This tutorial explains step by step instructions, recommendations, and explanations of Minecraft. Please read through the whole post if you new to minecraft, somethings I cant put in order. If you have any questions please post them in the comments section below. I'm going to be adding a lot more to this soon. I also will be adding pictures, if you would like to contribute please PM me.

Minecraft Language Terms

Minecraft has some common terms and Internet Slang that most other games don't share. Below is a list of words and a description. People in minecraft also use some commonly used slag and slag abbreviations. I'm sure I missed a lot, if I forgot one please post in the comments section below.

Blocks
Blocks are very self explanatory, blocks make the minecraft world. You can destroy them, place them, and craft them.

Player Vs. Player
Player Vs. Player also known as "PvP" is when 2 players attack each other and one player survives and one dies.

Grief
A grief is where you or another player (In Multiplayer) destroys or damages someone's property or blocks. Griefing is also commonly mistaken for a raid. Players or a player would most likely grief for one or more of these reasons:

1. To make the owner mad and get a reaction
   
2. To post on YouTube as an attempt to get subscribers and viewers
   
3. If the base was made of something valuable
   

Raid
A raid is not a grief. A raid is when a player or players (In Multiplayer) find another player's chest or furnace and steal its contents. During a raid you are likely going to get killed for your items.

Mod
A mod or modification modifies or changes the game. Mods are legal on Minecraft.

Bukkit
www.bukkit.org

Bukkit is a community of programmers that make awesome plugins for servers. These plugins often add to the game experience. Plugins are not mods.

Anti-Grief or No-Grief
This term is widely used for servers that disallow griefing and raiding. Griefing and/or raiding on a No-Grief server will get you punished on that server.

Hardcore PvP
This is a very common type of server. It is not hardcore gamemode. This type of server allows griefing, raiding, and PvP. These servers commonly have a plugin called "Factions" installed.

Single Player and Multiplayer

As in most games these days, Minecraft has single player and multiplayer. Single player you play by yourself and no players can join you. Some people prefer this option over multiplayer for a few reasons:

1. Players in multiplayer can grief or raid you
   
2. They don't want the map to get reset or rolled back suddenly
   
3. They don't want to be annoyed by other players
   

In multiplayer you join a server that other players can join. There are common types of servers you can join. Some prefer multiplayer over single player for a few reasons:

1. Other players can help you get started by giving you some supplies
   
2. You can be social with other players
   
3. Most multiplayer server run bukkit and add to the experience
   

These are some common types of servers:

• Hardcore PvP
  
• Factions
  
• No-Grief
  
• Economy
  
• Hunger Games
  
• Creative
  
• Towny
  
• Or best yet! The unique type!
  

GameModes
There are three gamemodes, creative, survival, and hardcore.
Creative
Creative you can spawn items, fly, and you are invincible. Creative is good for people who like to build.
Survival
In survival you have health and hunger, crafting, XP levels, and need to search for resources. You have unlimited lives but the items you drop when you die will despawn after a little bit of time. Survival is for the ones who like to survive and explore.
Hardcore
You have health and hunger, crafting, XP levels, and need to search for resources. You have only one life and the map deletes when you die. It is set at the hardest difficulty.

Map Generation Types
There are a few different generation options. They are described below. The hight limit in minecraft is 256 blocks.

Structures
Structures toggles the generation of NPC villages, dungeons, abandoned mines, and strongholds.
Superflat
This makes the world completely flat.there is 1 layer of bedrock on the bottom, and 7 layers of dirt on top. If structures is enabled NPC villages will spawn.

Crafting Tutorial
I took some screen shots for visual learners since crafting can be very confusing when you just start. All the following pictures I took myself.


First Day Survival
The first day is the hardest day. The most important thing is wood. Find some trees and punch them and collect the logs. Once you have some wood you are in good shape. you also might want some food if you can find some Pigs, Cows, or Chickens. The next thing you need todo is press 'E' to open your inventory. In the little crafting area put the logs and you should see an arrow that points to some wooden planks. Move your courser over them and hit 'Shift+Click' they should appear in your inventory. Now you need to make a house out of those planks. Use the scroll bar on your mouse to select the planks, and right click to place them. Build your home, and once you're done of you have any extra planks fill the 2x2 crafting area with planks. Then you should see a crafting table click that and drag it into your inventory. Now, place the table down and make some sticks by right clicking the crafting table and putting one plank on top of another and grab the sticks

YouTube
YouTube is a great place to find some "Let's Play" series. These are great for learning how to play Minecraft. I personally do not have a let's play series, but I will be starting some building tutorials sometime soon. The first few of the Yogscast series are great for learning. Here are some Let's Play series that I found: