Why play island survival

Island starts turn the easy early game into a puzzle. Wood is limited, food is mostly fish, and the ocean is your only road. It is a great challenge once normal survival feels routine.

What to look for

• At least one tree on the island, or you cannot make a crafting table.
• Sand for glass, and clay or gravel if you can get them.
• A shipwreck or ocean ruin nearby for extra loot.
• Deep ocean close by, for ocean monuments later.

Your first three days

1. 1
   Save every sapling

   Replant each one right away. Your wood supply depends on it.

2. 2
   Craft a fishing rod

   Kill spiders at night for string. Fish is your most reliable food.

3. 3
   Build a boat

   Five planks make a boat, and it opens up the rest of the ocean.

4. 4
   Dig down for stone

   Most islands have stone just under the sand and dirt.