Minecraft is a first-person game with one mode that is free to play and another that is currently in Beta mode but that costs to play. It is an independent PC and Mac game that involves crafting, exploration, building, dungeon crawling, monster fighting, treasure collecting and so much more. The map is created dynamically when you first begin the game, and the world is so huge that you will be hard pressed to find its edges.

As the name would suggest, this game has a mining element. You collect materials including dirt, water, stone, sand, clay, coal and wood and then turn them into building materials and tools. Tools allow you to mine ores like iron, gold and diamond so that you can create stronger tools and armor. During the day you are relatively safe to explore the world, but at night the monsters come out, and they do not rest until the sun rises. Some monsters die in the sunlight while others do not — and this creates a need for you to have a place to hide when the monsters become overwhelming.

Mine for materials, build your own hideaway, build anything you like, stalk monsters at night and search for dungeons and treasures by day. The possibilities are endless when it comes to this simple and yet complex sandbox-style game. The graphics have a crude but enjoyable feeling to them, and everything is very simple building blocks, even your character. If you loved Lego bricks as a child and want to transition your love for building into a playable game with dungeon crawling, monsters and exploration, then Minecraft is well worth picking up. In its Beta stage, the game is only going to improve, and the single creator for the game is constantly working to improve upon it, adding in additional playability including a Multiplayer server mode.