I can already feel my palms sweating! Haha If you haven’t played Jenga before, it’s a tower building game. Actually I think it could also be called a tower falling down game, or at least that’s what happens when I play!

It’s a super simple idea; You start the game with a tower constructed of 54 solid wooden blocks , 18 levels high. 3 blocks form each level and alternate in pattern. As such, the next layer is laid perpendicular the to blocks below it.

The objective is to be the person who placed the piece before the tower was razed to the ground!

Players take it in turns to use one hand to relocate a block from a lower level and place it on the very top of the tower. Once in situ, the next player takes their turn and around it goes until the tower buckles, and they all fall down! Or a significant amount of them!

Tumbling Towers

The great thing about Jenga is that you can play it straight out of the box. Whilst it has to begin with a story placed 18 levels high, the only way to pack the game back into the box is to stack the pieces in their formation. And with a handy plastic insert inside the box, it means that the game is ready to go (so long as someone with a steady hand slides it out!)

Final Thoughts

We play Jenga a lot. As a family, as grown-ups with friends (I will neither admit nor deny whether alcoholic beverages are consumed during said grown-up games!), as a team-building exercise, and I’ve even played it by myself!

Pushing a piece from the middle of each row is where most early turns begin. On their own, they’re unlikely to cause storey-instability, and start to get the tower up pretty high. But of course the effect is cumulative. If every level had the centre block removed, the next turn after would cause the tower to fall. Believe me, I learned that the hard way! Haha

Similarly, if everyone takes pieces from one side, that tower will not stand the test of time! As such, where you move your piece can be as much about mitigating the previous players’ foolhardiness as it is about finding a spot for your piece that will be the architect of the next player’s misfortune!

This game can get really tense in the best possible way! Watching the tower lean like Pisa’s famous landmark, and then tilt back thanks to some canny counterweight is looking-through-your-fingers, baring your teeth intensity! Breathing stops. Hands shake. Shoulders rise…….it’s brilliant!

I’ve had more can’t look-must look moments playing this game than any other!

It’s such a simple idea and it’s one of those games where as soon as you suggest it everyone wants to join in or watch it being played. It’s like looking at fire. You can’t draw your eyes away as pieces are wibbly wobblied out and then placed precariously on top!

Plus it’s a great teaching tool – this game is physics parading as a game! Our 8 year old learns more about balance, structural strength, and gravitational forces through Jenga than his school books!

We really enjoy Jenga and I don’t think it will ever leave our collection!

This blog was written by Favouritefoe