Custom Command Minecraft Target Blocks! Commands and Building Easy Building Tutorial! Java

Hey everybody, it’s UnderMyCap, and welcome back to another video. Today, I’m going to show you how to make your very own custom target blocks.

Behind me are the basic, default target block setups. They’re not bad—especially if you’re into redstone and want to build contraptions—but if you’re just practicing aim, they can get boring fast. Most of the time, you only get a simple redstone lamp response, and sometimes a note block you can’t even hear if you’re too far away.

What I’m using instead is a custom target block that gives you much more feedback when you hit it. It might look like it requires a lot of complicated commands, but it’s really just a bunch of simple commands combined. You also don’t have to use the exact same commands I use—this is just to show what’s possible.

What This Custom Target Does

When I shoot the target block, it triggers multiple effects at once:

Particles: flame effects and a “block breaking” style particle to show it was hit.

Sound: a sound effect (I use a zombie breaking a wooden door).

Action bar message: text appears in the action bar confirming the hit.

Optional reward: you can give the player an item (like a diamond) when they hit the target.

You’ll also notice many of my command blocks are not chain command blocks. I had an issue where my chain command blocks weren’t working properly, so I had to power them manually with redstone. If chain command blocks work fine in your world, you can absolutely chain everything together instead.

Command Block: Block Particle Effect

In the first command block, I use a block particle effect. The command looks like this:

/particle minecraft:block ...

This particle type is special because it lets you choose a block to display as the particle. In my case, I use the target block so it looks like the target “breaks” when it’s hit.

You’ll also see coordinates and offsets for X, Y, and Z. If you notice negative values, that’s because the particle is being spawned a few blocks in the negative direction relative to where the command runs. This depends on how you build your setup and which direction your command blocks are facing.

If you adjust the offset, you can move the particle location. For example, if you move it back by one block, the particles will appear inside the target block—which can look more realistic.

Command Block: Flame Particles

The next command block is another particle effect, this time using flame particles:

/particle flame ...

You can change this to anything you want. For example, using a soul flame particle will make the effect blue. The target block is very customizable, and particles are an easy place to start.

Command Block: Action Bar Text

Next, I use the /title command to display text in the action bar.

One important note: if you want to display words, you must put the text inside quotation marks. Without quotation marks, Minecraft won’t interpret your text properly. Numbers may still work without quotes, but for message text, always use quotes.

By default, title/action bar messages also have a display duration (fade in, stay, fade out). You can control those timings with the title times settings. This lets you make the message show for a shorter or longer amount of time, depending on what you want.

Optional Command: Giving a Reward

I also added a command that gives a small reward when you hit the target, like a diamond. However, I disabled it in my setup because it can make the screen look like it’s flickering due to repeated item notifications. Still, it’s a fun feature if you want to make a scoring system or a mini-game.

Stop Command Block Spam in Chat

If you don’t like seeing command outputs in chat every time the target is hit, you can disable command block output with this gamerule:

/gamerule commandBlockOutput false

This keeps your own typed commands visible, but stops command blocks from spamming output messages.

Command Block: Sound Effect

One of the final commands I use is a sound effect. The playsound command has changed a lot over different Minecraft versions, but it’s also more flexible now.

I use a sound like:

entity.zombie.attack_wooden_door

You can swap this for other sounds. For example, I also like an iron door sound because it makes the target feel like a harder material.

If you want to learn more about playsound, particle, execute, and other commands, I have a playlist linked in the description with short videos explaining them. Understanding those commands will make tutorials like this much easier to follow.

Command Block: Killing the Arrow

The last important command I use is to kill the arrow after it hits. This keeps the target looking clean and prevents arrows from stacking up in the block.

It’s also important in my case because I’ve added a particle effect to my arrows, and leaving arrows behind would look messy. Even if you don’t use arrow particles, killing the arrow keeps the build looking much nicer overall.

How to Build the Target Block Structure

Here’s a quick overview of how I built the physical target structure. You can change the style however you like—just remember you’ll need space behind it for the command blocks and redstone.

Step 1: Build the Base Line

Start with a wooden slab and spruce stairs. Create a line where your command blocks will go behind the target. Place the target block at the front where you want people to shoot.

Step 2: Shape the Front Frame

Place upside-down stairs to form a frame. Add supporting blocks as needed so the stairs can connect properly. Keep building until the front matches the shape you want.

Step 3: Fill the Middle (Optional)

I filled the middle area with brown stained glass because it fit the style I was going for. You can use any block you like.

Step 4: Add Redstone to Power the Commands

I used a redstone lamp in the build, and the redstone signal runs behind the target, then out and into the command block line.

Place your command blocks in a row behind the target. The size doesn’t matter—it depends on how many commands you want. You might only want three commands, or you might want six, nine, or more.

Then place repeaters and redstone dust so one signal powers all the command blocks.

In my build, I powered each command block with redstone because my chain command blocks weren’t working. If chain command blocks work for you, you can chain them together instead.

Step 5: Seal It Up

Once everything is wired, cover the back and sides. I used cobblestone and cobblestone slabs because I like how they look together, but you can use any blocks you prefer.

Add slabs down the center and finish filling in the rest with stairs and slabs until the structure looks clean.

Wrapping Up

That’s how you make this custom target block setup. The main idea is to link a target hit to multiple command effects—particles, sounds, messages, and even rewards—so it feels more responsive and fun than the default target block.

You can put whatever commands you want into it. I mainly wanted to see whether you enjoy these kinds of videos. If you did, please leave a like and subscribe. If you have other suggestions, comment them—I like reading through ideas because it can be hard to come up with new ones sometimes. My socials are in the description, and I hope to see you in the next video.

See you!