After You've Survived Your First Night in Minecraft

Some of you may have seen Minecraft videos where the players have managed to craft a home and diamond armor by the end of the second day, but I think most players will be happy to have made a safe shelter and some tools and weapons. 

So what do you do next? My suggestions:  

Make torches - A torch requires only a stick and a piece of coal, and you can make it in your 2 by 2 crafting table.  Torches are important because most hostile monsters spawn in darkness and you don't want to encourage them.

Make a torch with a block of coal and a stick.
Make a stick with two planks.

Make a furnace - you only need nine blocks of cobblestone to make a furnace, and you need one to smelt ore to make upgraded weapons and armor.  The first fuel for a furnace is usually coal, but you can also use wood, bamboo, sticks, wool, leaf litter, and dead bushes as well as wooden weapons and tools you don't need anymore.  

Make a furnace

Make A bed (moveable spawn site): Hostile monsters spawn in the dark when you stay up at night. If you sleep at night you aren't attracting more monster.  A bed also serves as a moveable re-spawn position so that you don't have to keep returning to your original spawn site if you should die. Making a bed requires only three wool and three planks.  

Make a bed. You can color the wool with dyes or
use naturally-colored wool. 

Now, I don't kill sheep, so I have to mine and smelt ore to get iron to make clippers so that I can shear sheep for their wool. You do what you want.

Make shears.
Note you can make this in your small crafting grid.

A sheared sheep - the wool will grow back pretty fast.

Make a garden: To start all you need is a hoe and some seeds*. Having a water source nearby is good, but seeds can grow without irrigation.

Make a hoe with sticks and planks.

Make a bucket

Buckets can carry water, lava, and milk.

Make a four-block water source.

More useful things to make:

Doors only require six planks.

Different woods make different door designs.

Make pressure plates: Use pressure plates inside the door. Put the pressure plates on the inside in front of the door so that you step on them as you leave, and the door will close behind you.

Make Windows: A hole in the side of your shelter will let in light. 

Make one or more boats - 

The type of wood determines the boat texture.
To make a pink boat use cherrywood.

Uses for boats:

- To sail and explore. 

- You can fish from a boat.

- Monster traps: Leave one or more boats outside while you stay awake and you may find them full of monsters in the morning. 

I stayed awake overnight. The drowned threw tridents in the morning
before they despawned. Zombies usually just burn up in the morning
without throwing things at you. Unfortunately, harmless mobs also
seem to like boating and you will have to evict then,

- Boats can be used on land to move kidnapped villagers, and can be used as a fast transport system.

- Sometimes you can get in a boat and go over a cliff and avoid fall damage, but there is no guarantee it will always work.

There are thousands more things you can do or make, but these are a start. 

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*get wheat seeds by punching grass. You may also start other crops (carrots, potatoes, beets, melons, pumpkins, etc..) from what you find foraging or from monster drops. Not all crops require you to hoe the ground first. Sugar cane needs a water block on one side. More info whenever I get around to writing an article about gardening.

Old Lady Says - Things I've Learned the Hard Way

Oops! I meant to put down a stair block.

Do not put buckets of lava in your hot bar until you are ready to use them. 

When dealing with suspicious sand, remember that sand is affected by gravity - if you remove the base of a sand stack, the rest of the column will fall and any suspicious sand over the block you removed will turn into regular sand.

Always use the right tool - it will save you time. 

Store the items in your hot bar in the same place every time - this may keep you from trying to kill a zombie with a baked potato. (You can use a few slots for rotating items).

When exploring, if you always keep the bed and the boat in the hot bar, it is easier to make sure that you haven't left them behind when you move on. 

When exploring, when you get out of bed in the morning you will be facing the opposite direction from when you went to bed.

Cats do not scare creepers. Leave the cats at home. 

When you put down a bed, be sure to touch it right away to make it a spawn site.

Do not set up camp right next to a big dark cave or in dark forests.

Do not despair when watching videos of Minecrafters who start the game and kill the Ender Dragon in five game days. The only player you are competing with is yourself, and besides, I think those other players cheat.

Don't let anyone else tell you are playing the wrong way. 

If it is cheating to "keep inventory after death" in Java, why isn't it cheating to "keep inventory after death" in Bedrock?

Memorizing some craft recipes can save you time; however, remember that (as all things Minecraft) things are constantly changing.*

Don't be afraid to try new things; however, you don't need to be the first to try the Beta versions, wait until the wrinkles are ironed out.** 

When following advice from a video or blog, check to make sure what version of Minecraft they are using, and when the advice was given.  If there are comments, read them.

Little bits of dust coming from the ceiling indicates that it is unstable and if you hit the wrong block it will all fall on you.

Little drops of water coming from the ceiling indicates that there is water above you.

Little drops of lava coming from the ceiling indicates that there is lava above you.

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*In Java Minecraft boats were crafted without adding a shovel as an oar, then they were crafted using a shovel as an oar, and then they changed back to the original way of making them without a shovel as an oar.   For a while I kept wondering why I had all those shovels piling up in inventory.

**"Definitions of ironing. noun. the work of using heat to smooth washed clothes in order to remove any wrinkles."

Preparing to Survive Your First Night in 'Survival' Minecraft

Never played Minecraft before and you're going to jump right in and start in Survival? I don't want to look.

Of course you can just jump right in to Creative or Peaceful Minecraft mode, but if you arrive in a new Survival Mode world unprepared, you are more than likely going to die at least once before the next morning. That's not fun. Think of it like landing in Paris without having maps, guidebooks, hotel reservations, or at least enough French to know how to ask "where are the restrooms"  etc...

I recommend practice in a Peaceful (not Creative) world. 

• Learn the controls: Learn how to move (walk, run, jump, look around, and crouch).
• Learn what you can gather without tools. Close loose objects will automatically move into your inventory until it is full. Learn how to move things in or out of your hotbar, how to hold an object in your hand, throw it, eat it, or place it on the ground. 
• Practice using your hands to chop a tree, make the wood into planks, and then use the wood to build a crafting box.
• Practice using the crafting box to make a few useful tools like swords, picks, axes, etc. 

Don't over-prepare*. Basically, your goal on your first full day in a new Minecraft survival world will simply be to assess the location, gather resources to make a crafting table, use the crafting table to  make tools, gather more resources, and find some way to avoid getting killed by hostile mobs. Part of the fun of Minecraft is gaining experience and improving.

When you are stuck, the Net has tons of information. 

Places like this Minecraft site have tons more information. 

 *OK, if you want to over-prepare, learn how to put a block on the ground and then, from on top of it, how to jump up and place another block under you.

If you are using keyboard commands, learn how to reprogram the "drop item" function from the 'Q' key.

Learn how to make crates or chests, doors, torches, boats, campfires, and furnaces.

Surviving the First Night in Minecraft

If you blog or vlog about Minecraft, it seems to be obligatory to talk about "surviving your first night".  Even though I've been playing Minecraft for a while, I am still not always successful in surviving  the first night in a new world, but this is how I try to do it in Normal Survival Minecraft.

Unless you are playing Hardcore, it is not 'Game Over' if you die, but dying before you've hardly started can be discouraging, so you want to prepare to protect yourself at night when the monsters come out.

Assessing your location. The odds are pretty good that you will spawn in a location with at least a few resources, but if you land on an 'impossible' spot* there is no shame in starting over. Don't try for perfection**- what you are seeing is just a small slice of a much larger world. After you've got the basics down, you can relocate to a better location.

What I do:

To me, making a safe shelter is most important, but to do that I need tools.

First I use my hand to punch a trees to get  a few logs and then use the nine-block space in my inventory to make the logs into planks. I then use the planks to make a crafting table. 

I put the crafting table down near where I think I will make my first shelter, then I make wooden tools (pick, shovel, sword, shovel, axe) and use them to gather more resources, protect myself, and make a place to survive before it gets dark and the monsters come out and do their best to try to kill me.

Making a Shelter:   An old forum post by SafeShot lists the most common options cited by Minecrafters:

• The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang 
• The Dirt Hut Squad
• The 3 Blocks Deep Mafia
• The Treetop Nation
• The Sky Platform Coalition
• The Village Squatters
• The 1st Night Cavern Exploration Team
• The Unfinished Build Project Defenders
• The Mob Spawn Outrunners
• Those Cowards over in the /time set camp and their Day/Night Cycle:OFF allies.

Here's my feelings about each of these options:

'The Hole in the Wall Gang':

If I can find a dirt wall, I will dig or punch a 2-block high by 3-block deep opening so that I can hide when it gets dark. After I'm inside I put a block on the top of the opening - that way I can see when it is daylight again.  

Hiding in hole in the wall

'The Dirt Hut Squad':

Got a little fancy here, but door only took six planks.

You can make this as plain or fancy as you want. I don't usually make these because they take longer to make than a hole in the wall or in the ground.

'The 3 Blocks Deep Mafia':

Good in a pinch

You dig down three blocks and put a block on top of you. I think of this as a last resort, because you can't really see what is going on above you. You can make the hole wider and then cover part of it, but you risk a monster falling into the hole with you.

'The Treetop Nation':

Ready to spend the night on top of a tree.

You can walk on tree foliage, but so can spiders. Zombies, skeletons, and creepers are not supposed to be able to walk or spawn on tree foliage****, but they can certainly spawn under them and wait for you. Zombies and skeletons will survive in the shade when the sun comes up. 

'The Sky Platform Coalition':

Standing on a pile of dirt blocks

Place blocks at the same time you jump up, to make a column where you can get away from zombies and skeletons. Hostile mobs will still spawn in the surrounding dark and wait for you at the bottom.  Don't stay awake all night for too many days or phantoms will also come flying after you at night..  

Modified sky platform

If you are coordinated enough to crouch and add blocks to the sides of the top, you can make this a little bit safer by adding walls at the side.***

'The Village Squatters': 

Better to borrow a bed than to stay awake inside and attract monsters.

If there is a nearby village, just use one of the villagers beds. Again, a last ditch method. Don't stay awake in a village, though, as your waking presence draws monsters.

'The First Night Cavern Exploration Team':

I'm going to need more torches.

I don't really understand this one. Caves may be full of resources, but you need to light them up to make them safe, and if you have enough materials, why not start making a base?  If I have the supplies to make torches, but not a spawn-anchor (bed), I will start gradual mining from inside my shelter to look for things like coal and iron ore until it is light again.

'The Unfinished Build Project Defenders':

This happens when you are building a shelter and it isn't finished before night comes. I think a simple finished shelter beats an elaborate unfinished shelter anytime.

'The Mob Spawn Outrunners':

After I took this snapshot the zombie caught up 
and killed my player character. Fooey!

Yeah, I've done this, but it is not recommended. Even if you outrun all the monsters there is still the danger of falling into a hole or over a cliff, and when morning comes you will be miles away from the spawn point. 

'Those Cowards over in the /time set camp and their Day/Night Cycle:OFF allies.'

I don't agree with Safeshot here, it is not cowardice to set your day/night cycle off, but it sort of spoils the fun of playing Survival mode.

Remember  that you can play Minecraft any way you want. If you start out in Normal Survival and then find that the monsters are too much for you, you can change the setting to Peaceful.  But I don't agree with setting the game to Survival Normal and then make it always daytime. 

'Peaceful' is a good option for those who just want to practice basic moves. 'Creative' is perfect for those who want to try their hand at building elaborate structures and Redstone devices, but I think that switching back and forth between modes misses the point of playing Survival Mode. 

Confession: I once changed a Survival world into a Peaceful world when a Wither got loose and started destroying a friendly village. I also have started Creative Worlds when I wanted to make building tutorials, but overall I try to take my lumps.

Play anyway you want: I think of Minecraft as the 'Swiss Army knife' of games - to quote Kipling

"There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays,
And — every — single — one — of — them — is — right!"

from Rudyard Kipling's poem, In the Neolithic Age, whose words I first heard sung by Leslie Fish (May she rest in peace.)

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This post is getting too long, I will make other posts about First Day Options and Tool Progression

* "impossible" spots are things like spawning in lava, in snow with not a tree in sight, or at the base of a Pillager tower. Some mine crafters love the challenge, but these spots are not recommended for your first day.

**"If you're waiting to feel ready before you start...you'll be waiting forever. "

***To make a safer "three blocks up" sky platform, make the top  9x9 and put in side blocks and a ceiling.  Here I suggest you google "How to crouch in Minecraft" and learn the procedure for your gaming device and platform so that you don't fall off when you are expanding the sides.

****Hostile mobs can spawn on bare wood, though, and I recently found that zombies can walk on top of tree foliage.

Zombie Spawner Farm - Java 1-21-11

While 'spawning' refers to mobs generating in various locations according to game algorithms, a 'spawner' refers to a particular block that generates hostile mobs in a specific area. (See Wiki).

I found a Zombie spawner in an abandoned mineshaft not far from my main base, and decided to make a farm.

Looking at various tutorials I decided to follow Oink Oink's  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emaOKPjDivs.  

The drop rate was significantly better than what I was getting from my XP tower near base.  I had to wait less time to get a complete stack of flesh and smaller quantities of other loot.  While the Blaze spawner farm got me only blaze rods and XP, the Zombie spawner farm got me lots of flesh, iron and gold bars, and carrots and potatoes.

Zombies go down chute, you kill the zombies, XPs come out, and drops are stored in chest.

I also got two dead chickens, which made me wonder if chicken jockeys had gone down the chute, so I replaced the three top solid blocks with glass so I could see what I was doing.

Blaze XP and Blaze Rod Farm in the Nether - Java 1.21.11

Blazes are a medium-difficult hostile mob that I have found hard to kill, but they are the only source for blaze rods, which are needed for brewing potions and for crafting Eyes of Ender.  You need Eyes of Ender to activate the portals in strongholds, if you want to get to the End to fight the dragon.  Potions like Night Vision and Water Breathing can be extremely helpful as well.

You also get XP points for killing the blazes.

I had never made a Blaze Farm before, so I watched a lot of YouTube videos before I tried it. I used a design based on one by RealJayden at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBl9OAaIbws 

I did not go into Peaceful or Creative modes, just  normal survival.

It was a learning experience.

Blazes live in Nether Fortresses, and I had almost given up finding a Nether Fortress when I saw a Blaze far below. It turned out that the whole fortress was pretty much underground. 

After I found a Blaze spawner I found that sticking torches and other light sources around the spawner did not completely stop blazes from spawning. Blazes spawn in any part of a Nether Fortress and when you fight one, they call their friends.

Before I made the walls I made sure to check the lava flow because I wanted to make sure I had the right measurements.

Checking the lava flow in the blaze trap.

The blaze rod and XP harvest was very satisfying. I no longer have to worry about dying a few times before I can get more blaze rods.

Table of Contents

See right side of page. This post is just a work-around.

Getting and Installing Minecraft

Go to Minecraft.net and download the version you want. If you are not sure your computer or device is up to the job, I recommend you try one of the free trial versions first. I downloaded Bedrock Minecraft on my older PC and got the message "This game will run fine on your device", but it crashed after 15 minutes of gameplay. 

Set up screens are pretty straightforward.

I usually play Survival Game Mode, and Normal difficulty. 

You can just let the algorithm select the world for you, or you have lots of other options. Seed 421387159507786265 is Old Lady's Test World on both Java and Bedrock.

If you are playing Java, I suggest you allow yourself to 'cheat' - under Game Rules choose "Keep Inventory After Death", even though it won't let you earn Achievements. If you are playing Bedrock, "Keep Inventory After Death" does not seem to be considered a 'cheat'. Also on Bedrock choose "show location"  (for Java, you will have to press Shift F3 to see your coordinates).

To get practice using the controls you might want to start up a world in Peaceful Game Mode. I don't recommend starting in Creative Mode, because if you want to play Survival Mode later, getting resources might seem like too much hard work, after Creative has made it so easy.

Why Video Games Are Not for All Seniors

While I previously blogged about how seniors might benefit from playing video games, I feel it is only fair to mention some possible reasons they might not want to play, and also problems that might come up.

Roadblocks to Playing:

Lack of Computer Literacy:  I have a 104-year-old friend who does not have a computer or smart phone, and has no desire to get either. She is quite happy with a landline phone and a television, and I'm not going to try to push her into something that would just stress her. The number of seniors with computer literacy; however, is increasing and there is strong evidence that "older adults will learn a new tech skill when they see a reason for it." * I believe there is a percentage of older adults who learned computer skills for their jobs but never played video games that would enjoy them if they tried them.

Some Seniors Think They Are Too Old to Play Video Games:  Found on Reddit "Am I too old to play video games, I'm 30?" One Redditor's answer "Dead is too old." Here are a few current and past senior Video Gamers:

GrammaCrackers**

Skyrim Grandma (Shirley Curry)

Yang Binglin

Nancy Today

Bacon_Mom (On Twitch)

They Don't Want to Buy Expensive Game Systems: If you have Internet access, there are many games you can play online or even on your smartphone.

Seniors with Vision and Hearing Impairments May Have Trouble Seeing the Screen and/or Hearing the Sounds: I can no longer play Minecraft, Pocket Edition, on my phone because I can't see well enough. I also have trouble hearing the sounds on my regular console. There are some ways to make things easier, though, which I will write about in a later post.

You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks: Not true. Granted that younger people have better reflexes and do learn faster, I believe that seniors have the benefit of experience and patience. 

Downsides of Gaming:

It is easy to get too involved in the game and ignore everything else.  In Red Dwarf's "Better than Life" episode they had a total immersion reality game that would lead players to ignore their real bodies in favor of a happier virtual reality. Video game addiction can be a real problem.

Here's an AI compilation of all of the other possible problems.

*Yeah, I had to learn how to take photos on my smartphone because almost everyone else in my quilt club could do it. 

**GrammaCrackers was victimized by her grandson Lynix,  who I think is a jerk. He also ruined his Mom's first time playing Minecraft. You can watch his videos if you don't believe me. 

Why This Old Lady Plays Video Games

"People Do Not Stop Playing Because They Grow Old;

They Grow Old Because They Stop Playing"

                                                                                           Multiple attributions 

A web search will lead you to dozens of scholarly articles explaining why seniors can benefit from playing video games, but let me tell you why I play video games:

Understanding the younger generation: When my son was a pre-teen I bought him a computer because I felt that computers would be important for his future. When he started playing video games I started playing, too, in order to have something to talk to him about. Now that I am much older I think that playing video games has helped me have something in common with millions of other gamers of all ages. As for the younger generation, I don't think they will be asking me to join their games, but at least I have some idea of what they are doing.

Meeting people from around the world: In multiplayer worlds  I have met and interacted with people from foreign places like the Netherlands, Ukraine, and New York. 

Escaping the Current Reality: When the real world has seemed to be going to hell in a small portable container with a handle, I have found retreating to a 'cozy' game to be very calming.

Active Participation in Entertainment:  While watching tv or movies is a passive pastime, playing video games requires you to actively participate.  Many games allow you to control the narrative somewhat, so the outcome is up to you.

Releasing Anger: When I get angry, it relieves me to blow off steam by fighting monsters or aliens, while humming "You've got to kill a zombie or two" to the tune of "You've got to pick a pocket or two."*

Improving Memory, Stimulating my Brain, and Improving Hand/Eye Coordination: 

'Use it or lose it'. (Any improvement is welcome).

Exercise: When we were in Covid lock-down and the gym was closed, I exercised with video games like "Walk it Out","Wii Sports", and Abba 'Just Dance', and still do sometimes.

Pretending to Be Someone Else: I have enjoyed 'just pretend'. It is not just for children.  According to web sources 

"Playing games by pretending to be someone else (role-playing) offers significant cognitive, social, emotional, and personal growth benefits. It provides a safe, low-pressure environment for exploring new perspectives and practicing real-world skills."

(So, when I'm playing in a multiplayer virtual world, wearing a glamorous avatar and 'living' in a mansion with a yacht docked next door, I'm learning to understand and empathize with beautiful rich people.)

Problem Solving Practice: Sometimes the problem is as simple as "How the heck do these controls work?" Other times it is "How do I rescue the Princess from the Dragon?"

Building Confidence: Games that give positive feedback can improve your self confidence. Nothing better than hearing "Thank you, you have saved (insert place name here) from (Insert name of monster or evil force here)". Some games, like Animal Crossing, may go a little overboard but positive reinforcement of any kind is nice.

Express Creativity: In a sandbox game like Minecraft I can build large structures and complex mechanical systems without having to buy a lot of bricks or batteries. 

One of my old Java worlds with various structures.

Control a World: Maybe not the real world, but I can change virtual worlds.

Travel and Exploration without Leaving Home: I have been lucky enough to have done some traveling, but a series of unfortunate events have made it so that I can now only take short day trips. With video games, though, I can explore large predetermined worlds like Stardew Valley or visit almost limitless Minecraft worlds created by algorithms I don't pretend to understand.

If this sounds a bit too gung ho, the next blog entry will be on the downside of playing video games.

*Fagin in the musical "Oliver".

About My Blog and My Youtube Channel

I am planning on linking this blog to my future YouTube channel. While "A picture is worth a thousand words", it is hard to put a thousand words on a short video. I don't expect either the blog or the videos to get many viewers, but publishing them is my way to extend my enjoyment of Minecraft and maybe helping someone else out along the way. 

I'm doing the YouTube videos on a Mac with QuickTime and iMovie. Any videos are usually from the Java version of Bedrock unless marked otherwise. 

About sound on the future Youtube Channel. The videos do not have a spoken narrative. I did a test run and decided to spare any viewers. 

About Controls:

On my Mac (Java), the game was installed directly on the computer, but the standard Mac mouse had to be reprogrammed so it would do both left-and right-clicks.

On my PC (Bedrock) I am using either Switch or the game installed directly on my PC.

The Switch game, of course, requires you have a Switch, and the PC Version of the game requires that you download the X-Box app.

Old lady playing Minecraft

A Minecraft World That Comes With Its Own Mob Grinder

A few days ago, getting ready for 1.19, I started a new world. The seed is 7040754562661204920 (Nintendo Switch). Exploring the neighborhood, I noticed more zombies than usual - it turns out that water runs through a semi-exposed dungeon and zombies are constantly being washed downstream right past my back door. 

Spawn  point is wooded and close to water but mining straight down doesn't work because the land forms a rock wave over the deep canyon below. I'm trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of the 'zombie wash'.

Minecraft Makeover - Changing My Avatar

 Thanks to an article in Tech Advisor I found out how to change my skin in Minecraft.

Turns out that there is a place called Skindex that has a free skin editor.  FREE! 

Another site, "How To Gurus" has a video on how to use Skindex and how to transfer it to the game.

I dyed a sheep to match my new outfit.

I had several false starts - at one point I thought I was finished and found I had put the face on the back of my head - I'm hoping to do better in the future.

Minecraft - Changing Platforms

 I just downloaded the 'Java' version of Minecraft. I had been using the Bedrock version on Switch,  but I wanted to try to get Achievements and they weren't available for Switch Minecraft without significant hoop-jumping. Things are very different.  What were 'Achievements' in Bedrock are now called 'Advancements' in Java.

I started a New World without cheats and it was a big shift. I hadn't realized how using the "keep inventory" cheat had made things easy, and it was discouraging to build up XP points and inventory and then die and lose everything. 

Added 10-30-2021. I started a new world in Java and found that I could get Advancements while using "keep inventory." On Switch, I was finally able to access the Microsoft website and get 'Achievements' there.

I'm also having to learn keyboard commands - I died the second day after accidentally hitting the Trader and having his llamas spit at me and knock me back into a hole. I'm looking for a way to make keyboard commands more usable.

I understand that some things in Java work differently from Bedrock. The computer structure is different, and Redstone gadgets may not work the same. I've seen the charts on the Wiki comparing platforms. I'm sure I'll learn about more.

Java vs Bedrock:

- In Java you can't make a plain map out of paper, you have to make a locater map (using paper and a compass)

-In Java there don't seem to be fallen trees

-In Java you don't need to make an extra wooden shovel for an oar, and the boat collapses more easily.

I plan to start a New World once I feel I have learned the controls enough to navigate without thinking. I'm still doing "Vegan Minecraft" (no killing neutral mobs except for fishing) but found some leather armor in a village and enough iron so I could make shears and get wool to make a bed.

Hideyhole in New World

Journey to the Forest Mansion

(Below - supplies for the journey)  I finally found a Village Cartographer who had a Woodland Explorer Map for sale.  I wanted to make a Map Wall of the journey, so I packed supplies to make maps as I traveled. 

I put the Woodland Explorer Map in my shield spot, and created new maps in the other hand - starting with a basic blank map that could be expanded to 4x4 size on the craft table. When the marker indicated I had 'walked off the map' I started a new map.

Woodland Explorer Map on left, 0/4 map on right.

It was a long journey. It took me fifteen Minecraft days. I passed near six villages, and a ruined portal. I had to detour several times to avoid things like a pillager tower and rugged terrain.

I crossed plains, savannas, swamps, deserts, mountains, and a bit of badlands. Every time I went through a forest I wondered if this was where I would find the Woodland Mansion, since you can only find them in the thickest woods. The map gives no indication of the distance still to travel, although the pointer does start to change direction as you get closer.

In a snowy taiga I stopped at an igloo to explore the basement where an unemployed villager and a zombie villager were in separate cells. I cured the zombie villager and freed both villagers.

I didn't run into many hostile mobs, since I slept every night.

Finally, the Woodland Explorer Map started to fill in and I saw the Mansion! 

The Woodland Explorer Map starts to fill in.

I had not really come prepared to fight the hostile mobs in the Mansion, so I built a treehouse and planted wheat and sugar cane nearby while I looked on the net for information on "Easy ways to defeat the Woodland Mansion." There weren't any,  just a lot of hard ways.

Treehouse

From the forest I got wood for ladders and from an abandoned mineshaft I got coal for torches. When I felt I had procrastinated enough, I decided it was time to attack the Mansion.

Going in through the top.

I got up on the third-floor roof and made an opening, then set up a small base in a third-floor room. Between fights with vindicators, evokers, vexes and other assorted hostile mobs, I put up as many torches as I could. 

I tried to put doors on each room.

It took a while to kill all the hostile mobs. It is fortunate that Vindicators and Evokers don't respawn after you've defeated them. 

When everything was quiet I explored. Every Mansion has a random assortment of types of rooms, although I think there is always a Conference Room  The one I found had two rooms with giant statues of cats made out of bales of wool, and many rooms with growing things. There were wheat gardens, flowers in pots, and even a room with a giant tree growing to the ceiling. 

Two rooms with giant wool cats, but no wool ducks.

I did not find any loot that was not available other places in my Minecraft world, but I valued the journey itself. I also got a half-dozen Totems of Undying from killing evokers.

A room full of oak saplings.

Getting my loot back to base presented a problem. While I could have teleported, I eventually built a nether passage from a portal near my base to a portal near the Mansion. Even with this shortcut it is a long trip. 

Totems of Undying in my Potion Room.

Journey Map Wall in my Base Basement

On the map wall the path from my base (on the bottom) shows as the colored line going to the top (the Mansion). 

Minecraft Gadgets That Even An Old Lady Can Make - For Nintendo Switch Bedrock Edition

Minecraft is a popular game that has been out for a long time, has been updated multiple times, and is on several versions on at least nine different platforms.  For this reason, when you try to make "an easy build" that you read about in an article or viewed on a video it might not work for you.

Here are some things that I was able to make on Minecraft Switch Bedrock:

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Jeb Door:

The classic door is a 2x2 block door that is hidden when closed and sits flush with the wall. When activated, it slides across to reveal a secret passageway.

I got the directions for my Jeb door at Skippy 6 Gaming.

Jeb Door - Closed (Lever is at top left - could be hidden better)

Jeb Door - Open - Showing back wall of secret chamber

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Automated Sugarcane Farm 

I got directions for the automated farm from JWhisp. I made some modifications.

This farm works by using observers to trigger pistons that push the top of the cane off, where it falls into hoppers linked to a chest. It also works for bamboo.

Old-fashioned farm on left, automated farm on right.

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Old-Fashioned Sugarcane Farm

For the old-fashioned farm I was lucky to have a flat piece of land near my base that only required a little terraforming. I dug one-block irrigation channels, covered them with slabs, and added more planks and slabs to make harvest easier. I go down each double row cutting off the cane, then backtrack and pick up any stray cane and re-plant any bare areas. 

Old-fashioned Sugarcane Farm

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Both farms have their advantages and disadvantages. 

The old-fashioned farm didn't need a lot of materials, but cane has to be manually-harvested.

The 'modern' farm works automatically, but required resources (iron and Redstone) that might not be available to beginning players.  

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Cactus Farm

From Avomance. 

Cactus can be dangerous to both mobs and players, and I've read that it can break Netherite armor. It is often used in mob traps and as barrier fences. One unusual use is as a 'trash can' for items that you do not need.

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Semi-Automatic Wheat Garden  (left)

I cannot find the original tutorial for the wheat garden on the left; however, the basic concept is covered at the Minecraft Wiki.  Flipping a switch releases a wave of water,  and the wheat and wheat seeds are swept down to hoppers and transferred to a chest.  I have not found a way to automatically replant the field. 

Bonemeal tower (Lower Right)

Another build from Avomance.  This is a simple contraption. You put compostable items in the top chest, and bone meal is collected in the chest at the bottom. 

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Grandfather Clock

This design is from Biggs87x  The tutorial shows how to use pistons to force an armor stand wearing gold boots into a glass block.  Two things to be aware of: 

1. Do not touch the bottom of the armor stand while building because it will change position and you may have an armor stand arm or leg sticking out of the clock.

2. The armor stand is an 'entity' which may despawn without warning. 

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Big Mob Grinder

This is a 'classic' build. I made one I called "Wombat". 

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Taking Advantage of a Skeleton Spawner

This one gives you XP points as well as mob drops. 

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