Minecraft is a world-building computer game with old school graphics. Everything in the world you create is made with square blocks.

To play, you first decide if you want to play in Creative mode with unlimited resources, in Free Flying mode to fly instead of walk, or Destroy Blocks Instantly to fast track movement. In Survival mode, you search for resources, create inventory, gain levels and have personal “health” and “hunger.” Hardcore is the same as Survival but you are locked in at the hardest difficulty level with only one life, so don’t die! Changing modes is possible, so you can change from Creative to Survival if things get too hard for you.

There are lots of game options, like Generate Structures which builds villages, dungeons and other groups of structures. You can also decide the world type, such as Default, which gives you a mix of different terrains, or create a custom world with unique terrains. Turn on the Bonus Chest option to start off with a few items handy for building your world.

Now create your new world and start to play the game. You start off in your new world at daytime with nothing in your hand and no inventory to use. Use your mouse to look right, left, up and down. The “W” key on your keyboard will move you forward and the “S” will move you backwards. “A” will move you left and “D” will move you right. Press the space bar and you can jump up and move to the next block.

Left click your mouse to hit things with your hand, allowing you to acquire resources. Start by hitting trees to get wood for building, stone for tools, and animals for food. Use these resources to create your world. Don’t forget, the bad guys come out at night and you have to safeguard your resources. What will happen next? Find out at minecraft.net.  You can play the demo for free and the game costs $20. Have fun, if you can survive.

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