Minecraft beginner's guide: editions, crafting and your first night

Minecraft drops you into a huge blocky world with no instructions. That freedom is the magic, but it can make the first ten minutes confusing. This guide gets you through choosing an edition, crafting your first tools and staying alive until morning. Everything here comes from minecraft.net and the official rating boards, checked on 23 October 2026.

Java or Bedrock: which edition do you need?

Minecraft comes in two main versions, and the device you play on usually decides for you.

• Java Edition runs only on Windows, Mac and Linux.
• Bedrock Edition runs on Windows 10 and 11, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS.

On PC you do not have to choose. The Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC Standard Edition includes both, plus the Minecraft Launcher, and was listed at $29.99 on the US minecraft.net store when we checked. Minecraft.net also says owning one edition entitles you to get the other one free. Mac and Linux players can only run Java Edition.

The differences that matter

• Playing with friends: Java and Bedrock use different servers, so their players cannot play together. Bedrock offers cross-play between Windows, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and mobile. Java cross-plays between Windows, Mac and Linux.
• Split-screen: Only the console versions of Bedrock support local split-screen multiplayer.
• Extra content: Bedrock has the Minecraft Marketplace, a curated store of maps, skins and texture packs, plus add-ons. Java is known for community mods. Minecraft.net notes that third-party sites can host content that “is simply not appropriate for younger audiences”, so younger players may find Bedrock’s curated approach simpler.
• Safety: The store page says Bedrock is connected to Xbox services, its online experience is moderated, and parental controls can be fine-tuned.
• Online on consoles: Minecraft.net notes that online console multiplayer requires a platform’s own online subscription, sold separately.
• Private worlds: Realms (for Java) and Realms Plus (for Bedrock) are official subscription servers for small groups, with a maximum of 10 players.

Age ratings

PEGI rates Minecraft: Java Edition PEGI 7 for violence and fear, describing unrealistic combat and content that may frighten young children. The ESRB rates Minecraft E10+ (Everyone 10+) for Fantasy Violence. On console versions, the ESRB also lists “In-Game Purchases” and “Users Interact”.

What is new in 2026

Minecraft changed how it numbers versions this year. Version numbers now start with the year, so 2026 releases begin with “26”. Java and Bedrock share that prefix but count releases differently, so the numbers after “26” will not match.

Updates now arrive as several free “game drops” a year. Wilderness Bound, the third game drop of 2026, is out now in both editions, adding the dappled forest, abandoned camps and new camping gear. Minecraft is currently testing the final drop of 2026, which centres on ice caves.

If you are just starting, none of this changes the basics below.

Your first day, step by step

When you spawn, you have roughly one day to prepare. Minecraft.net says daytime lasts about 10 real-life minutes. Here is the plan from Minecraft’s own first-day guide:

1. Mark your spawn point with a dirt pillar, or write down the coordinates.
2. Punch trees to collect about 20 wood blocks.
3. Turn wood into planks in your crafting grid.
4. Make a crafting table from 4 wood planks and place it on the ground.
5. Craft sticks, then a wooden pickaxe, axe, sword and shovel.
6. Mine about 20 cobblestone from a hill with your pickaxe.
7. Upgrade to stone tools, which last longer than wooden ones.
8. Collect food from animals, and wool from 3 sheep for a bed.
9. Build a furnace and cook your meat. Eat when your food bar starts to drop.
10. Dig for coal, then craft torches.

Crafting basics

Most early recipes use the same handful of materials. These are the ones you will need first:

Small recipes such as sticks and torches can be made in the crafting menu in your inventory. Larger ones need the crafting table.

Surviving your first night

When the sun sets, hostile mobs such as zombies, skeletons, spiders and creepers start to appear. The key fact from minecraft.net: most hostile mobs only spawn where the light level drops to 0. Less light means more danger, and more light means fewer surprises.

Option 1: build a sealed shelter

The simplest plan is to wall yourself in with dirt or cobblestone. A hostile mob will not attack you if it cannot see you. Minecraft’s first-day guide suggests digging into a hill, shaping the hole like an L so you can hide round the corner, and adding a wooden door. Then light the inside with torches so nothing spawns in there with you.

Option 2: spend the night underground

Mining through the night keeps you away from most surface mobs and gathers resources at the same time, such as coal, iron and copper. Mobs can still spawn in dark tunnels, so place torches as you go. Minecraft.net says that if you stay in a tunnel you have dug yourself and keep it lit, “you’re pretty much safe”.

Option 3: sleep through it

Craft a bed from 3 wool and 3 planks and sleep in it. A bed lets you skip the night and also sets your spawn point, so if you die you reappear by your bed instead of back at the very start.

If you have to fight

Attack with the break block button: left-click on a computer, ZR on Switch, R2 on PlayStation or RT on Xbox. A sword or axe deals more damage than your fists. Skeletons shoot from a distance, so hide behind blocks or keep moving from side to side. And the creeper does not want a hug: it explodes, so back away.

Morning help

Many hostile mobs in the Overworld, including zombies and skeletons, burn up in sunlight. Some, such as pillagers and Endermen, can still appear in daylight, so stay alert.

Next steps

Once you have a lit, sealed base and a bed, you have beaten the hardest part. From here, explore a little further each day, carry torches, and go deeper for iron.

Playing on a laptop? Our tips for better FPS on a low-end laptop can help. Setting up a child’s account? Read our safe gaming guide for parental controls on every platform. Want to share your builds? Our guide to starting a gaming YouTube channel covers it safely.