How to build Super Mario Bros. Castle in Minecraft

The finish line of World 1-1 as a chunky 3D level diorama: the little brick castle with its dark arched doorway, tower windows and battlements, the flagpole with its green ball and skull flag on a stone block, the eight-step staircase of hard blocks, two green warp pipes, a row of ? blocks and bricks, a pair of Goombas, the big green hill, bushes and those famous puffy clouds. Every game tile is a 5×5 block, so the whole scene keeps that 8-bit look.

Open the interactive 3D plan above to build it one layer at a time: every layer has a numbered top-down plan, a block list and full-screen step-by-step instructions you can tick off as you go. You can also download it for Litematica, WorldEdit or Minecraft Bedrock, or view it in your room in AR.

Materials list

BlockAmountStacks
Orange Terracotta3,80859 stacks + 32
Brown Concrete3,01547 stacks + 7
Orange Concrete2,37037 stacks + 2
Green Concrete1,28020 stacks
Brown Terracotta96015 stacks
Lime Concrete94114 stacks + 45
White Wool65210 stacks + 12
Black Concrete2814 stacks + 25
Yellow Concrete2523 stacks + 60
Light Blue Wool2133 stacks + 21
Lime Wool921 stack + 28
White Concrete61
White Terracotta58

Building tips

  1. Work in game tiles: one NES tile is 5×5×5 blocks. Mark the tile grid on the ground with the darker lines first and everything else lines up on it.
  2. Build the staircase from the bottom step up, one 5-wide column at a time. Each column is one tile taller than the last, and the last two are both eight tiles high.
  3. Big solid shapes are only shells here. Nobody can see inside the steps, the castle or the ground, so leave them hollow and save thousands of blocks.
  4. Give the hard blocks a light top-left edge (orange concrete) and a dark bottom-right edge (brown concrete). That bevel is what makes them read as NES blocks.
  5. The ? and brick blocks float three tiles above the ground, just high enough for Mario to jump into. Hang them from a scaffold and break it away afterwards.
  6. Look at the scene straight from the south, like the TV screen. Hills, bushes and clouds sit behind the play lane, just as the background does in the game.

Step-by-step: all 62 layers

  1. Layer 1 Brown Concrete ×404
  2. Layer 2 Orange Terracotta ×244, Brown Concrete ×160
  3. Layer 3 Orange Terracotta ×242, Brown Concrete ×162
  4. Layer 4 Orange Terracotta ×324, Brown Concrete ×80
  5. Layer 5 Orange Terracotta ×2053, Brown Concrete ×1124, Orange Concrete ×324, Black Concrete ×14
  6. Layer 6 Green Concrete ×118, Lime Concrete ×108, Brown Concrete ×92, Orange Concrete ×71, Black Concrete ×55, Brown Terracotta ×16, Lime Wool ×8
  7. Layer 7 Green Concrete ×118, Lime Concrete ×108, Orange Concrete ×71, Orange Terracotta ×70, Black Concrete ×47, Brown Concrete ×22, Brown Terracotta ×16, White Terracotta ×16, Lime Wool ×8
  8. Layer 8 Lime Concrete ×120, Green Concrete ×118, Orange Terracotta ×70, Brown Terracotta ×67, White Terracotta ×28, Brown Concrete ×22, Orange Concrete ×20, Lime Wool ×8, Black Concrete ×7
  9. Layer 9 Lime Concrete ×118, Green Concrete ×112, Brown Concrete ×98, Orange Concrete ×70, Orange Terracotta ×70, Brown Terracotta ×17, White Terracotta ×10, Black Concrete ×9, Lime Wool ×8, White Concrete ×4
  10. Layer 10 Orange Concrete ×182, Green Concrete ×112, Lime Concrete ×108, Brown Concrete ×48, Brown Terracotta ×17, Black Concrete ×9, Lime Wool ×8, White Concrete ×4, White Terracotta ×4
  11. Layer 11 Brown Concrete ×118, Green Concrete ×104, Lime Concrete ×98, Brown Terracotta ×67, Orange Concrete ×16, Black Concrete ×11, Lime Wool ×8, White Concrete ×4
  12. Layer 12 Green Concrete ×100, Lime Concrete ×75, Orange Concrete ×67, Brown Concrete ×65, Orange Terracotta ×53, Brown Terracotta ×16, Black Concrete ×15, Lime Wool ×8
  13. Layer 13 Green Concrete ×94, Orange Concrete ×68, Brown Concrete ×57, Orange Terracotta ×53, Brown Terracotta ×17, Lime Concrete ×16, Black Concrete ×7, Lime Wool ×4
  14. Layer 14 Brown Terracotta ×71, Green Concrete ×66, Orange Terracotta ×53, Brown Concrete ×47, Lime Concrete ×31, Orange Concrete ×16, Lime Wool ×6, Black Concrete ×5
  15. Layer 15 Orange Concrete ×226, Green Concrete ×75, Lime Concrete ×46, Brown Terracotta ×44, Black Concrete ×39, Lime Wool ×10
  16. Layer 16 Orange Concrete ×104, Brown Concrete ×62, Green Concrete ×49, Brown Terracotta ×30, Lime Concrete ×16, Lime Wool ×4
  17. Layer 17 Brown Terracotta ×120, Green Concrete ×47, Orange Terracotta ×47, Lime Concrete ×16, Brown Concrete ×15, Orange Concrete ×14, Lime Wool ×4
  18. Layer 18 Orange Concrete ×86, Green Concrete ×56, Orange Terracotta ×47, Brown Concrete ×15, Brown Terracotta ×12, Lime Concrete ×1
  19. Layer 19 Orange Concrete ×86, Orange Terracotta ×47, Green Concrete ×18, Lime Concrete ×16, Brown Concrete ×15, Brown Terracotta ×12, Lime Wool ×2
  20. Layer 20 Orange Concrete ×88, Black Concrete ×43, Brown Terracotta ×42, Lime Concrete ×31, Green Concrete ×24, Lime Wool ×6
  21. Layer 21 Orange Concrete ×112, Brown Concrete ×63, Yellow Concrete ×51, Brown Terracotta ×32, Black Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  22. Layer 22 Orange Concrete ×68, Orange Terracotta ×41, Yellow Concrete ×36, Brown Terracotta ×22, Brown Concrete ×13, Black Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  23. Layer 23 Brown Terracotta ×78, Orange Terracotta ×41, Yellow Concrete ×28, Brown Concrete ×21, Orange Concrete ×12, Black Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  24. Layer 24 Orange Concrete ×74, Orange Terracotta ×41, Yellow Concrete ×28, Brown Concrete ×21, Brown Terracotta ×20, Black Concrete ×2, Lime Concrete ×1
  25. Layer 25 Orange Concrete ×170, Yellow Concrete ×39, Brown Concrete ×36, Brown Terracotta ×31, Lime Concrete ×1
  26. Layer 26 Brown Terracotta ×153, Brown Concrete ×46, Orange Concrete ×10, Lime Concrete ×1
  27. Layer 27 Orange Concrete ×46, Orange Terracotta ×35, Brown Terracotta ×12, Brown Concrete ×11, Lime Concrete ×1
  28. Layer 28 Orange Concrete ×46, Orange Terracotta ×35, Brown Terracotta ×12, Brown Concrete ×11, Lime Concrete ×1
  29. Layer 29 Orange Terracotta ×35, Brown Terracotta ×24, Brown Concrete ×11, Orange Concrete ×10, Lime Concrete ×1
  30. Layer 30 Orange Concrete ×80, Brown Terracotta ×12, Lime Concrete ×1
  31. Layer 31 Brown Concrete ×38, Orange Concrete ×8, Lime Concrete ×1
  32. Layer 32 Orange Terracotta ×29, Brown Concrete ×9, Orange Concrete ×8, Lime Concrete ×1
  33. Layer 33 Orange Terracotta ×29, Brown Concrete ×9, Orange Concrete ×8, Lime Concrete ×1
  34. Layer 34 Orange Terracotta ×29, Brown Concrete ×9, Orange Concrete ×8, Lime Concrete ×1
  35. Layer 35 Orange Concrete ×58, Lime Concrete ×1
  36. Layer 36 Brown Concrete ×30, Orange Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  37. Layer 37 Orange Terracotta ×23, Brown Concrete ×7, Orange Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  38. Layer 38 Orange Terracotta ×23, Brown Concrete ×7, Orange Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  39. Layer 39 Orange Terracotta ×23, Brown Concrete ×7, Orange Concrete ×6, Lime Concrete ×1
  40. Layer 40 Orange Concrete ×48, Lime Concrete ×1
  41. Layer 41 Brown Concrete ×25, Yellow Concrete ×17, Orange Concrete ×9, Lime Concrete ×1
  42. Layer 42 Orange Terracotta ×17, Yellow Concrete ×16, Brown Concrete ×5, Orange Concrete ×4, Lime Concrete ×1, White Concrete ×1
  43. Layer 43 Orange Terracotta ×17, Yellow Concrete ×12, Brown Concrete ×9, Orange Concrete ×4, White Concrete ×2, Lime Concrete ×1
  44. Layer 44 Orange Terracotta ×17, Yellow Concrete ×12, Brown Concrete ×9, Orange Concrete ×4, White Concrete ×3, Lime Concrete ×1
  45. Layer 45 Orange Concrete ×50, Yellow Concrete ×13, Brown Concrete ×12, White Concrete ×4, Lime Concrete ×1
  46. Layer 46 White Concrete ×3, Green Concrete ×2, Lime Concrete ×1
  47. Layer 47 Light Blue Wool ×22, Green Concrete ×4, White Concrete ×2, Lime Concrete ×1
  48. Layer 48 Light Blue Wool ×26, White Concrete ×4, Green Concrete ×3, Lime Concrete ×1
  49. Layer 49 Light Blue Wool ×33, White Wool ×26, Green Concrete ×5, White Concrete ×3, Lime Concrete ×1
  50. Layer 50 Light Blue Wool ×36, White Wool ×30, White Concrete ×6, Green Concrete ×3, Lime Concrete ×1
  51. Layer 51 White Wool ×64, White Concrete ×10, Lime Concrete ×1
  52. Layer 52 White Wool ×66, White Concrete ×11, Lime Concrete ×1
  53. Layer 53 White Wool ×62, Light Blue Wool ×33, Green Concrete ×8
  54. Layer 54 White Wool ×47, Light Blue Wool ×36, Green Concrete ×12
  55. Layer 55 White Wool ×69, Green Concrete ×12, Light Blue Wool ×11
  56. Layer 56 White Wool ×62, Light Blue Wool ×16, Green Concrete ×11, Lime Concrete ×1
  57. Layer 57 White Wool ×56, Green Concrete ×9
  58. Layer 58 White Wool ×56
  59. Layer 59 White Wool ×53
  60. Layer 60 White Wool ×38
  61. Layer 61 White Wool ×12
  62. Layer 62 White Wool ×11

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