1. It feels wrong that I’ve never played Minecraft. I write about ed tech!

2. I’ll write a column about it - that will make me do it…

3. There must be something in it: the children at school who love it, really love it, don’t they?

4. Right. Guess I’ll just Google it.

5. Will I have to pay? Silly question.

6. Download and install or subscribe to an online realm. Realm?

7. What would be ideal is if I could trial this somehow without having to part with any money (I’m such a teacher).

8. What option do I actually want here? Aha, there’s the help button.

9. So, realms are always online; story mode involves an episodic adventure; and there’s a VR version, too, but let’s not go mad.

10. Ooh, I can do a free trial of Minecraft Realms, perfect. Well, not perfect, but doable. Onwards!

11. I still have to pick a pricing plan…

12. Man, it looks really sunny outside.

13 By signing up to Realms, I can play with up to 10 friends at a time, apparently. Could I name 10 friends who’d want to do that?

14. No.

15. Seems like a safe version for children to play, though. Let’s just get on with it. I need a Mojang account.

16. Right. I can’t try out Realms without buying a copy of Minecraft. Back to square one.

17. Google…

18. Deep joy: according to Gamepedia, there is a demo version!

19. I feel like I’m wading in jargon on minecraft.gamepedia.com. Where do I find the demo?!

20. OK, deep breath. Just download the Minecraft launcher. I can do this…

21. Taking a while… I might Hoover.

22. I’m getting impatient now…

23. …Oh look, the sun’s still out…

24. …I’ve seen teachers do really great stuff with Minecraft. Have faith…

25. I’m in!

26. It’s telling me the demo will last “five in-game days”, which is equivalent to about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

27. “Use the WASD keys to move and space bar to jump”. I’m no gamer, but I’ve got this.

28. What’s in my “inventory” then? Press E to find out.

29. Absolutely nothing.

30. So, when I tap the mousepad, I can whack things with the block of wood in my hand. I just destroyed a daffodil. Is that good?

31. I’m stuck in a pool of water.

32. Ooh, sheep.

33. I really should have read what the point of the game is before starting…

34. …I hate reading instructions though.

35. I just whacked another plant. Now I have seeds in my inventory. I’m off!

36. Uh oh, I’ve just fallen in a sort of lake.

37. I’m sinking.

38. The hearts, which I think represent my lives, are disappearing quickly.

39. I’ve died.

40. And my score is 0.

41. Thanks.

42. Apparently, I can “respawn”…

43. Hmm. You know what? I think I’ll go outside.

Claire Lotriet is a teacher at Henwick Primary School in London. She tweets @OhLottie and blogs at clairelotriet.com