Minecraft Survival
Create a starter Minecraft survival base, gather resources, craft essential tools, build a shelter, start a simple farm, and survive the first five nights.
About this tutorial
Create a starter Minecraft survival base, gather resources, craft essential tools, build a shelter, start a simple farm, and survive the first five nights.
What you need
Step by step
- 1
Step 1
Open Minecraft and create a new world in Survival mode set the difficulty to Easy or Normal.
- 2
Step 2
Walk around and chop trees until you have at least 20 logs.
- 3
Step 3
Turn logs into wooden planks and craft a crafting table in your inventory.
- 4
Step 4
Place the crafting table and use it to make a wooden pickaxe and a wooden sword.
- 5
Step 5
Use your wooden pickaxe to mine stone until you collect at least 20 cobblestone.
- 6
Step 6
Use the crafting table to craft stone tools: a stone pickaxe a stone axe and a stone sword.
- 7
Step 7
Pick a flat spot near trees and a water source to be your starter base location.
- 8
Step 8
Build a simple 5x5 shelter with walls a roof and a door using cobblestone or wood.
- 9
Step 9
Craft a furnace at the crafting table using eight cobblestone.
- 10
Step 10
Place the furnace inside your shelter on the floor.
- 11
Step 11
Light your shelter by making torches and placing them inside and around the base.
- 12
Step 12
Start a small farm by collecting seeds from grass and planting them on tilled soil next to water.
- 13
Step 13
Cook raw food in your furnace until you have a steady supply of cooked meals.
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Step 14
Survive the first five nights by staying inside your lit and locked shelter at night and sleeping when you have a bed.
- 15
Step 15
Take a screenshot or photo of your finished starter base and share your creation on DIY.org.
Fun facts
How do you start a Minecraft Survival base and survive the first five nights?
To create a starter survival base, spawn near wood, stone, and water. Punch trees, craft a crafting table and wooden tools, then upgrade to stone. Build a small sheltered house with a door, place torches, bed, furnace, chest, and crafting table. Plant a tiny farm with seeds and water, fence the area, and sleep through nights. Prioritize food, torches, and basic armor to survive the first five nights.
What materials do I need for a starter Minecraft survival base?
You need a device running Minecraft and the game. In-game essentials: wood, cobblestone, coal or charcoal, crafting table, furnace, bed (wool + planks), chest, torches, seeds or saplings, water bucket, and food. Tools: wooden then stone pickaxe, axe, shovel, and a sword. Optional: armor, fuel for furnaces, and extra building blocks. For younger kids, enable parental controls and use a timer for play sessions.
What ages is Minecraft Survival suitable for?
Minecraft Survival suits many ages; it’s commonly recommended for children aged 6 and up with parental guidance. Ages 6–9 benefit from short, supervised sessions focused on basic crafting and shelters. Ages 10–13 can plan farms, mine, and manage risks. Teens can play more independently and explore advanced mechanics. For under 6, use Creative mode or supervised play. Always set screen-time limits and review online safety for multiplayer.
What are the benefits and safety tips for playing Minecraft Survival?
Benefits include problem-solving, planning, creativity, resource management, and teamwork in multiplayer. Safety tips: enable parental controls, disable chat or use whitelisted servers, set time limits, and discuss in-game purchases. Teach children not to share personal information and to report bullying. Variations to try: themed starter bases (forest, mountain, desert), peaceful mode for beginners, or challenge runs like minimal tools to keep learning engaging.
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can we use if there aren't any trees or a water source near our chosen spot?
If there aren't trees nearby, walk a short distance to collect at least 20 logs of any wood type to turn into planks and a crafting table, and if there’s no water, pick a different flat spot next to a river or pond before building your 5x5 shelter.
My torches won't craft because I don't have coal; what should I do?
Smelt some logs into charcoal using the furnace you craft from eight cobblestone (mined with your wooden pickaxe) and combine the charcoal with sticks to make torches to light your shelter.
How can I change the challenge for younger or older kids?
For younger kids, reduce goals to 10 logs, 10 cobblestone, and a simple 3x3 shelter with parental help, while older kids can expand the task by mob-proofing the 5x5 base, enlarging the farm, or mining for ores beyond the first stone layer.
How can we personalize or extend our starter base after the five nights?
Personalize the starter base by crafting chests from wooden planks for storage, smelting sand in the furnace to make glass windows, adding a second floor or fenced animal pen next to your farm, and then take a screenshot to share on DIY.org.