towards you, and even activate pressure

plates if aimed accurately.

-Paper-

Paper, crafted by placing three reeds in a horizontal line, is used to make

books. Three pieces of paper are made from this recipe.

-Book-

Books, crafted by placing three pieces of paper in a vertical line, are used to

make bookshelves.

-Saddle-

Saddles are a rare item found in dungeon chests. Once found, they can be placed

on a pig to allow the player to ride the pig around the world. The pig cannot

be controlled and the saddle cannot be recovered once placed.

-Seeds-

Seeds are produced by tilling grass with a hoe. They can then be planted in

order to grow crops.

-Slime Ball-

Slime balls are dropped by slimes when attacked. They currently have no use.

-Record-

Records are dropped by creepers when killed by a skeleton's arrow. They can be

played in jukeboxes. There are currently two types, green and gold, which play

different songs.

----------------

7. Mob Reference

----------------

A mob is any of the different types of animal and monster that spawn in a

Minecraft world. There are two types - neutral or passive mobs, which only

spawn in good light and on grass, and hostile mobs, which spawn in the dark and

on any type of block aside from glass and slabs. All mobs can be killed by

hand, or by a weapon. Mobs will sometimes drop useful items when killed or

attacked.

--7.1 NEUTRAL MOBS--

It is worth noting that neutral mobs, whilst they will not attack the player,

can bump into them and push them off cliffs. Aside from the chicken, which has

two, neutral mobs have five hearts of health.

-Pigs-

Pigs can drop raw pork when killed. They can also be ridden by making use of a

saddle.

-Sheep-

Sheep are the only mob that don't drop something when killed, but they do drop

wool blocks when hit, represented by them losing their wool. They can be found

in four different colours naturally (white, black, and light and dark grey) and

can also be dyed different colours.

-Cows-

Cows can drop leather when killed. They are also notorious for their rather

loud moo.

-Chickens-

Chickens are the smallest mob, and are unable to push the player. They also are

the only mob not to take fall damage. They will drop eggs at random and can

drop feathers when killed.

-Squids-

Squids are found in water, currently the only mob found in that environment.

They drop ink sacs on death.

-Zombie Pigmen-

Zombie Pigmen, found in the Nether, are currently the only neutral mob found in

the alternative world. If attacked, however, all Zombie Pigmen in the area will

retaliate and likely kill the player. They will forgive after a period of time.

If you can kill one it will either drop grilled pork or feathers.

--7.2 HOSTILE MOBS--

In general, hostile mobs will always attack you on sight. All hostile mobs have

10 hearts of health, the same amount as the player.

-Skeletons-

Skeletons are armed with bows and arrows, and can drop arrows or bones on death

They will fire at the player on sight, however it is possible to dodge the

arrows. When daylight comes, skeletons will burn to death. They can be

identified by sound - they make a distinctive rattling sound, and the sound of

the bow shots can also be heard.

-Zombies-

Zombies will chase you if they see you and use exclusively melee attacks. Like

skeletons, they will burn to death in daylight. They will drop feathers when

killed. They can be identified by their moaning and groaning sounds.

-Creepers-

Creepers are a green creature, apparently the result of a failed attempt to

make a pig model. When a creeper sees you, it will approach you, and if it gets

within one block it will explode. There is a short 'fuse' time in which it is

possible to get far enough away to cancel the explosion.

Creepers do not burn in daylight, and so remain a danger after the sun comes

up. They also do not make a noise, until they start to explode, and so can

sneak up on unwary players. If killed without exploding they can drop

sulphur, and will drop records if killed by a skeleton's arrow.

-Spiders-

Spiders, like zombies, only have a melee attack. Unlike other mobs, the spider

is only one block tall but two wide. This means it cannot enter narrow

passageways, but can enter areas with low ceilings.

A spider can also jump higher than other mobs (2-3 blocks, thanks to

squirrels4ev for this information) and can climb walls. Any surface other than

soul sand can be climbed.

Like creepers, spiders don't die in sunlight. A spider will not attack the

player during daytime unless the player attacks the spider first, however by

using flint and steel to set them alight they can be killed without making them

fight back. When killed, they will drop string.

There is a small (1 in 100) chance of a spider spawning with a skeleton riding

it. These 'spider jockeys' can still climb walls.

-Slime-

Slime, which appears as varying sizes of green cubes, can be only be found very

deep underground. If attacked without a weapon, large slimes will split into

smaller ones. Slimes are the only hostile mob that will spawn on peaceful

difficulty, however this will only be the smallest of the four possible sizes,

which cannot deal damage to the player (although it can still push you around).

Slimes are currently the only normal world mob that can spawn regardless of the

light conditions. When killed, a slime may drop slime balls.

-Ghasts-

Ghasts, which have the appearance of large floating jellyfish, are mobs which

spawn in the Nether. They will do this regardless of light conditions and in

any area big enough for them to fit in. They normally have eyes and mouth

closed, however they can shoot fireballs, and will open eyes and mouth to do

this.

They can be hurt by any normal weapon, and it is also possible to reflect the

fireballs they shoot with any item or even your hand. They can also be hurt if

they float into a lavafall. If killed they can drop gunpowder.

------

8. FAQ

------

Who or what is Herobrine?

Herobrine was a hoax created by some Minecraft players who claimed to have seen

another player character model in a single player game. The story claims that

fourm topics on the subject were deleted almost as soon as they were created,

and that a pm from a user named 'Herobrine' was sent, containing the word

'stop.' The profile allegedly got a 404 error.

Supposedly other users contacted the story teller, and Herobrine was discussed.

The name was apparently revealed to be that of a Swedish gamer, and the brother

of Minecraft developer Notch. When contacted, Notch supposedly said that his

brother was 'no longer with us.'

The story, as I said, is a hoax, and Herobrine has gone on to be a meme in the

Minecraft community.

---------------------

Where else can I get Minecraft help?

The official Minecraft forums are located at:

http://www.minecraftforum.net/index.php

There is also a Minecraft wiki (a source of much information for this guide) at

http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page

---------------------

What mods or tools are there for Minecraft?

The Minecraft community has created a wide range of mods and tools for the

game, ranging from texture packs and player skins, to mapping tools, tools to

edit the world and player inventory, and mods to add new features or game

modes.

Whilst encouraged by Notch (except where his own code is redistributed), these

are generally unofficial and so not a part of this guide.

The current exception to this is third party Minecraft texture packs, which can

be installed by placing them in the appropriate folder (a link to which can be

found in the Minecraft client by clicking on the 'mods and texture packs' main

menu item) and then selected in game from the same menu item. A good list of

texture packs can be found on the Minecraft forums:

http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=12352

Other mods and tools for Minecraft can be found on the forum and wiki.

---------------------

Why is this game so buggy?

The game is still currently in beta by playing it now it could be argued we

are acting as not only as unpaid beta testers, but in fact paying ourselves.

Notch does plan to make it a more complete game, and most bugs will in time be

fixed. For now, just remember it is not claiming to be a finished product.

---------------------

Do the scary noises in caves mean anything?

Yes. The various scary noises that can be heard underground mean that there is

an unlit cave in close proximity (specifically a 3 by 3 by 3 area that is

completely dark, between 10 and 20 blocks away). This could be an already

visible area, and can be heard when above ground. It could even be a player

created area, if no torches have been placed within it.

Contrary to popular belief, the noises have no direct relation to dungeons, ore

deposits, or nearby mobs.

---------------------

Can I play my saved world on another computer?

Yes. First, you need to retrieve the save file off your original computer:

Windows: Start -> Run -> Type in %appdata% -> press enter -> folder .minecraft

Mac: Finder -> [YOUR NAME] -> Library -> Application Support -> Minecraft

Linux: ~/.minecraft

Once in the Minecraft folder simply go into the saves folder and copy the

folder for the world you want, and then put it in the same place on another

computer with Minecraft installed.

---------------------

Other questions will be answered here as I get them.

------------------------

9. Legal/Contact/Thanks

------------------------

This guide is Copyright (c) 2011 Stephen Garvani

The following websites have permission to host this guide:

GameFAQs.com

NeoSeeker.com

SuperCheats.com

Gamesradar.com

If you want to host it on your own website then please email me using the

address at the start of this guide. I will not unreasonably deny requests from

legitimate websites.

All use of this guide for profit is also strictly forbidden, including but not

limited to the placing of adverts on the same page as the guide. Adverts on

pages linking to the guide are fine.

If you do find this guide on any website not stated here please email me on

the address at the start of the guide.

Also please email if you spot any mistakes, including spelling mistakes, in

this guide, or if you have any further suggestions for additions or different

or better ways of doing things. Anyone who gets their contribution included,

even if it is just a typo correction, will have their name in the credits.

There are some things I would request you don't contact me about:

-Future updates. This guide is designed to only cover the currently available

Minecraft version. However well known a future update may be, I will not be

adding information about them to this guide. This also applies to updates that

have been applied but that I haven't yet updated the guide to cover. That said,

updates that are covered in the guide may not be covered fully, so once I claim

to have covered an update please DO contact me to let me know anything I may

have missed. For convenience, the version number of Minecraft to which the

guide refers is included in the guide's version history.

-Multiplayer/Classic versions. As said at the start, this guide is about the

current singleplayer beta version of the game. I may decide at a later date to

extend it to these other versions, but for now I won't be.

My one request when contacting me about this guide is that you reference the

guide in the subject of the email. If you don't I will likely delete it without

reading it. I would also note that I cannot guarantee a reply, so you may have

to check for an updated version of the guide to see if your contribution was

included.

And yes, the email address has been deliberately obfuscated in order to prevent

spambots picking it up.

Finally, thanks are due to the following:

Notch, for creating Minecraft

squirrels4ev, for providing a number of useful tips.

All the websites that host this guide

You, for reading!</pre>