20 Things To Do In Minecraft When Bored (1.19)

Dylan Crosbie
Dylan Crosbie - Minecraft Expert
17 Min Read

There’s an endless list of things to do in Minecraft. When you play with a bit of imagination, the game becomes so much more engaging. Adding lore to your game can make everything a little more interesting. However, sometimes the boredom sets in, and you’re left wondering what to do next. 

Minecraft doesn’t have a guide or starting instructions, unlike many other sandbox games. This leaves you wondering what to do next. The wide variety of possibilities can be overwhelming.

So we’ve listed the top 20 things to do in Minecraft when bored to help you out.


20 Things To Do In Minecraft When Bored

With Minecraft 1.19 being released, there are new biomes to explore, mobs to interact with and items to collect. With a new update and a handful of new things to do in Minecraft, here is our top 20 list.

1

Explore An Ancient City

The city centre of an Ancient City.

Ancient Cities are the most recent structures in Minecraft 1.19. They hold tons of loot and new things to do in Minecraft. For example, there are Redstone rooms under the city centre. In addition, there are ruined towers that hold chests full of loot. 

The following items can be found in these chests – some of which are suspicious.

  • Amethyst Shards
  • Bottle o’ Enchanting
  • Candles
  • Disc Fragments
  • Echo Shards
  • Glow Berries
  • Packed Ice
  • Sculk Catalysts
  • Sculk Sensors
  • Sculk Snowballs
  • Soul Torches

For example, why would you find packed ice and snowballs in the Deep Dark? Perhaps it’s to help you distract the Warden and escape…

2

Escape The Warden

The Warden mob in front of the central structure of an ancient city.

That said, the Warden isn’t easy to escape. Sculk sensors are highly sensitive, and sneaking past them is no easy feat. However, escaping the Warden isn’t impossible. 

If you’re lucky, enchanted books with swift sneak can be found in Ancient City chests. The enchantment is applied to leggings and increases your speed while crouching/sneaking. 

However, an anvil in the Deep Dark will undoubtedly alert the Warden, so get ready to run. Additionally, you can use wool and carpets to get around without making a sound.

3

Kill The Warden

A GIF showing the Warden being defeated with a trident.

For brave players – or players with a death wish – killing the Warden might be on your to-do list. 

You’ll need the best weapons and some fantastic enchantments. Using a trident against a Warden can be a good idea. It gives you the distance you need to avoid its close-range hits. In addition, you can do quick dodges to avoid its sonic shrieks. 

When you miss the Warden, the trident will make a sound, confusing the Warden. While this seems straightforward, remember that the Warden only needs two hits to kill you.

4

Spread The Sculk

A GIF showing the sculk spread in the overworld

If you managed to defeat the Warden, you’d probably notice that it drops only one item. A sculk catalyst. The catalyst is used to spread the sculk in your world. However, it has a twist to it. 

You can’t just add bonemeal the catalyst like a moss block. It takes something a little more sinister. To spread the sculk throughout the world, you need to kill a mob nearby. The catalyst will then absorb the XP and cause sculk to spread to neighbouring blocks. 

Now, while this is one of the most time-consuming things to do in Minecraft, it can be fun. There’s a lot of in-game lore you can play with. What about making the sculk spread throughout a village? There’s so much havoc to be wreaked. 

5

Find A Mangrove Swamp

A mangrove swamp

The Mangrove Swamp is a biome with a unique feel. With tree roots sprouting into the swamp and frogs everywhere, it’s a biome you’ll want to see. 

The swamps also hold a new wood type – Mangrove wood. These logs are a deep red, adding to Minecraft’s ever-growing color palette. 

From our experience, Mangrove Swamps tend to be next to Ocean biomes. In reality, Mangrove trees are found in-between rivers and the ocean, creating a buffer between the two. Minecraft stays true to this. 

If you don’t like exploring, you can use the /locate biome command, and the coordinates will pop up. 

6

Catch Some Frogs

White frogs hopping around in a Mangrove Swamp.

You’ll now find amphibian friends throughout the Mangrove biome (and throughout the game). There are different types of frogs; just like Pokémon, you can catch them all. 

Depending on the biome, frogs spawn in different colours. For example, cold biomes have green frogs, while temperate biomes have orange frogs. Lastly, hot biomes like a desert have white frogs. 

You can’t tame a frog, but you can have it follow you by carrying a slimeball. Alternatively, you can catch tadpoles, carry them to your home, place them in water, and watch them grow.

7

Make Froglights

Froglights and white frogs in a Mangrove swamp

Frogs are the natural predators of slimes. Watching them catch tiny slimes with their tongues is one of my favourite things to do in Minecraft. However, slimes aren’t the only mob that frogs can eat. 

It turns out that frogs have a heat-resistant palate – they can eat spicy slimes, aka magma cubes. 

When a frog is near a magma cube, it’ll snatch it right up. The tiny magma cube will then drop a froglight. The colour of the light will depend on the variant of the frog. Obtaining these new light blocks is one of the new things to do in Minecraft.

8

Build A Mud Hut

A mud hut built by themythicalsausage
Screenshot by themythicalsausage

While this may sound rudimentary, it’s one of the best things to do in Minecraft when in a Mangrove Swamp. Using a crafting table, mud bricks can be made by placing four packed mud blocks in a square.

The mud bricks are a great alternative to regular bricks, especially if you’d like a neutral tone in your build. Combining them with oak and spruce creates a unique mud hut that would make any witch jealous. 

9

Tinker With Redstone

The redstone rooms under the central structure of an ancient city

The new Ancient Cities have redstone rooms under the centre structure. They’re mysterious and test out different activation blocks. 

If you sneak past the Warden and get into this chamber, you’ll be able to test out different redstone circuits. 

Additionally, playing around with redstone can be fun in general. Creating secret doors or automatic machines is always rewarding. 

10

Create Farms

A slime farm by LogicalGeekBoy
Slime mob farm screenshot from LogicalGeekBoy

And no, we don’t mean crop farms. Instead, there are a bunch of new mobs, and with them come new XP or item farms. 

Creating a goat farm will drop a ton of goat horns – which act as expected. You’ll be able to blow on the horn to create a trumpet-like sound. Each horn varies in sound, so you’ll want to try them all. 

Creating a slime or magma cube mob farm will give you the necessary items to breed frogs or make froglights. 

Lastly, another interesting farm is a renewable clay farm. If you place it above the pointed dripstone, the water will drip out of the mud block. Soon the mud will turn into clay. Creating a clay farm will save you from swimming through rivers to collect clay. 

11

Play With Mods

Best mods for Minecraft 1.19 header from whatifgaming
WhatIfGaming

Bored of vanilla Minecraft? Well, maybe try out some of these mods

Since Minecraft 1.19 is still new, you’ll have to wait for more mods to be released. However, some mods allow you to create unique maps or explore new biomes! 

Additionally, mods out there enhance Minecraft UI or add new potions and alchemy to the game. Lastly, some mods revamp the nether while others introduce new trading options. 

The list of things to do in Minecraft becomes endless when you start playing with mods! 

12

Explore Different World Seeds

Exploring different Minecraft 1.19 seeds is a great way to get new inspiration in the game. Coming across new biomes, land formations, and unique villages can spark your creativity. 

For example, this seed (565535403532980236) has a vast hillside village at X: -240 Z: -464. Try transforming the vanilla village into your own city. Revamping villages is time-consuming but one of the most satisfying things to do in Minecraft.

Need more inspiration? Check out this village transformation by GeminiTay:

13

Make A Villager Trading Hall

If you have the time and willpower, you can reap the benefits of building a trading hall! Of course, a large gathering of villagers in a small space will attract zombies, but nothing an iron door can’t handle. 

Creating a trading hall will allow you to level up your villagers – which will give you better trades in return. For example, levelling up a librarian might allow you to trade for a book of mending! 

Here’s a simple and easy tutorial on building a villager trading hall by themythicalsausage. 

14

Create A Megastructure

A screenshot of a castle built by fWhip
Screenshot from fWhip

Megastructures take time and dedication. However, seeing the end results is satisfying; you’ll get to run around and experience your build. This is one of my favourite things to do in Minecraft. 

Megastructure’ is just a fancy word for any colossal build. These can include castles, cities, towers or massive mob farms. 

We’ve written an article all about castles, so check it out for some inspiration. 

15

Build A Mountain Range

A screenshot of a mountain range built by fWhip
Source: fWhip – Building Awesome Mountains in Minecraft

Additionally, structures aren’t limited to buildings; they can include landscaping. For example, fWhip is known for building his own mountain ranges

If you want to enhance the terrain of your world, building a mountain range is one of the most ambitious things to do in Minecraft. 

You can create an impressive mountain range by putting in the time, effort, and probably a ramped-up beacon. Of course, collecting the required stone and dirt will take time, but the scenic view is worth it. 

16

Find Rare Items

Rare items placed in item frames on a wooden display board

Have you tried everything on this list but are still bored and left wondering what to do in Minecraft? Perhaps you can put your Indiana Jones hat on and start treasure hunting these rare items. 

  • Enchanted Golden Apple
  • Nether Star
  • Ender Dragon’s head
  • All other mob heads
  • Ender Dragon egg
  • Totem of Undying
  • Wither Rose
  • Heart of the Sea

17

Build A Trophy Room

A trophy room built by reddit user u/L0rd-Death
Trophy room by Reddit user u/L0rd-Death

The next thing to do in Minecraft is to build a trophy room for the rare items you’ve just collected. 

In addition to collecting all the rare items, try crafting every weapon and piece of armour. Then, display them proudly using item frames.

18

Complete All The Advancements  

Graphic for advancement made - sneak 100
Posted on Twitter by @James_Ma11hews

With a new update comes new achievements. As always, hunting achievements in the game is a great thing to do when bored in Minecraft. 

If you’ve already got all the advancements, here are a couple of new ones to aim for:

  • It Spreads: Kill any mob near a sculk catalyst to spread the sculk.
  • You’ve Got a Friend in Me: Befriend an Allay and have it bring items to you.
  • Birthday Song: When creating an organising system, create a chest for cakes and have an Allay deliver the cake to a note block. 
  • With Our Powers Combined: Create a froglight as we mentioned above.
  • Bukkit Bukkit: This is an advancement when catching tadpoles with a bucket.
  • When the Squad Hops into Town: Catch each frog variant with a lead. 
  • Sneak 100: Sneak around in the Deep Dark to prevent a sculk sensor or the Warden from detecting you.

19

Free Some Allays

Allays trapped in a dark oak cage by a pillager outpost

Allays are one of the new mobs added to Minecraft in 1.19. They’re flying fairy-like creatures that follow you, picking up items for you. For example, giving them an emerald will cause them to pick up any emeralds lying around you. They’re great for holding items when your inventory is full or even sorting items. 

However, Allays can only be found in pillager outposts or Woodland Mansions. 

They’re often trapped in cages, and setting them free is the right thing to do. Besides, befriending them has its benefits.

20

Create An Allay Sorting System

Allays dancing around a jukebox and note block

Here’s an interesting fact, Allay’s will pick up and drop off items when a note block plays next to a hopper. An Allay can be associated with a specific note, meaning it will pick up items and drop them in hoppers next to a note block playing that note. 

However, the Allay will only do this for 30 seconds, so you’ll need to set up a repetitive circuit to play the note. 

This mechanic is handy when mining large areas. The Allays will pick up your blocks while you mine – a massive time saver.


Final Thoughts

Finally, even if you complete this list, there’s always more to do. How about tackling another village transformation or building your own city? You could breed an army of Allays just for fun. Or perhaps overrun a dessert village with frogs. 

That’s the beauty of Minecraft – its lack of quests and missions gives you free rein to mess around. 

We hope this list inspired you, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with! Feel free to mention us on Twitter with all your creations. Also, we’d love to check out that trophy room you’re planning inside your new castle

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Dylan is an avid Open World and Strategy game fan. His favorite content to cover include Minecraft and The Sims. His gaming interests along with his journalistic background, allows him to bring the best gaming content to your screens.
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