Video Games Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-23-2025

Creating a video game can feel as challenging as mastering a final boss fight. Whether you’re just curious about how video games are built or dreaming of designing your own, the process is full of moving parts, creative choices, and technical steps. This cheat sheet outlines the game design skills, tips, and resources you'll need to bring your video game vision to life.

Article / Updated 04-29-2025

One of the most popular games of the year is the new Assassin's Creed II. The following game cheats for Assassin's Creed II will help you get the most out of your gaming time and unlock many hidden abilities, tools and even an Easter egg or two. In the latest edition to the Assassin's Creed saga, you follow Desmond through the Renaissance streets of Venice. The city is completely explorable, and the gameplay is more challenging this time away. Throughout your missions you'll be scouring the city for hidden glyphs that help you unravel the puzzles along the way. The following game cheats apply to PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Hints Loot the dead bodies you come across for medicines and throwing knives that you can add to your inventory If you use an axe or spear to kill an enemy, you'll find that the weapon often gets stuck in the opponent. To free the weapon, pick up the body and drop it. The weapon will pop out. Easter eggs Super Mario Brothers reference: The character Mario says “Itsa me, Mario!” at the beginning of the third sequence. It is speculated that this is either a reference to Super Mario or to Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York. From the Deep: In a large flooded room in the Assassin's Tomb at Santa Maria Delle Visitazaione. Pull the lever and look into the water. When you see the shadow, pull the lever again and a tentacle will pop out from the deep water and make a grab for Ezio. Unlock abilities Climb Leap Ability: If you complete Rosa's "Monkey See, Monkey Do" mission in Sequence 7, you can earn the ability to leap while climbing. This ability allows you to jump further from handhold to handhold than you would normally be able to. Disarm Combat Technique: If you complete Mario's "Evasive Maneuvers" mission in Sequence 5, you can unlock the disarm ability. This ability allows you to counter incoming heavy weapons attacks. Condottiero War Hammer: When you collect 50 of the hidden feathers, you can go to the blacksmith's shop in Villa Monteriggioni and collect the Condottiero War Hammer. Auditore Cape: When you collect 100 hidden feathers, you can go and talk to Mario at Villa Monteriggioni and he'll give you the Auditore Cape. Unlock equipment The following cheat works when you attach a PSP running Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines to your PS3 console. If you have defeated the following characters in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines, you can use that experience to unlock additional weapons in Assassin's Creed: II. Defeat Armand Bouchart in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines to unlock Bouchart's Blade Defeat the Dark Oracle in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines to unlock Dark Oracle's Bone Dagger Defeat Fredrick the Red in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines to unlock Fredrick's Hammer Defeat the Bull in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines to unlock Mace of the Bull Defeat Maria Thorpe in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines to unlock Maria Thorpe's Longsword Defeat the Twins in Assassin's Creed Bloodlines to unlock Twins' Blade To unlock your weapons, connect your PSP and PS3 together using the USB cable. Turn on both games and select "Connectivity" in Assassin's Creed II's options menu. Choose "Connect to PS3" from Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. After a moment, the weapons will appear in your inventory.

Article / Updated 04-29-2025

One of the most popular games of the year is the new Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The following game cheats for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will help you get the most out of your gaming time and unlock many hidden abilities, tools and even an Easter egg or two. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the sequel to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It's an action-adventure game that follows the exploits of Nathan Drake as he tries to unravel the mystery behind Marco Polo's doomed trip home. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is available only for PlayStation 3. Hints Marco Polo's Rich Legacy: In Chapter Six, find the pool on the hotel roof. If you jump in and swim around Chloe and Nate will play Marco Polo. By participating in this side game, you'll earn $10,000 to spend on bonuses. Run While Crippled: If you Nate gets injured, pick up a propane tank and carry it. You'll be able to run as if you're not injured. The Strange Relic: You can find the Strange Relic (a holdover from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune) in the sewer in Chapter Five. Infinite Enemies: To build up your kill stats per weapon or to earn shooting trophies, don't lose heart. You can earn your stats in Chapter 19. Near the beginning of Chapter 19: The Siege, there is a sloping alley that leads to a courtyard. Head down the alley, but watch out — there is a machine gun uphill that is shooting at you. Make your way to the building nearest the cliff on your right and climb up to the right of the door. Take cover in a position where you can see the machine gun. If you go too far to the right, the scene will end with a cut scene. Use a grenade to take out the machine gun and then keep watch over the grassy area just before the next building. As you watch, enemies will come from the right trying to reach the machine gun. From the safety of your cover, you can pick off the enemies as they approach. If you've already finished Chapter 19, you can go to the store and purchase more weapons. Then unlock the "Infinite Ammo" cheat and use these to get the weapon/kills Trophies. Easter egg Uncharted 1 Signage: The names on the climb-able signs in Chapters 5 and 7 are references to places in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Infinite Money: Once you beat the game, you can make more money by finding more treasures etc. Once you earn a lot of money, save the game and then quit back to the main screen. Reload the saved game and you'll keep getting the reward each time you do it. Tweaks When you complete the game at a certain difficulty level, you can enable Tweaks. However, when you go back to playing on a different level, these Tweaks go away. You can easily add them back again at the new difficulty level. Just play the game at the new level until you get a gun, and then switch the difficulty to a level that you've already won and turn on the Tweaks. Next, save and quit the game. Go to the Main Menu and change the difficulty back to the harder level and reload the saved game. You now have the Tweaks on the harder level. Unlock Crushing Difficulty: When you beat the game on the Hard Difficulty level, you unlock a new Crushing Difficulty level. Multiplayer Taunts: When you reach the following levels in the game, you can unlock taunts that can be purchased in the Multiplayer Store. Reach Level 20, then purchase the "Flex" taunt for $50,000 Reach Level 30, and then purchase the "Flurry" taunt for $100,000 Reach Level 10, and then purchase the "Kiss" taunt for $10,000 Reach Level 53, and then purchase the "Pump" taunt for $500,000 Reach Level 40, then purchase the "Yes" taunt for $250,000 Multiplayer Characters/Skins: When you reach the following levels in the game, you can unlock characters and skins that can be purchased in the Multiplayer Store. Reach Level 30, and then purchase Cameraman Jeff for $100,000 Reach Level 60, and then purchase Doughnut Drake for $2,000,000 Beat Crushing Difficulty, and then purchase Genghis Khan Villain Skin for $1,500,000 Reach Level 20, and then purchase Harry Flynn for $50,000 Reach Level 10, and then purchase Heist Drake for $20,000 Reach Level 20, and then purchase Heist Flynn for $50,000 Reach Level 50, and then purchase Karl Schafer for $1,000,000 Reach Level 50, and then purchase Lieutenant Drama for $1,000,000 Reach Level 60, and then purchase Skelzor for $2,000,000 Reach Level 20, and then purchase Winter Chloe for $50,000 Reach Level 40, and then purchase Winter Drake for $250,000 Reach Level 30, and then purchase Winter Elena for $100,000 Reach Level 30, and then purchase Winter Flynn for $100,000 Reach Level 40, and then purchase Zoran Lazarevic for $250,000 Reach Level 10, and then purchase Zorskel for $20,000 If you earn the Platinum trophy, you can get the Marco Polo Hero Skin at the Multiplayer Store for Free. Multiplayer Boosters: When you reach the following levels in the game, you can unlock these boosters that can be purchased in the Multiplayer Store. Reach Level 2, then purchase the Point and Shoot (Booster Slot 1) for $2,000 Reach Level 4, and then purchase the Bandoleer (Booster Slot 2) for $2,000 Reach Level 6, then purchase the From the Hip (Booster Slot 1) for $5,000 Reach Level 8, and then purchase the Scavenger (Booster Slot 2) for $8,250 Reach Level 10, and then purchase the Break Up (Booster Slot 1) for $11,250 Reach Level 12, then purchase the Keep Firing (Booster Slot 2) for $14,250 Reach Level 14, then purchase the Down the Irons (Booster Slot 1) for $18,750 Reach Level 16, and then purchase the Fleet Foot (Booster Slot 2) for $23,250 Reach Level 18, and then purchase the Hell Blazer (Booster Slot 1) for $27,750 Reach Level 20, and then purchase the Explosive Expert (Booster Slot 2) for $32,250 Reach Level 22, and then purchase the Turtle (Booster Slot 1) for $40,500 Reach Level 24, and then purchase the Treasure Bearer (Booster Slot 2) for $43,500 Reach Level 26, and then purchase the Sure Foot (Booster Slot 2) for $52,500 Reach Level 28, then purchase the Launch Man (Booster Slot 2) for $58,500 Reach Level 30, then purchase the Sure Shot (Booster Slot 1) for $64,500 Reach Level 32, then purchase the Monkey Man (Booster Slot 2) for $72,000 Reach Level 34, and then purchase the Walk Softly (Booster Slot 1) for $79,500 Reach Level 36, and then purchase the Scoped In (Booster Slot 2) for $87,000 Reach Level 38, and then purchase the Juggler (Booster Slot 1) for $94,500 Reach Level 40, and then purchase the Deposit (Booster Slot 2) for $98,250 Reach Level 42, and then purchase the Rapid Hands (Booster Slot 1) for $111,000 Reach Level 44, then purchase the Rocket Man (Booster Slot 2) for $120,000 Reach Level 46, and then purchase the Situational Awareness (Booster Slot 1) for $129,000 Reach Level 48, and then purchase the Revenge (Booster Slot 2) for $134,250 Reach Level 50, and then purchase the Evasion (Booster Slot 1) for $210,000 Reach Level 51, and then purchase the Veiled (Booster Slot 1) for $300,000 Reach Level 52, then purchase the Invalid (Booster Slot 1) for $350,000 Reach Level 54, and then purchase the Half Loaded (Booster Slot 2) for $400,000 Reach Level 56, and then purchase the Glass Jaw (Booster Slot 1) for $1,500,000 Reach Level 58, then purchase the Come Get Some (Booster Slot 2) for $2,000,000 If you have game saves from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on your hard drive, you'll earn a $20,000 bonus in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. And, if you completed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and still have the game save, you'll get an $80,000 bonus. To get your bonus, go to the Store and press the Square button.

Article / Updated 04-29-2025

One of the most popular games of the year is the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The following game cheats for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will help you get the most out of your gaming time and unlock many hidden abilities, rewards, equipment, and tricks. The latest entry in the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, is actually a direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and begins five years after the Call of Duty 4 left off. The gameplay in the latest installment jumps between a group of US Army Rangers trying to stave off a Russian invasion of the United States and Task Force 141, which is a counterterrorist group trying to eliminate a Russian terrorist. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The cheats and tips below apply to all three formats, except for two cheats that are exclusive to PC. Unlock Killstreak rewards When you meet the following Killstreak requirements, you can unlock these rewards. Killstreak Rewards in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Length of Killstreak Your Reward What It Does 3 UAV Reveals enemies on minimap 4 Care Package Ammo/Killstreak air drop. Can be collected by anyone 4 Counter UAV Disable enemy maps 5 Sentry Gun Airdropped to player 5 Predator Directed missile 6 Precision Airstrike Choose a location to bomb 7 Harrier Strike Choose a location to bomb and defend with a Harrier 7 Attack Helicopter Helicopter backup 8 Emergency Airdrop Four ammo/Killstreak air drops. Can be collected by anyone 9 Pave Low Armored helicopter backup 11 Chopper Gunner Operate a helicopter gun 11 AC130 Operate a plane gun 15 EMP Disable enemy electronics 25 Nuclear Strike Kills all members of both teams Unlock camo gear Complete the Ghillie in the Mist challenge to unlock different camos (ghillie suits) for use with your sniper classes: Get Arctic camo by getting 50 one-shot kills with sniper rifles Get Urban camo by getting 100 one-shot kills with sniper rifles Get Desert camo by getting 200 one-shot kills with sniper rifles Unlock the museum stage When you complete the campaign at any difficulty level, you can unlock the museum. Once the museum is unlocked, you can wander the exhibit halls with character models. If you press the red button (the one that says "Do NOT Press ..."), the character models will come to life and attempt to kill you. Unlock an extra custom class slot when you reach level 70 in multiplayer mode. Enter Prestige Mode to unlock an additional custom class slot for a total of six. Unlock equipment You can unlock the following weapons and equipment by attaining the (multiplayer) levels below: Unlock Equipment in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Equipment/Weapon Type Model Level to Attain Assault Rifles FAMAS 1 M4A1 Carbine 4 SCAR-H 8 TAR-21 20 FAL 28 M16A4 40 ACR 48 F2000 60 AK-47 70 M14 EBR Campaign only G3 Campaign only Submachine Guns UMP .45 1 MP5k 4 Vector 12 P90 24 Mini Uzi 44 Light Machine Guns L86 LSW 1 RPD 4 MG4 16 AUG HBAR 32 M240 52 Sniper Rifles CheyTac Intervention 1 Barrett .50 Cal (AKA M107) 4 WA2000 36 M21 EBR 56 Dragunov Campaign only Secondary Weapons PP-2000 Machine Pistols 1 Glock 18 22 M93 Raffica 38 TMP 58 Shotguns SPAS-12 1 AA-12 12 Striker 34 Ranger 42 M1014 54 Winchester 1887 67 W1200 Campaign only Handguns USP .45 1 .44 Magnum aka Colt Anaconda 26 M9 46 Desert Eagle 62 M1911 Campaign only Launchers AT4-HS 1 Thumper x2 aka M79 grenade launcher 14 Stinger 30 Javelin 50 RPG-7 x2 65 Miscellaneous Frag Grenade 1 Semtex 1 Throwing Knife 7 Tactical Insertion 11 Blast shield 19 Claymores 31 C4 43 Unlock professional perks Unlock the following perks by performing the necessary tasks. Professional Perks in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Perk What It Is How to Get It Bling Pro 2 Primary Weapon Attachments and 2 Secondary Weapon Attachments Get 200 kills with a weapon with two attachments Cold-Blooded Pro Hidden from UAV, air support, sentries, and thermal imaging. Also, when you’re targeted there is no red crosshair or name displayed Destroy 40 enemy Killstreak Rewards with Cold-Blooded Perk Commando Pro No falling damage and increased melee distance Get 20 Melee Kills using Commando Perk Danger Close Pro Extra air support damage and more explosive weapon damage Get 100 Kills with explosives while using Danger Close Perk Hardline Pro Killstreak rewards require 1 less kill and Deathstreak rewards require 1 less death Get 40 Killstreaks (2 or more in a row without dying) with Hardline Perk Lightweight Pro Move faster and aim quicker after sprinting Run 30 miles with Lightweight Perk Marathon Pro Unlimited sprint and the ability to climb faster Run 26 miles with Marathon Perk Ninja Pro Silent footsteps and invisible to heartbeat sensors Get 50 close range kills using Ninja Perk Scavenger Pro Resupply from dead enemies and get extra mags Resupply 100 times with Scavenger Perk Scrambler Pro Jam enemy radar near you and delay enemy claymore explosions Get 50 close range kills using Scrambler Perk Sitrep Pro Detect enemy explosives and tactical insertions and make enemy footsteps louder Destroy 120 detected explosives or tactical insertions with Sitrep Perk Sleight of Hand Pro Faster reloading and aiming Get 120 kills with Sleight of Hand Perk Steady Aim Pro The ability to hold your breath longer and improved hip shot accuracy Get 80 hip shot kills using Steady Aim Stopping Power Pro Extra bullet damage and extra damage to enemy vehicles Get 300 kills with Stopping Power Perk

Video / Updated 08-14-2023

Hunger is a dangerous long-term obstacle in Minecraft. When the Hunger bar on your screen indicates you are hungry, you must eat food to restore it and your character's health. Your symptoms of hunger depend on the difficulty level. If it is not at the Peaceful level, your character grows hungrier by taking action, such as sprinting, jumping, or absorbing damage. This video will show you how to restore hunger using food and which foods are most effective at quickly restoring hunger. You will discover how to determine which foods have the highest saturation levels and will stick with you for the longest amount of time. You will also learn which foods to avoid because they cause adverse effects, such as nausea and hunger, and how to use foods in ways that are more effective, including cooking raw potatoes so that they become baked potatoes. Find out how to earn bonus health with golden apples crafted from apples and golden ingots, and earn fire resistance if you craft an enchanted golden apple with golden blocks. It is important to carry road rations with you, such as steak or bread, so that you don't have to keep running home to eat when you get hungry.

Article / Updated 08-11-2023

You can earn a few different kinds of Minecraft badges. Here, you find out how to earn Scramble badges, which are different from the other types: All the code blocks you need are already in the programming area — they’re just scrambled around on the screen in an animation. To earn a Scramble badge, follow these steps: Test the correct version of the code in the simulator or Minecraft to see what it’s supposed to do, like saying “Hello, World!” Gather together all blocks that have been scrambled on the screen, by dragging them near each other. Unscramble the blocks, and test your mod to see whether it matches the correct version that you test in Step 1 of this list. To find all the blocks you need in order to complete the badge (sometimes, the blocks that have been scrambled are offscreen), you move around by using the scroll bars on the right side and bottom of the programming environment. Earn the Saying Hello badge: Scramble Edition Open the Saying Hello (Scramble) challenge by clicking on the badge. You see ten blocks scrambled on the screen. Follow these steps to solve the challenge and earn the badge: Click the blue Test button to test the correct version in Minecraft, or click the orange Test button to test the correct version in the simulator. Then observe what happens. Gather the ten blocks and begin to arrange them in such a way that when you run the mod, it does exactly the same thing that the correct version did. Test your mod in Minecraft or the simulator to see whether it has the same effect as the correct version. If it doesn’t, edit the blocks arrangement and test again. Continue this edit-test cycle until you have put together the correct arrangement of blocks. Communicate with your computer Writing code is the way that programmers communicate with their computers, and the way that you communicate with Minecraft. The problem, however, is that computers do exactly what you tell them to do, not what you think they should do. For example, in the Saying Hello (Scramble) challenge, you may have noticed that the answer looks strange if you expected the messages to be sent in numbered order, like this: One Mississippi Two Mississippi Three Mississippi and instead they’re sent out of order, like this: Two Mississippi One Mississippi Three Mississippi If you were told, “Go to your shoes and put on your room,” you probably would figure out that what you should do is go to your room and put on your shoes. If you told a computer, “Go to your shoes and put on your room,” the computer would literally go to its shoes and then try to put on its room, which is impossible, so it would probably display an error message. You must be precise when you write code, and — more ­importantly — you should test your code often and in small increments to catch mistakes. At the bottom of any Scramble challenge are two videos that you can watch to see strategies for completing this type of badge. Though the videos aren’t specific to each challenge, watching them can help you with any badge that asks you to unscramble code.

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

The availability of enchantments in Minecraft ranges from low to high and requires Experience points and bookshelves. To reach the highest levels of enchantment, 15 bookshelves need to surround your enchantment table. (However, the bookshelves don’t have to be connected.) To achieve a lower enchantment, you should place a block, such as a piece of carpet or a torch, between the enchantment table and a bookcase. Unfortunately, you don’t fully control which enchantment is available. Steps for enchanting a tool or armor After constructing an enchantment table, here’s how to enchant a tool or armor: Open up your enchanting screen by right-clicking the enchantment table. The enchanting screen will show, with a place where you can place items, and three buttons. Select the tool or armor or other item (like a book) to be enchanted. Hoes, shears, and horse armor cannot be enchanted on a table. Power the enchantment table with lapis lazuli. In the latest version of Minecraft, in order to enchant things, your enchantment table must be powered with lapis lazuli. You do so by placing lapis lazuli in the second block on the enchantment table. Place the same number of lapis lazuli as you have numbers on the right. Then you’re given three options, displaying only the Experience points required for the spell, and, by moving your mouse over the option, one of the enchantments that you are guaranteed to get, with a one, two, or three as your price. You aren’t given any indication if you will gain any other enchantments for the item you are enchanting however. Choose one of the three options randomly. The options are labeled using a special language (with characters called “runes”) but even when ciphered, the combination of runes doesn’t disclose the enchantment. The higher the level option, the higher level enchantment you will receive. To know what the item was enchanted with, mouse over the item in your inventory and the enchantment will appear under the item name. To get around the problem of not knowing what an item will be enchanted with, many players choose to enchant a book, revealing the enchantment, and then use the book on an anvil to apply a specific enchantment to the desired item. (For a list of enchantments, see the table below.) The one, two, and three are your cost. Choosing one means you will have to pay one experience point and one lapis lazuli. Paying three means you will have to pay three experience points and three lapis lazuli. List of enchantments Enchantment Effect Item Protection Reduces damage Armor Fire protection Reduces fire damage Armor Feather falling Reduces fall damage Boots Blast protection Reduces explosion damage Armor Thorns Damages attacker Armor (helmet, boots, leggings only on anvil) Projectile protection Reduces projectile damage Armor Aqua infinity Increases underwater mining speed Helmet Respiration Increases underwater breathing Helmet Depth strider Increases underwater movement Boots Looting Increases mob drops Sword Knockback Increases the range that a mob is thrown when hit Sword Fire aspect Sets items on fire Sword Bane of anthropods Increase damage to spiders, silverfish, and endermites Sword and ax (ax only on anvil) Sharpness Increases damage Sword and ax (ax only on anvil) Smite Increases damage to skeletons, zombies, and withers Sword and ax (ax only on anvil) Fortune Increases block drops Sword, shovel, ax Silk touch Mined blocks drop themselves Pickaxe, shovel, ax, and shears (shears on anvil) Efficiency Increases mining speed Pickaxe, shovel, ax, and shears (shears on anvil) Lure Increases rate of fish biting Fishing pole Luck of the sea Decreases odds of junk when fishing Fishing pole Infinity Shooting uses up no arrows Bow Punch Increases knockback Bow Flame Sets arrows on fire Bow Power Increases damage Bow Unbreaking Increases durability Armor, sword, bow, fishing pole, axe, shovel, and pickaxe; using an anvil —shears, flint and steel, carrot on a stick, and hoe How to craft an anvil in Minecraft An anvil is useful in Minecraft to repair items without breaking the enchantment. An anvil can also combine enchantments and rename items. An anvil is more complicated than a crafting table, and it requires experience points (earned by completing tasks in the game, and by killing mobs) and materials in order to repair an item. Like many of the items an anvil repairs — including tools, weapons, and armor — an anvil becomes damaged with use and lasts, on average, for only 24 uses. After you craft an anvil, it opens its own menu when you right-click it. To repair or enchant an item, follow these steps: Place the item in the first slot. Place the sacrifice piece in the second slot. For enchantments, you place the enchantment book in the second slot. For other items, you place an ingredient (such as iron ingot to repair an iron sword) in the second slot. The game calculates the cost of the repair and determines whether you have enough experience points (seen as the bottom bar below the hearts) to complete the repair. (This statement does not apply to Creative mode.) Repairing on an anvil is generally only desirable to preserve enchantments. You can drop an anvil and inflict considerable damage on mobs and players (the anvil will not be damaged). An anvil is one of the more expensive items to craft, because it requires more iron than a complete set of iron armor. To craft an anvil, place three blocks of iron on the top horizontal row, three iron ingots on the bottom horizontal row, and 1 iron ingot in the middle square. Then you have a total of 31 iron ingots (blocks are composed of nine iron ingots apiece).

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-20-2022

To master Minecraft, you must gather resources in the three major areas of the game: the Overland, the mines, and the Nether. Being prepared with these resources allows you to survive, build, create, and advance through the game.

Article / Updated 10-18-2022

Minecraft is a virtual open world video game where players can dig, mine, build, craft, and enchant things. The game is typically described as a “sandbox game” because players can create their own worlds and experiences where the possibilities are truly limitless. Unlike normal video games, Minecraft allows you to be in control of the game, and it even has options allowing players to act as moderators and build their own coding/modding directly into the game! Getting started Getting started with Minecraft is super easy. First, you need to purchase and install the game. After installation is complete, simply start the game by running the launcher you downloaded from the Minecraft homepage, which also gives you the option to play from your browser. Now it’s time to log in, navigate the main menu, and select your game type. See our guide for beginners below. Logging in and the main menu The launcher opens the News screen, which displays game updates and links. Enter your username and password in the lower right corner and click Log In to continue to the main menu. This list describes what you can do after you click the buttons on the main menu: SinglePlayer: Start or continue a basic game. The remaining portion of this article covers the options for starting a game in SinglePlayer mode. MultiPlayer: Join other players online. Languages: Change the language of the text in Minecraft. Use the tiny button, just left of the Options button, showing a speech bubble containing a globe. Options: Manage game options such as sound, graphics, mouse controls, difficulty levels, and general settings. Quit Game: Close the window, unless you’re in In-Browser mode. Starting your first game in SinglePlayer mode To start your first game in SinglePlayer mode, follow these steps: Click the SinglePlayer button to view a list of all worlds. If you’re just starting out in Minecraft, this list should be empty. Click the Create New World button to start a new game. The Create New World page appears. In the World Name text box, type whatever name you want and click the Create New World button at the bottom of the screen. To turn on cheats, click the More World Options button, and then click the Allow Cheats button to turn cheats on or off. Turning on game cheats increases or decreases the level of difficulty as you play and switches between Creative mode and Adventure mode. Cheats give you more control over the world when you’re just getting started. When you finish creating your world, the game automatically starts by generating the world and placing your avatar (character) in it. Selecting the right game mode in Minecraft Minecraft offers several different game modes that allow you to experience the open world in a unique way. The following types of Minecraft game modes are available: Survival — after randomly being spawned in a new world, players have to try to survive by gathering material, building shelter, gaining experience, and fighting off hostile mobs. Creative — a game mode where players have immediate access to almost all blocks and items, are invulnerable and immune to death, and have the ability to fly. The purpose of this game mode is to create/design unique worlds. Adventure — players interact with objects (levers, buttons) and mobs to complete an adventure. Spectator — invisible to everything and cannot interact with blocks, entities, or your inventory. This mode is typically used to observe other players' created worlds. Hardcore — similar to survival mode, Hardcore is set to the “hard” difficulty level permanently and players cannot respawn; once you die, the map is deleted (or you permanently become a spectator). Your first day in Minecraft When selecting SinglePlayer and Survival mode in Minecraft, your first day can be very exciting but also very stressful. You are immediately thrown into a world with little resources and have to prepare yourself to ensure you survive your first night, when hostile mobs are more likely to attack you. Typically, your first day in Minecraft involves things like collecting resources, punching woods, killing animals, building or finding shelter, gathering food, etc. Now that you know how to play Minecraft, enjoy building and exploring the limitless virtual worlds available to you!

Article / Updated 03-15-2022

One of the most commonly used construction commands in Minecraft is /fill. You can use this command to place lots of blocks in a certain area instantly. To use this command, follow these steps: Go to a corner of the area you want to fill. The Fill command affects blocks in a box-shaped region, up to 32,768 blocks in volume. Pick any of the 8 corners of the box you want to fill. Press F3. This step displays a bunch of information about the current game. Record your coordinates. Part of the information displayed in F3 mode is a line that says Block: followed by three numbers. These numbers tell you where exactly your character is. The X and Z coordinates of your character tell you where you are on the plane parallel to the ground, whereas your Y coordinate tells you your height. Make a note of these numbers because you’ll need to write them into the command. Move to the opposite corner of the area you want to fill. Record the coordinates there. Alternatively, use relative coordinates: A tilde (~) in a command indicates that a coordinate is relative to your own position. So ~ ~ ~ indicates your current position, and ~ ~-1 ~ indicates the block below you. Press the “T” key to open the Chat menu, and type /fill [your first coordinates] [your second coordinates]. For example, you might enter /fill 1123 20 16 1122 30 -16. Enter a space, and then type minecraft: (or press Tab as a shortcut). Every block in this game has a technical name, such as minecraft:stone, minecraft:planks, or minecraft:redstone_torch. The first part is necessary only for autocompletion purposes, as described in Step 8. If you already know the technical name of the block, don’t type only minecraft:; go ahead and type minecraft:stone or minecraft:planks or whatever the name is, and then skip to Step 10. If you don’t know the technical name of the block, stick with Step 7 as written and then go on to Step 8. Press Tab to see a list of block names. From here, you can find the block that you want to fill the area. If you know that its name starts with a certain couple of letters, type those letters, and then press Tab for a narrower search. After you see which block you want to use, type it after the minecraft:. Press the spacebar again, and enter the data value of the block. This is 0 by default — if you select another number, it chooses a variant of the block. For example, wooden planks have a different color based on the data value you give them. Steps 9 and 10 are optional — however, if you complete Step 10, you must complete this one as well. Press the spacebar again, and enter a keyword indicating how to handle blocks that are already inside the fill area. You can pick one of five different keywords: replace: With this keyword, when you fill the target area, any block already in that area is replaced. Alternatively, you can type replace followed by a space and then the name of another block (see Steps 7 and 8). This makes it so that the /fill command replaces every block of that type only in the target area rather than filling up the whole area. Note that replace is the default keyword. At this point the command should look like /fill 1123 20 16 1122 30 -16 minecraft:wool 1 replace. destroy: All existing blocks in the target area are destroyed, just as though a player mined them. keep: This command does not affect blocks already in the target area (except for air, of course). hollow: With this command, only the outer layer of the target area is filled with blocks — all blocks on the inside are replaced with air. outline: Only the outer layer of the target area is filled with blocks, but blocks on the inside remain as they were. Don’t be put off by the length of these instructions — the more you practice, the easier (and faster) it is. The process in the preceding step list works best when you don’t quite know the size of the area you want to fill. But if you want to fill an area that you know is 10x10x20, for example, there’s a faster way to do it: Go to a corner of the area you want to fill. This part is just like the other method, but it’s done for a different purpose. Press F3. In addition to pulling up a menu, the F3 button changes the crosshair in the center of the screen into a symbol composed of a red segment, a green segment, and a blue segment where green is the Y direction, red is the X direction, and blue is the Z direction. These segments point in the positive x-direction, y-direction, and z-direction, respectively. Use the crosshair to figure out the relative coordinates of the opposite corner. For example, if the crosshair numbers read ~100 ~-5 ~2, the opposite corner is 100 blocks in the X-direction, -5 blocks in the Y-direction, and 2 blocks in the Z-direction. Open the chat menu and type /fill ~ ~ ~ [relative coordinates]. For example, to create a platform 100 blocks long and 100 blocks wide, where one corner is where you are and the opposite corner is at 99 ~ ~99, type /fill ~ ~ ~ ~99 ~ ~99. Complete the process as usual. (See Steps 7–10 in the preceding step list.)