Poll: Your Minecraft Strategy.

[MassiveGeek]

I made a house that I was very pleased with once, on the side of a "mountain". The first part was built entirely with wood(stupid, stupid idea in the end), then I dug into the mountain; first upwards, so I built a very visible tower, with glass and lot's of torches so I could always find my way back, and then I started building downwards.

And I eventually found lava.

... And I was holding a lava filled bucket.

And I opened a chest.

I burnt down my house.

D:

 

[MGlBlaze]

You left out an option where you build your house underground/into a mountainside but not in an existing cave. I like the control of being able to shape the rooms as you wish. That said, depending on the area, I'll have a 'sunken' base that is mostly underground but has some parts protruding into the open, like a nice front wall or a tower.

Mostly I just build my base how I feel like at the time.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

My latest house in singleplayer has (I restarted because Minecraft crashed and I lost my save) is dug into a mountain and I started converting all the walls (well, almost all the wall, since I have to put up torches) to glass.

Before my game crashed I had a small castle on top of a small, steep mountain. No creepers or zombies could get up there.

 

[Lord Kloo]

I build castles, with perimeter walls to keep out dastardly creepers and their ilk, on top of hills and then dig down a tunnel straight to the surface, and then have a steel door so I can get back in when I die, then the tunnel continues to the cave networks.. there are many horrors down there..

 

[Count Igor]

Dig a huge moat around a base, then expand.

 

[Lord Kloo]

And I eventually found lava.

... And I was holding a lava filled bucket.

And I opened a chest.

I burnt down my house.

D:

I've done that before, once did it in a forest, my wood supply was gone in minutes..
Also..
I came back to my house to find that my lava pit had somehow set fire to my floors and then my ceilings, luckily the base component was stone so I only had to re-fit the wooden parts..

 

[Kukakkau]

I only have one game where I built a house just up from the beach but just off from a mountain. Built a straight down mine shaft with glass floors every so often to prevent falling deaths.

The house was made of wood for aesthetic value but I had a slight problem when I installed the lava incinerator...

So it's know a solid stone bunker with rivers on either side and a greenhouse just outside.

 

[MassiveGeek]

And I eventually found lava.

... And I was holding a lava filled bucket.

And I opened a chest.

I burnt down my house.

D:

I've done that before, once did it in a forest, my wood supply was gone in minutes..
Also..
I came back to my house to find that my lava pit had somehow set fire to my floors and then my ceilings, luckily the base component was stone so I only had to re-fit the wooden parts..

Yeah, well... I burnt down all my equipment and killed my character as well, so. D:

 

[DestinyCall]

I usually build my first shelter in the side of a mountain and eventually convert that spot into my main mining operation. Then I build a large walled compound, well-lit with torches so I have plenty of room to build additional projects, night or day, without fear of zombies/creepers. With this strategy, I will often not even leave the area around my spawn point for many game days. By the time I venture out, I have a huge oasis of safety to come home to, often surrounded by a moat of deep water or lava.