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Entering Minecraft
In This Chapter
In the sandbox-survival game of Minecraft, you build structures, fight monsters, collect items, mine minerals, and work toward your own goals. This 3-D, grid-based game features naturally generated landscapes and challenges.
In Survival mode, you must manage your resources and acquire increasingly useful items to advance through the game. In Creative mode, you can build or design whatever structure, setup, or invention you want in your personal universe. However, most of the information you need is found in Survival mode. This chapter explains how to obtain Minecraft, start on a Survival world, and familiarize yourself with the basic game controls.
Registering a Minecraft Account
To jump into the action, you first have to register a Minecraft account. Then you can play in Demo mode or upgrade to a Premium account, which you need for the full version. Follow these steps to register an account:
1. Go to
http://minecraft.net. The Minecraft home page opens.
2. Click the Register link in the upper-right corner of the page.
The Register New Mojang Account page appears.
3. Fill out all the information requested in the text boxes, specify your date of birth, and answer the security questions.
4. Click the Register button to finish.
5. Check the e-mail account you entered for a verification message from Minecraft.
6. Click the link provided in the e-mail to complete your registration.
Check out the next section to find out how to purchase the game.
Purchasing and Installing Minecraft
To buy and install the game, log in to your account at
http://minecraft.net. (See the preceding section for details on registering.) Then follow these steps: 1. Click the large Buy Now button on the home page.
The Minecraft Store page opens.
2. Click the Buy Minecraft for This Account option in the upper-left corner of the store, as shown in Figure 1-1.
At the time of this writing, the cost of the game is $26.95.
3. Fill out your payment information and then click the Proceed to Checkout button.
Figure 1-1: Buying the game
4. Follow the necessary steps to complete your purchase.
5. Return to the Minecraft home page. On the right side of the screen, the large Buy Now button should now be labeled Download Now. Click this button to open the Download page.
6. If you’re using Windows, click the download and save the file anywhere on your computer.
To view instructions for other operating systems, click the Show All Platforms button.
7. Double-click the file to install the game.
