Similar to Minecraft, the player roams an infinite world and must find resources, fight enemies, and build a home.

[1] It is also stated in the official description, in line with the theme, that "the goal of the game is to kill the only other sentient being in the world, making sure you’ll be alone forever".

[2][4] During the 48 hours, Persson also livestreamed his coding of the game and made blog entries on the Ludum Dare website for significant milestones he reached.

[5] Minicraft competed against 891 other games, with the judging based on nine categories, some of which include "innovation, fun, graphics, audio, humor and mood".

"[6] Matt Bradford of GamesRadar stated that, "The project is about as basic as one can expect from a marathon coding competition, but the mere fact it's actually a solid, playable game is a testament to Persson's skill", and also pointed out that; "No doubt, this could easily be a discount app for iOS or a PS Mini.