Minecraft has tons of ways to play and nearly infinite possibilities held within its creative sandbox. The primary mode, though, and the one it launched with, places you in a brand new world with the goal of surviving for as long as possible. This world, though made up entirely of cubes, (mostly) follows the same rules as our world. You need to eat, build shelter, avoid danger, and — most importantly — pay attention to the time of day. Just like in real life, time is passing no matter what in Minecraft. And when night falls, the dangers come out in full force.
Your first night in Minecraft, even if you’ve played a dozen times before, is always something you need to be ready for. Once the sun goes down, Creepers, Skeletons, Zombies, Endermen, and all kinds of aggressive creatures come out to attack. The best way to be prepared is to make sure you’re well-protected long before the sun sets.
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How long is a day in Minecraft?
One full day and night cycle in Minecraft takes exactly 20 minutes. That comes out to three in game days per real-world hour. Days and nights last equal amounts of time, that being 10 minutes, with the ability to sleep beginning once the time ticks over that 10-minute mark. However, we can get more specific than that because Minecraft does actually have times you can translate to know how long each part of a day lasts.
| Real time |
Minecraft time |
| 0:00 | Sunrise |
| 0:23 | Morning |
| 5:00 | Noon |
| 9:41 | Sunset |
| 10:28 | Sleeping becomes available |
| 10:52 | Dusk |
| 11:32 | Night begins |
| 15:00 | Midnight |
| 18:47 | Light on the horizon |
| 19:06 | Dawn begins |
| 19:30 | Moon sets |
While it won’t give you an exact number, you can more easily tell the time in Minecraft by crafting a clock. You can make one on a Crafting Table by placing one Redstone dust in the center square and one Gold Ingot directly above, below, and on either side of it. This can at least let you know when you’re running out of daylight, but at the point where you have the materials to make one, odds are you won’t need a clock anyway.
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