New to Minecraft? Here’s the Ultimate Beginner’s Crafting Guide

Minecraft is a huge sandbox video game where the only limits are a player's imagination—and the amount of objects that player can amass.

If you're just getting into Minecraft, starting out in a world with infinite possibility can be pretty daunting. I'm here to break it down into simple pieces so you can set some goals and get mining and  crafting.

(via Mojang)

Creating a Crafting Table

You won't get far in Minecraft without a crafting table. Using the simpler crafting menu in your inventory you'll be able to create some objects, but weapons, armor and tools will all require a crafting table.

To create your very own crafting table, you'll need four of the same type of wood planks.

Wood planks are created by collecting wood from trees (by punching) and placing a piece of wood in the top right space of the crafting menu. This will create four wood planks, which you can then drag into your inventory.

Next, fill all four spaces in the crafting menu with the wood planks you just created. The result will be a crafting table—so get crafting.

 

Wooden Pickaxe

As the name implies, the game of Minecraft is based around two main activities: crafting and mining.

You can punch trees to collect wood, but to mine for stronger materials you'll need a pickaxe.

The most basic wood pickaxe starts with sticks and wood planks. Place two wood planks to the right side of the crafting menu, as shown below, to collect four sticks.

Next, open your crafting table, which is laid out as a three by three grid. Place three more wood planks, plus two sticks, in the arrangement below to create your wooden pickaxe.

 

Crafting a Furnace

Furnaces are super handy for taking items and making them into better items. You can create one with your crafting table and eight cobblestones, which are dark grey stones you can collect through mining with your handy pickaxe.

In your crafting table place your eight cobblestones in a ring on the outside of the grid, leaving only the center space empty to create a furnace.

 

 

Crafting a Shield

Now that your furnace is ready, it's time to put it to use. Acquire some iron ore and coal (both found through mining with your pickaxe). Place the iron ore in one slot of the furnace and the coal in the fuel slot to create an iron ingot.

Iron ingots have many purposes in Minecraft, including use in a shield for the purpose of blocking enemy attacks.

To craft a wooden shield, you'll need six wood planks and one iron ingot. Open your crafting table and place them as diagrammed below to protect yourself from the elements (and those pesky creepers).

Brewing Stand

If you're interested in brewing potions in Minecraft, you'll need a brewing stand.

In order to create one at your crafting table, you'll first need to wander into the Nether dimension and defeat a fiery Blaze enemy. If you're lucky, the blaze might drop a blaze rod, the key item in this craft.

Once you've obtained the blaze rod, place it in your crafting table with three cobblestones as outlined below and you'll be one step closer to brewing potions of invisibility and water-breathing.

 

Now that you're ready to become a Minecraft expert, click HERE to find out everything you need to know about the NES Classic Edition.