I must evaluate each item impartially, which means I shouldn’t let my preferences influence me, regardless of what I might say. However, among all the recent items reviewed in the inventory, this one is undoubtedly the finest! Introducing — the campfire!
Campfires were introduced in Minecraft 1.14, during the “Village and Pillage” update. They naturally spawn in snowy villages and regular taiga biomes. Yet, there’s no need to venture into these biomes solely for a campfire since you can craft one yourself. To do so, you’ll need three logs, three sticks, and either one piece of coal or charcoal. The simplicity of crafting allows players to create a campfire early in the game, which is quite beneficial for survival.
One reason why campfires are my favorite item is their functionality. Firstly, they provide an excellent light source at level 15. Additionally, using a campfire can melt snow within a radius of three blocks.
Secondly, you can cook over a campfire. Right-click to place up to four raw items on the flames. After 30 seconds, your food will be ready for collection. No fuel wasted and no lengthy preparation—fantastic!
Thirdly, a campfire can serve as a marker indicating the location of your home. The smoke from the fire rises about ten blocks high. This is useful, but it can be improved. Place the fire on a hay bale, and it will transform into a signal fire, with smoke rising up to 24 blocks!
Need to urgently erase traces of your presence? In that case, you have two options. You can either extinguish the fire with a shovel while keeping the campfire intact for future use, or you can place a lid over the flames (you could create a redstone mechanism that closes the lid even from a distance).
The last update to campfires occurred in Minecraft 1.15, during the “Buzzy Bees” update. Setting up a campfire beneath a beehive allows you to collect honey without the risk of being attacked by the hive’s inhabitants. Safety first!
In the real world, campfires closely resemble their Minecraft counterparts. They emit heat and light, are used for cooking, sometimes serve as signals, and help repel insects and predators. Additionally, beekeepers utilize smoke to calm bees when harvesting honey.
Although we may never know the exact moment when humans first ignited a fire, it certainly happened a very long time ago. Archaeological evidence of charred bones found in a cave at the edge of the Kalahari Desert indicates that our ancestors were cooking their meals over a fire as far back as 1.9 million years ago.
Today, campfires primarily serve as gathering spots for communities to prepare and enjoy food together. We often light fires to sit around them, engage in conversations with friends, sing songs, and share stories. The next time you start a fire in Minecraft Pocket Edition, take a moment to reflect on these traditions and try to incorporate one of them!
