Minecraft! How do you do it?

[QueenBarb]

Talk to me about Minecraft. How on earth does it actually work? We’re currently wandering around while a robot voice says seemingly random things. We’re in creative mode rather than the other one, but do we build something? Find something? We’ve mainly played platform-type games and Mario Kart etc and none of this makes any sense to me!

Can you look for videos on YouTube? That’s how my kids learnt how to play.

Just just build things. Dig holes you can plant a farm. Collect animals as pets etc. Unlike platform games there is no aim in minecraft.

My ds plays in creative mode as well from what I’ve learnt from listening to the YouTube videos he watches if you play in survival it’s harder as you have to mine/dig to collect things and you can then make/craft in to other things like amour better axes etc. So it seems like more of a challenge however I k ow my 6yr old would get board of this.

I hate minecraft and find the graphics give me a headache.

@Nikori

Can you look for videos on YouTube? That’s how my kids learnt how to play.

I did have a look on YouTube before and there were so many! We’ll have another look together. It’s just so unlike anything I’ve ever played haha

It's basically like online lego. You make of it what you want and can get as complex as you want.

Minecraft storymode is more of a 'game' with direction.

My girls are currently building a medieval castle and village in an effort to occupy them reasonably intelligently without restricting screentime so they feel like they're playing when it's actually more learning based

It can also be used as a coding teaching tool, although I haven't explored that option yet.

I’m the same - Paid and downloaded on iPad during lockdown for my 9 year old, watched some you tube videos and still don’t get it. 🤷‍♀️ he hasn’t even picked it up again. The graphics are awful as well!

DS managed to build a gigantic tower, and he found some turtles which he was excited about as he likes turtles. He’ll probably pick it up quicker than me, he’s 6 but has mentioned lots of his friends like playing it - he got it for Christmas but as we had no idea what to do it soon got dropped in favour of other games. It’s all changed since I had a mega drive in about 1995 although The Untitled Goose Game is brilliant and a lot of fun, me and DH enjoyed that

Perhaps have a look at Grian’s YouTube channel if they like building, otherwise you could try Pixlrifs Minecraft survival guide

Google/You Tube are your friends. Loads of starter guides/ideas. My son used to copy what others had built and then started to explore for himself, but he was usually with the console controller in one hand and the ipad in the other watching Minecraft you tube videos!

I love Minecraft! I started playing at the start of lockdown as my 6yr old grandson is in to it BIG time and we can play together whilst chatting over Discord which has been a really wonderful way of keeping connected when we weren't allowed to see each other.

Starting on creative mode is a good way to start to learn how to do stuff as everything is avilable to you and you can fly! I have a large creative world now which allowed me to build up my skills, then I set up a Survival world - thats harder as you start with nothing, and things try and kill you (unless you set it to peaceful mode). I now play almost exclusively on Survival as I find it far more satisfying to work out how to do stuff myself and earn the tools for the job.

I thought it was a steep learning curve myself - a lot will depend on where you are playing the game (desktop/laptop/xbox/tablet/phone etc.) what "platform" you are on determines which version of the game you have and you need to only watch youtube guides that apply to YOUR version of the game (I play Windows version which is equivalent to Bedrock or Minecraft P.E.). I also use an Xbox 1 controller which is MUCH easier than using keyboard commands.

Some of my first efforts I did video walkthroughs of which I uploaded to youtube and which caused a lot of hilarity for my grandson (Nana getting chased by polar bears for example). Now my grandson proudly says Nana knows more about Minecraft than his daddy does!!

Easy thing to start building in creative are small farms, or pixel art "statues" I've got my own "land of the giants" filled with statues of Lego Batman & Robin, Ironman, Spiderman, Super Mario & Luigi etc. thats a lot like doing counted cross stitch using the blocks.

Persevere it really IS worth it.

I don't know w much about it other then most minecraft you tubers are sssoooooooo annoying.. We have various versions of it that DH and the kids play. We've just bought my eldest an online coding course for Minecraft which she is throughly enjoying. Just plug in and play is my guess, creative mode and make some things, dig a pit fill with lava and kill some chickens..

I love Minecraft. When I Got it a few years ago for my little boy I had to work out how to do it to help him. Now of course he’s surpassed me and I know nothing compared to him :)

We are on Xbox. I started on survival and it walked you through the basics.

It tells you to chop wood with your hand, then how to make it into and axe, them chop more wood, make planks, build a house, mine stone and make stone tools so you can do More

It’s very engaging. I made a little house, and then built a mine inside it, torches to make light (monsters spawn in the dark), craft a sword, a bed. Plant a garden to grow flowers and food.

Only on a few years, if anything like mine you will be so sick of people on YouTube playing minecraft that your LO is obsessed by! The laughing! Their voices!

It’s a great game though. The red stone and the command blocks are great educationally.

Thank you all for your help and comments! We play on a Nintendo Switch. DS loves the little Lightbot coding app, so it does sound like something he could really get into - my toddler DD recently returned to nursery so it’s nice for us both to sit down and learn about it together without her rampaging around!