Getting Started

Starting Your World

A Minecraft world is absolutely massive, and it would take a lifetime to explore the entire world. This means that you have plenty of space to do whatever you want! Before you start playing, you will need to make a world.

Java Edition

When you log into Minecraft Java Edition, you will see this menu screen (the main menu screen):

DID YOU KNOW? When you log into Minecraft Java Edition, there is a 0.01% chance for the main menu screen to display "Minceraft" instead of Minecraft!

Click on "Singleplayer," and the "World Selection" menu screen will open:

To create a new world, click on "Create New World," and this menu screen will open:

First of all, select your game mode: Survival, Creative or Hardcore. Pressing the Game Mode button will scroll through these options.

Next, select your difficulty: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, or Hard (if you are planning to play in Hardcore, the difficulty will be locked on Hard). In Peaceful Difficulty, there are no hostile mobs, and you will not suffer from "Hunger." The other three difficulties are increasingly difficult, with hostile mobs dealing more and more damage per hit. There is Hunger in each of them. Most of the time, you cannot starve to death, but in Hard Difficulty you can.

There is also a tab to enable or disable Cheats. If Cheats are enabled, you will be able to use commands, which will allow you to summon mobs, teleport yourself thousands of blocks away, pause time, change the game mode of the world, give yourself items without having to craft them, and many other incredible things. (Please be aware that Cheats are locked to Off when you are playing in Hardcore Mode!)

If you want to name your world, you may.

Next up, open the "World" tab:

If the world type is set to Default, a random world will be generated. Pressing the World Type button will also allow you to choose other world types. They are: Superflat, which will generate a completely flat world; Large Biomes, which will basically be a default world but with much more expansive biomes; AMPLIFIED, which will have some pretty wacky terrain generation! (Note: It will require you to have a beefy computer); and Single Biome, which, if you press Customize, will allow you to select any biome you want and have the entire world generate as that biome!

Whenever a world is generated, it will have a unique world seed. If you want to play on a world someone else has made, just enter its world seed, and you will be playing on a copy of the world as it was when it was created. Just remember that Java Edition and Bedrock Edition generate terrain differently, so if you created a world in Bedrock Edition and then entered its world seed in Java Edition, it probably won't turn out the same.

While you are playing in Minecraft, you will come across a bunch of unique structures, including villages, dungeons, ancient cities, and desert temples, but only if "Generate Structures" is set to ON.

If "Bonus Chest" is set to ON, a chest surrounded by torches will generate near your spawn point containing food, tools, and weapons.

Finally, open the "More" tab:

Game rules determine whether the player takes damage from burning, drowning, or freezing. It also determines whether certain mobs or events will be allowed to spawn, as well as a variety of other gameplay features. By pressing the Game Rules button, you can enable or disable as many game rules as you need to.

The Experiments button lets you decide whether experimental features (such as snapshots) should be enabled or disabled for your world.

The Data Packs button allows you to add data packs to your world, which will not be able to be removed after the world is created.

To finish your world, press "Create New World," and, after a brief loading sequence, you'll be in your world and ready to play. Good luck!

Bedrock Edition

When you log into Minecraft Bedrock Edition, you will see this menu screen (the main menu screen):

Click on "Play," and the "World Selection" menu screen will open:

To create a new world, click on "Create New," and this menu screen will open:

First of all, select your game mode: Survival or Creative.

Next, select your difficulty: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, or Hard. In Peaceful Difficulty, there are no hostile mobs, and you will not suffer from "Hunger." The other three difficulties are increasingly difficult, with hostile mobs dealing more and more damage per hit. There is Hunger in each of them. Most of the time, you cannot starve to death, but in Hard Difficulty you can.

After this, you can select your world type, Flat or Infinite (default). If "Bonus Chest" is set to ON, a chest surrounded by torches will generate near your spawn point containing food, tools, and weapons.

Whenever a world is generated, it will have a unique world seed. If you want to play on a world someone else has made, just enter its world seed, and you will be playing on a copy of the world as it was when it was created. Just remember that Bedrock Edition and Java Edition generate terrain differently, so if you created a world in Java Edition and then entered its world seed in Bedrock Edition, it probably won't turn out the same.

In World Options and Cheats, you will find a list of game rules that you can enable or disable. 

The Experiments button lets you decide whether experimental features (such as snapshots) should be enabled or disabled for your world.

There is also a slider controlling simulation distance (the distance the player can see). This will be set at a default setting of 10 chunks (160 blocks), and can be adjusted at any time after the world has been created.

If you want to name your world, you may.

To finish your world, press "Create," and, after a brief loading sequence, you'll be in your world and ready to play. Good luck!

The Controls

If you want to explore the world of Minecraft with ease, it will be a tremendous help to know your way around the controls. Here is a quick overview of some of the more important controls.

Destroy (Defaults to left click on a mouse and right trigger on most controllers)

The Destroy action is used to break blocks and kill mobs. To break a block, aim the crosshairs at it and hold down Destroy until it breaks. To hit a mob, aim the crosshairs at it and tap Destroy. Once you have hit a mob this way, it will turn red and become invulnerable for 0.5 seconds. Do not hit it in this time, because the attack will deal no damage to the mob.

Use (Defaults to right click on a mouse and left trigger on most controllers)

The Use action is used to place blocks, interact with blocks that have interfaces (such as chests and crafting tables), pull back ranged weapons such as bows, and eat/drink. To place a block, hold the block in your hand, aim the crosshairs at the location where you want to place it, and tap Use. To interact with a block that has an interface, aim the crosshairs at it and tap Use, and its GUI will open. To eat food, drink a potion, or prime a bow, crossbow, or trident, hold the item in your hand and hold down Use. Release Use to fire a bow or throw a trident. Crossbows, once loaded using the Use action, can then be fired by clicking Use.

Please note that to interact with mobs or blocks, you must be within range of them. In Java Edition, this range is 5 blocks in Creative Mode, and 4.5 blocks otherwise. In Bedrock Edition, this range is 5 blocks when using a keyboard/mouse or controller, and when using touch screens, the range is 12 blocks in Creative Mode, and 6 blocks otherwise.

Keyboard Controls

For all the different types of controls, see the Minecraft Wiki.