How to make your own village in Minecraft

An interesting thing about villages in Minecraft is that there are actually two kinds: physical villages and logical villages. Physical villages refer to any of the structures that generate as areas are being explored and new chunks load in. Logical villages, on the other hand, are player-created areas that utilize game mechanics to signify the location of a custom village.

Being able to set up a village wherever you want is incredibly advantageous, as it allows for quick and easy access to villager trading. Everything you need to know about making a custom village can be found detailed below.

---

How to make a custom village in Minecraft

1) Gather materials

Thankfully, only basic materials are needed to make a village (Image via Mojang)

On the Java version of the game, all an area needs to be considered a village is a claimed bed, bell, or Minecraft villager profession block. Placing any of these will form a village center in the subchunk, which is a 16-block-tall section of a regular chunk.

On Bedrock, a village is formed by having a single house and a villager. Note that when the game refers to a "house," it doesn't mean a fully built structure. It simply means a Minecraft bed.

Essentially, all you need to make a custom village are a few beds and a couple of spare villagers, but bringing along a bell to form a gathering site and some workstations for trading is highly recommended.

---

2) Find a nice spot

A relatively flat and open area would be perfect (Image via Mojang)

You'll next want to search for a spot nearby to build in. There's no terrain requirement when it comes to a village, so this will come down to personal preference.

A nice hilly area might be quite scenic but harder for the AI to pathfind around than a plains, while a coastal village might get attacked by drowned. There are ups and downs to almost every potential building area, so consider your location wisely.

---

3) Build some housing

While not required, adding some sort of protective structure is recommended (Image via Mojang)

You'll next want to add some housing to your custom village. Remember that by housing, the game only means beds. However, adding some sort of basic structure is recommended to help keep hostile Minecraft mobs from attacking and killing villagers while you're away.

Placing a few extra beds is also recommended, as villagers can breed and produce offspring. This will give you more potential trading partners and ensure that the village survives if a wandering zombie or skeleton attacks.

---

4) Add workstations and bells

Giving the villagers a gathering site, in the form of a bell, will make them much safer (Image via Mojang)

As previously mentioned, this step is technically optional, as a custom village only requires a single bed and villager. However, adding in a bell will give villagers an area to mingle in their free time. Additionally, they will ring the bell to indicate a Minecraft raid, giving others time to seek shelter. This should make the village much safer in the long run.

Workstations, such as fletching tables, smithing tables, and barrels are also recommended additions. They'll allow you to start trading with your villagers, which will give access to useful and rare items.

---

5) Plant crops

A rustic-style potato farm (Image via Mojang)

This step is also technically optional but very much recommended. As long as villagers have full bellies and spare beds, they'll continually produce new villagers. Adding in a Minecraft crop farm, especially for plants like carrots and potatoes, along with a composter to make a farmer, will allow your custom village to naturally expand.