10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MINECRAFT

MINECRAFT IS A collaborative creative PC game. Though a game about digging up blocky, 8-bit stones might sound simple in design, boring, and monotonous, it is quickly becoming a staple of current PC gaming. It's amazing how a 'simple' idea can explode into a game with endless possibilities.

My husband and I recently hopped on the Minecraft cart—who knew that a block-based building and survival game could be so much fun! So, here is my top 10 list of things I think you should know about Minecraft.

The propeller shaft

1. Become a pack rat. Dig up and store a row of stacks of 64 of each kind of material in your chest. Some of the materials (like stone/cobblestone) make really cool stone slabs. Each time you make a new material out of an old one, the old material is depleted so it is nice to have a lot on hand if you have a large building project.

Luis Leon Sanchez

2. Reforestation is a good thing. Wood is a very important resource in this game. When you chop down a tree, be sure to take a couple of minutes to plant the seedlings that fall from the trees. Wood can be used in it's raw form or, a single piece of wood can be made into four planks and from there two planks can be made into four sticks. Sticks are used quite a bit in building and general gameplay to make torches, signs, tools, and paintings.

__3. Dances with wolves? __The latest update added a tameable wolf to the mix. If you give a wild wolf enough bones to emit a puff of hearts, the cute little furball will follow you where ever you go. If you tell it to sit (right click on it), it will stay in that spot until you tell it to get up.

4. Have you had your daily dose of fiber? I am a fiber addict. I lurk around Ravelry on a regular basis, I crocheted Pokéball party favors for my daughter's birthday, I am currently finding myself asking, “can I make a crochet pattern that is based on something in this game?” In game is no different. There are sheep in all different colors for your sheering pleasure. If you attack a sheep with one hit, it will drop wool. Wool can be used to carpet your house or be used in paintings. You can also find different things to use as dyes to make vivid colored wool. A note of caution though, if you have a pet wolf, make sure you ask it to sit before hitting a sheep. If you don't, the wolf will attack it and kill it.

5. Obey the laws. Most of the scientific laws apply in this game. There is gravity, you will fall, and falling hurts. Also, wood burns. If you set a fire in your house, make sure your house is not made of wood...I won't make that mistake again...grumble, grumble, grumble....

6. Choose your own adventure. If you just want to create and run around your world, go to your options menu and select “peaceful” mode. There is still a risk of getting hurt, but the likelihood of being blown up by a creeper or attacked by a zombie goes away.

7. Zombies and skeletons and spiders – oh my! Yes, if you choose to not play in peaceful mode, come nightfall you will want to be indoors. All of the nasty critters spawn at night. If you have a monster problem (especially creepers) you will want to make sure you build any housing several layers thick. Creepers explode taking anything near them with it. Skeletons, spiders, and zombies are useful. If killed, they drop feathers, string, and bones. Feathers are used to make arrows, bones are used to make fertilizer and tame wolves, and string is used for bows and fishing poles.

The basic concept.

8. The cake is not a lie. There is a portal, but it will not take you to an insane robot who stretches the truth about there being baked goods at the end of your tale. If you build a portal to the Nethers, leave all of your prized possessions behind. You will die, at least once. Oh! - and if you survive the Netherworld, you can make yourself a cake as a reward for surviving.

9. Team Mincraft FTW! If you want to have a little Minecraft community, try using the server and having your friends play. If you turn the fog up, it even runs on a machine as slow as a netbook. If you do choose to go for multiplayer mode, you can build a portal, but it won't take you anywhere. Dungeons can be found in multiplayer and single player mode. Regardless of what mode you are playing in, there will be monsters in the dungeons.

10. If you don't know the answer, look it up! There are many different forums and a wiki for Minecraft that are well worth visiting for ideas and help. You can also visit Wired to read what all they have to say about Minecraft.

Minecraft can be purchased through the website for €20.00. If playing Minecraft isn't enough and you want even MORE, check out the Minecraft treasures over on Amazon..