Surviving Your First Night in Minecraft
New to Minecraft? Here's exactly what to do in your first ten minutes so you make it to morning alive.
The first Minecraft night is where a lot of new players die. Do these things in order and you'll be fine.
1. Punch trees
Hold left-click on a tree to collect wood logs. Grab at least 4–5. Open your inventory and turn logs into planks, then use four planks to make a crafting table.
2. Make basic tools
From the crafting table, build:
- Wooden pickaxe (to mine stone)
- Wooden sword (for defense)
- Wooden axe (faster wood)
Mine some cobblestone, then upgrade all your tools to stone — they last far longer.
3. Get food
Punch a few animals (cows, pigs, chickens, sheep) for raw meat, or eat any apples that drop from trees. Cook meat in a furnace (made from 8 cobblestone) for more hunger restored.
4. Build a shelter before dark
As the sky turns orange, wall yourself in. You don't need a mansion — a 3×3 dirt or stone box with a door works. Light it up with torches (coal + stick) so monsters can't spawn inside.
5. Wait it out (or sleep)
If you found 3 wool (shear or kill sheep) plus planks, craft a bed and sleep to skip the night. Otherwise, mine down and start gathering stone and coal until morning.
Next goal: find iron ore (looks like tan speckles in stone), smelt it, and craft iron gear. From there, the whole game opens up. Need a great world to start on? Browse our Best Seeds.