The goal of 7 Days to Die is to survive for as long as possible, facing the elements of nature and zombies. The player can enter either a randomly generated world or the predetermined world of Navezgane, Arizona. As a survival game, the player's character has a constant need for water and food to stay alive, and is also vulnerable to injuries and diseases. The game is voxel-based (similar in some aspects to Minecraft, but with smooth terrain), allowing for easy construction and destruction of objects in a physics-simulated environment (for example, building a structure without support, such as pillars and walls, can lead to its collapse). Objects in the world degrade with use, so the player must search for or craft new tools as the game progresses. The player can also gather and create materials—from nature and the remnants of human civilization—to craft these essential items.