Jenga toy consists of several wooden blocks and is a game of skill and strategy, a nice way to keep kids occupied.
Over the years, Jenga has become an extremely popular game around the world that people of all ages like to play. It’s simple, ease to play, and fun to play.
Walk into a hotel and you will find these wooden stacking blocks in the kids playing area; you will even find adults playing these at local pubs, fairs and carnivals.
What is Jenga?
Jenga toys consist of wooden blocks. Jenga (kujenga) in the Swahili language word means “build”. The game was invented by Leslie Scott, originally from East Africa. Her family used to play this stacking game with simple wooden blocks. Later Scott trademarked the name “Jenga” and started manufacturing this game.
Hasbro, now is the official licensee for Jenga in most countries around the world.
How is Jenga played?
To play this game, you first need to stack up all the wooden blocks one over the other and build a tower. Once the tower is formed, you take turns to remove one wooden block from the stack, until the tower collapses. The player on whose turn the tower falls down loses.
You can even place the block (that you removed) and place it on top of the structure; at some point the structure is likely to become unstable and will collapse.
- Jenga is played by at least two persons (you may play this game solo to practice stacking skills).
- Each player has to take one block out.
- The game continues tuntil the structure collapses.
Create Cool Structures
Get your creative juices flowing and feel free to build different kinds of structures using these wooden blocks. People have created some really cool and complex structures using Jenga blocks.
You can create: Pyramids, famous landmarks and structures (White House, Pentagon, Eiffel Tower, Colosseum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Aztec Temple, Greek Parthenon, Stonehenge, Japanese Torii Gate, and more), things for home such as flower vase and necklace rack, and more.
Activity: Teach Spellings
You can also use the Jenga blocks to teach spellings to your child. For younger kids, you can start with simple words such as toy, car, boy, girl, and so on. You can also teach them how to spell their own names.
Jenga World Record
How many Jenga blocks do you think can one place on a single vertically-placed Jenga block? Perhaps 5 to 10?
Well, the world record (in 2020) was a staggering 485 blocks on top of one vertically placed piece.
Perhaps you should practice more.
Buying Jenga Blocks: Bestselling Products
I think this is one of those games that parents or grandparents will love to play with their kids. Its simple to play, and the best part is the expressions that you get to say on the face of the child when the tower collapses on their turn.
While smaller sized Zenga toys can be bought from shops and from online stores, there are many companies that rent out Jenga toys, especially the ones with bigger blocks and many pieces that let you build giant towers.
Most Jenga toy games come with 54 wooden blocks; the blocks may have subtle variations which can add to the challenge while playing.
Popular Jenga Products:
56 pieces, bigger sized blocks, you can make towers from 2-feet to over 4-feet tall, storage bag.
This is a high quality product with bigger sized blocks enabling you to make a bigger sized toy. You can create some unique structure and also use it as a display piece. You can use it for indoor as well as outdoor events such as birthdays, barbeques, picnics, camping. Buy on Amazon
SWOOC Games – Giant Tower Game
60 bigger sized blocks, storage crate that also serves as game table.
It comes with a game table, so the height starts at 2.5ft and reaches up to 5ft. Please note that you need to put together the crate (it comes with pre-drilled holes and screws). The company also promises to help plant a tree for every order that they get. Buy on Amazon
This Jenga game is a nice variant of the classic game. In this game, you make two teams and each team take turns to build the tower. One person from the team (that is building) is given a card that shows the map/design of the building and that person then has to describe the structure to their team mates (who cannot see the map). Based on the instructions provided, the other players have to build the structure correctly. If the tower is built incorrectly, the tower will collapse. The first team that males three correct structures wins the game. Buy on Amazon
54 pieces, good value for money. For kids ages 6 and up. You can play with friends or you can even play solo. It makes a nice birthday or holiday gift. It is inexpensive but the storage box is a bit flimsy. Buy on Amazon
Related: More popular wooden toys
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Funtoyworld is a family-managed website with me (Ben), and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing toys. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical suggestions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.
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