Minecraft Beginner's Guide

April 1, 2016

Gr 3-8-Minecraft users are an exacting audience: the game is frequently the first complicated thing they have figured out for themselves and with their peers, and they are proud defenders of that knowledge. These title could do with a little less explanation and a lot more pictures, recipes, and practical how-to. Crafting recipes are essential for beginners, but this beginner's guide goes right to swords, torches, and shovels, rather than the very first things a Minecrafter needs. Redstone tells readers how to use a repeater to extend a signal, but leaves out an essential element, and does not include a recipe for making one. Farming includes a superfluous sentence describing what "a one in ten chance" means, and then gets it wrong, describing theoretical probability instead of experimental probability. VERDICT There are enough discrepancies here to turn off devotees.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2016
Grades 4-8 Minecraft is ubiquitous. As one of the most popular video games of all time, it is available for personal computers, every mainstream game console, and smartphones. This entry in the Unofficial Guides series is a primer for those who are true novices to the game. Explanations of basicsthe night and day features, different modes of playare included in this beginner's guide (the rest of the series discusses cumulatively difficult levels). The focus is on surviving (in the game), with tips for setting up shelter, acquiring food, making necessary tools, and building an inventory of supplies. The game is entirely open-ended, and the sheer possibilities might intimidate a new user, but with this manual, a new gamer could easily acquaint themselves with the fundamentals needed to move on to more sophisticated play.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)