Shapes in Minecraft: Three Basic Blocks

In Minecraft, there are many, many different kinds of material.  And there are a few different kinds of block shape.  Knowing the difference between the shapes and which blocks can come in them is often key to both creating a more functional and more beautiful home- or mine, or path, or bridge.

The three basic shapes are the block, the slab, and the stair.

The block is the usual shape of things.  Cubical, it stands just short enough for you to jump onto the top of, and is the same distance across all sides.  Useful for making walls and structures that are solid, the basic block is everywhere for a good reason- it’s just sensible.  It may not be the prettiest thing in the world- and it certainly won’t let you make anything with especially neat shapes- but it is simple, solid, and useful.

The slab is the quirky little brother of the block.  Each slab takes up half a block of space- if you were to cut a block in half from one side to the other, you would have two slabs- a top slab and a bottom slab.  Slabs are interesting for a number of reasons.  First of all, slabs are short- you can step up onto one without jumping.  This makes them useful for stairs.  Second of all, slabs require a pick to break, even if they’re made of wood.  Wooden slabs are actually just as tough as stone- which makes them very useful for blocking explosions or creating unusually tough wooden structures.  Third of all, you can stack slabs- if you put a slab on top of another slab, you will make a full block.  Curiously, the slabs become bound together- breaking one of them will break both of them.  This does not make wooden slabs into wooden blocks though- you will still need a pickaxe to break through them easily.  Fourth, slabs count as ‘transparent’ for the purposes of spawning.  Monsters will not appear on top of slabs, no matter how dark it gets.  This makes them especially useful- layer anything with slabs, and it becomes a safe ‘no-spawn’ zone that you can surely find a way to take advantage of.

Stairs are even more interesting than slabs, though they have the ordinary durability of a regular block.  Stairs act like a slab with a half-slab on top of them- so you can use them to climb an entire block’s distance without jumping.  Like slabs, they count as transparent- but aren’t actually transparent, letting light through no better than an ordinary block.  Because of their stepped shape, they are as close as you are likely to come to making something round.  Even more curiously, if you are playing version 1.2 or later, you can place stairs on the underside of another block- and they will appear upside-down.  This allows for all sorts of interesting arch shapes among other things.

Do keep in mind though- only four materials from the World can be used to make steps or slabs- wooden planks, cobblestone, smooth stone, and bricks.  Still- that’s several different appearances- and a lot of potential, both decorative and useful.  Experiment away!