So....I guess I should try playing this thing. Any tips?
Making a little hole in a mountain is a great way to get trough the first night.
Just make sure there is no direct sightline from the outside to the place where you stand.
Wait a few versions until its 1.3.4 or something, most bugs will be gone.
Bonus chests arent all that neccesary, to get lots of wood in the first day:
1. Punch tree
2. Craft logs into planks
3. Put 4 planks in your crafting grid to make a workbench.
4. Rightclick workbench
5. Craft planks into sticks by putting two planks vertically next to eachother.
6. Put two sticks on the bottom middle and middle square.
7. Put a plank in the right middle, right top and top middle square to make a wood axe
8. Use wood axe to cut trees faster.
This may look like alot, but its very easy to do.
And you may want to keep the wiki at hand for crafting recipes.
Mobs wont spawn next to you, its safe to be in a little hole in a mountain thats dark, but if you come back mobs may have spawned in there.
Coal is important. You'll probably have lots of it, but you cant ever have enough coal.
Dirt is a very good scaffolding material. Jump and put a block under you to reach high places.
Dont be afraid to throw away cobblestone.
EDIT:
MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL TIME:
To break blocks you have to HOLD your left mouse button. Mashing it wont help.