Here’s things I learned, so far, as a new player of Minetest. I’m new at this, so I’ll gladly update this post with any corrections.

• Mineclone2 is a great place to just start playing!
• When confident enough to choose my own plugins, I switched back to MineGame/default, for the bigger library of available plugins.
• Mesecons is redstone, but looks way nicer. Insulated wires alone look like a huge sanity saver.
• The world is dramatically taller and deeper, so you’re going to want a teleporter or elevator plugin. I found Travelnet a practical option.
• if you’re coming from Java edition Minecraft, you may be pleasantly surprised how much faster, lighter and more efficient Mineclone is.
• The hang glider plugin is a giggle and a half.
• Building a Cotton farm was a quicker path to beds and hang gliders, for me, than searching for sheep.