The appeal about Minecraft is that everyone doesn't understand what they're fucking doing once they start playing it and the point of the game is to discard any "direction" the game offers in order to value your own time with the game. There are ways to progress in it butg they're only superficial methods of playing. Real men don't play Minecraft like you would play a RPG or a FPS. Wanting to finish Minecraft takes away 95% of the experience. After you understood how the controlls work you basically understood the game fully, because there isn't anything else to understand. The reason why Minecraft got so successful is because the other stuff aren't important gameplay elements but the stuff you imagine however, is.

To give an example, back when I played Minecraft I found it boring and then started building stuff, then I found "The Minecraft i was looking for". Played it probably for hundreds of hours just building stuff.

So not knowing how to play is actually the way to play. Its like playing with Legos. Using a rulebook here is shooting yourself in your foot. Just roll with it and once you start "feeling the fun" then you understand what I mean by all of this.

Minecraft Wiki would be your best guide, as would finding a decent Youtuber, such as Paulsoaresjr, or captainsparklez. I think they have pretty decent MC vidoes.

Edit: I agree with the poster above me, going at it as if you want to finish, just kills the experience. The only thing you might need to know is the crafting recipes. Other then that, do whatever the heck you want.

Have a PS4 or Switch? Dragon Quest Builders is everything Minecraft wanted to be but sucked at: an actual game. #2 comes out next week, but you needn't skip #1.

On GOG, try Craft the World. It's a 2d indirect-control tile-based builder.

Reading the URL -- where the dash between the numbers is missing -- I thought tinyE was looking for game recommendations.

It was several years ago and what I remember is that Minecraft launcher installed Java files on my PC as well. I may be wrong but for some reason I thought that Java icon appeared in Control Panel after Minecraft installation and that I had to update installed Java for some other projects since then. But there is no way to check it now.

It goes more or less like this:

You hear hiss, you panic, you go boom, you respawn.

Being an actual game counts as a detrimental factor though, because it means that it is restricted to its own confines. A FPS can't become a strategy game for instance. Going any further would me to explain what fun is and you don't want me to do that :P.

Most people need a sort of disclaimer and direction. Almost instinctively a player knows how to play a FPS or a car racing game, if you leave these descriptors out of the gameplay elements itself (as in, make a game where you can do whatever the fuck you want) suddendly people become confused. Minecraft is a unique case because the developer didn't fully intend the game to be this open. The easiest to understand example I have is that this sense of freedom-of-play is similar to buying a lego set but not follwing the instructions but instead create your own unique thing with it. Its MInecrafts strongest point because it is bound by the players willingness to ignore the rules it in turn also becomes more timeless than any other game that is similar, unless it is as free as Minecraft is.

There is an exeption of this rule where both freedom and direction to the same degree can coexist which is Terraria. IMHO its almost perfectly balanced in its freedom (you can choose to not play by the rules at all but rather just build), while also providing a sense of direction through boss battles. Both of these paths are rewarding on their own, however they're still intended by the developer. In most cases, freedom within games are unintentional by the devs, which is why modding always bring is this sort of uncertainty of freedom since you never know what your audience comes up with (same goes with Minecraft mods and what kind of stuff those mods add). With Freedom also always comes uncertainty and the same rule apply to games obviously, I feel that this "open" genre is always the most prone to become hit or miss for that very reason.

To OP: If you think Minecraft is too weird to grasp (which is quite common actually), try let your kid be interested into Terraria instead. I'm fairly certain that most young people who enjoyed Minecraft will also enjoy Terraria while those who don't get the appeal of Minecraft have a very high chance of understanding Terraria.

Check the achievements in the game for ideas of what can be done in MC. They give a kind of roadmap to follow.

The latest versions have a crafting guide.

I played Minecraft for way too much. You can ask me anything.

How do I get good at building? :P

Start building small, cozy houses with all the functions you need. Then get bigger. Build castles.

Basically build build build

If the kids might like adventure games, Pajama Sam! (and other Humongous games on Steam)

RiME has been great for me and my 7 year-old daughter

Kao the Kangaroo ;) perhaps