View source for Jenga

{{italic title}}
{{Short description|Game played with a tower of blocks}}
{{Infobox game
| name          = Jenga
| image_link    = [[File:Jenga.JPG|frameless]]
| image_caption = 
| date          = {{release date and age|1983}}
| designer      = [[Leslie Scott (game designer)|Leslie Scott]]
| parent_game   = 
| players       = 1 or more
| ages          = 6 and up
| setup_time    = &lt; 2 minutes
| playing_time  = Usually 5–15 minutes
| random_chance = None
| skills        = [[dexterity|Manual dexterity]], [[eye–hand coordination]], precision, and strategy
| website       = {{url|jenga.com}}
| footnotes     = 
}}
'''''Jenga''''' is a [[Game of skill|game of physical skill]] created by British [[board game]] designer and author [[Leslie Scott (game designer)|Leslie Scott]] and marketed by [[Hasbro]]. The name comes from the [[Swahili language|Swahili]] word "{{linktext|kujenga}}" which means 'to build or construct'.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Ricketts |first=Nicolas |date=2020-11-05 |title=Block by Block: Leslie Scott's Jenga Game (or, in Swahili, Zuia kwa kuzuia: Mchezo wa Jenga wa Leslie Scott) |url=https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/block-by-block-leslie-scotts-jenga-game-or-in-swahili-zuia-kwa-kuzuia-mchezo-wa-jenga-wa-leslie-scott/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=The Strong National Museum of Play |language=en-US}}</ref> Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. Each block removed is then placed on top of the tower, creating a progressively more unstable structure. The game ends when the tower falls over.

==Rules==
[[File:Jenga distorted.jpg|thumb|A ''Jenga'' tower]]
''Jenga'' is played with 54 wooden blocks. Each block is three times as long as it is wide, and one fifth as thick as its length – {{convert|1.5|×|2.5|×|7.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Blocks have small, random variations from these dimensions so as to create imperfections in the stacking process and make the game more challenging.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sheep-spiders-and-jenga/id420543296?i=1000349678276|title=Sheep, Spiders, and Jenga |website=How To Do Everything |publisher=[[NPR]] |host=Mike Danforth & Ian Chillag |date=August 14, 2015 |access-date=March 8, 2023 }}</ref> To begin the game, the blocks are stacked into a solid rectangular tower of 18 layers, with three blocks per layer. The blocks within each layer are oriented in the same direction, with their long sides touching, and are [[perpendicular]] to the ones in the layer immediately below. A plastic tray provided with the game can be used to assist in setup.

Starting with the one who built the tower, players take turns removing one block from any level below the highest completed one and placing it horizontally atop the tower, perpendicular to any blocks on which it is to rest. Each player may use only one hand to touch the tower or move a block at any given time, but may switch hands whenever desired. Once a level contains three blocks, it is complete and may not have any more blocks added to it. A block may be touched or nudged to determine whether it is loose enough to remove without disturbing the rest of the tower, but it must be returned to its original position if the player decides to move a different one. A turn ends when the next player in sequence touches the tower or when 10 seconds have elapsed since the placement of a block, whichever occurs first.

[[File:Jenga.gif|thumb|A ''Jenga'' tower collapses.]]
The game ends when any portion of the tower collapses, caused by either the removal of a block or its new placement. The last player to complete a turn before the collapse is the winner.

==Origins==
''Jenga'' was created by Leslie Scott,{{Sfn|Walsh|2004|p=244}} the co-founder of [[Oxford Games|Oxford Games Ltd]], based on a game that evolved within her family in the early 1970s using children's wooden building blocks,<ref name="strong"/> when the family purchased from a sawmill in [[Takoradi]], Ghana. The name ''Jenga'' is derived from ''kujenga'', a [[Swahili language|Swahili]] word which means "to build".<ref name="strong">{{cite web |url=http://www.strongmuseum.org/blogs/?p=78 |title=Strong National Museum of Play |publisher=Strongmuseum.org |date=2009-01-20 |access-date=2010-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807140452/http://www.museumofplay.org/blog/play-stuff/2009/01/jenga-jenga-jenga/ |archive-date=2011-08-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A [[British national]], Scott was born in [[Tanganyika Territory|Tanganyika]], now [[Tanzania]], where she was raised speaking English and Swahili, before moving to live in Ghana, West Africa. Scott launched the game she named and trademarked as "Jenga" at the London Toy Fair in January 1983<ref name="aboutjenga">About Jenga: The Remarkable Business of Creating a Game that Became a Household Name. Leslie Scott ([[Greenleaf Book Group]] Press)[http://www.aboutjenga.com]</ref> and sold it through her own company, Leslie Scott Associates. The blocks of the first sets of ''Jenga'' were manufactured for Scott by the [[Camphill Village Trust]] in [[Botton, North Yorkshire|Botton]], Yorkshire. The [[V&A Museum of Childhood]] has exhibited one of the original sets of ''Jenga'' since 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/things-to-do/blogs/british-toy-making-blog/personal-view-leslie-scott-inventor-jenga |title=A personal view from Leslie Scott, the inventor of Jenga &#124; Victoria and Albert Museum |publisher=Vam.ac.uk |access-date=2012-02-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306051211/http://www.vam.ac.uk/things-to-do/blogs/british-toy-making-blog/personal-view-leslie-scott-inventor-jenga |archive-date=2012-03-06 }}</ref>

In 1984, Robert Grebler, an entrepreneur from California who was the brother of a close friend of Scott, contacted her and expressed interest in importing and distributing ''Jenga'' in Canada. In April 1985, Grebler acquired from Scott the exclusive rights to ''Jenga'' for the United States and Canada, and then in October of that year, Scott assigned the worldwide rights in ''Jenga'' to Grebler,<ref>About Jenga, 108</ref> which he in turn assigned to Pokonobe Associates. Convinced of ''Jenga'''s potential, Grebler had invited two cousins to form Pokonobe Associates with him in 1985 to increase distribution of ''Jenga''.{{Sfn|Walsh|2004|p=247}} Pokonobe then licensed Irwin Toy to sell ''Jenga'' in Canada and to be master licensee worldwide. Irwin Toy licensed ''Jenga'' to Schaper in the United States, and when that company was bought by Hasbro, ''Jenga'' was launched under the Milton Bradley banner in 1987.{{Sfn|Walsh|2004|p=248}} Eventually, Hasbro became licensee in most countries around the world.

By 2019, according to Pokonobe Associates, owners of the ''Jenga'' brand, over 80 million ''Jenga'' games, equivalent to more than 4.3 billion ''Jenga'' blocks, had been sold worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-20 |title=Games offer benefits beyond the obvious one: fun |url=https://www.ocregister.com/games-offer-benefits-beyond-the-obvious-one-fun |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=Orange County Register |language=en-US}}</ref> On November 5, 2020, ''Jenga'' was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.museumofplay.org/press/releases/2020/11/6207-2020-national-toy-hall-of-fame-inductees-announced|title = 2020 National Toy Hall of Fame Inductees Announced|date = 2 November 2020}}</ref>

==Tallest tower==
The packaging copy of one edition of the ''Jenga'' game claims that Robert Grebler may have built the tallest ''Jenga'' tower ever at 40{{fraction|2|3}} levels. Grebler built the tower in 1985 while playing with an original ''Jenga'' set produced by Leslie Scott in the early 1980s.<ref>Marketing copy on inside lid of the 2008 ''Vintage Game Collection'' edition of Jenga marketed by Hasbro</ref>

==Official variants==
{{refimprove section|date=July 2021}}
[[Image:Jenga Truth Or Dare.JPG|right|thumb|260px|''Jenga Truth or Dare'' tower]]
''Throw 'n Go Jenga'' is a variant originally marketed by Hasbro. It consists of blocks that are in various colors plus a six-sided die. It is marketed by Art's Ideas.

''Jenga [[Truth or Dare]]'' was a variation of ''Jenga'' also marketed by Hasbro. This version looked like regular ''Jenga'' except there were three colors of blocks instead of just the natural color of ''Jenga''.

''Jenga Xtreme'' used [[parallelogram]]-shaped blocks that could create some interesting leaning towers.

''Casino Jenga: Las Vegas Edition'' employed [[roulette]]-style game play, featuring a felt game board, betting chips, and additional rules.

In addition, there have been a number of collector edition ''Jenga'' games, featuring the colors and logos of the [[Boston Red Sox]], [[Las Vegas Raiders]], [[New York Yankees]], and [[Deere & Company|John Deere]], among others. ''[[Hello Kitty]] Jenga'', ''[[Transformers]] Jenga'', ''[[Tarzan]] Jenga'', ''[[Tim Burton]]'s [[The Nightmare Before Christmas]] Jenga'', ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]] Jenga'', ''[[Bob's Burgers]] Jenga'', ''National Parks Jenga'', ''Jenga Ocean'', ''[[The Walking Dead (franchise)|The Walking Dead]] Jenga'', ''[[Super Mario]] Jenga'', ''[[Fortnite]] Jenga'', ''[[Godzilla]] Jenga'', ''[[Rick and Morty]] Jenga'', ''[[Onyx]] Jenga'', and ''[[Harry Potter]] Jenga'' are some of the licensed variations of ''Jenga''.

''Jenga XXL'' and ''Jenga Giant'' are licensed giant ''Jenga'' games manufactured and distributed by Art's Ideas. There are ''Jenga Giant'' variations which can reach {{convert|5|ft|cm|-1}} or higher in play, with very similar rules.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jengagiant.com/blog/get-to-know-jenga-giant-game-rules/ |title=Get To Know The Jenga® GIANT™ Game Rules|publisher=Jenga GIANT official website |access-date=2019-09-26}}</ref> ''Jenga XXL'' starts at over {{convert|4|ft}} high and can reach {{convert|8|ft}} or higher in play. Rules are the same as in classic ''Jenga'', except that players may use two hands to move the eighteen-inch-long blocks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jenga.us.com |title=Jenga |publisher=Jenga.us.com |access-date=2012-02-06}}</ref>

''Jenga Pass Challenge'' includes a handheld platform that the game is played on. Players remove a block while holding the platform, then pass the platform to the next player. This variant includes only half the number of blocks (27), which means the tower starts at 9 levels high instead of 18.

==See also==
*[[Rock balancing]]
*[[56 Leonard Street]], nicknamed "the Jenga Building"
*[[Pick-up sticks]], physical game of removing sticks from a pile
*[[The Final Straw (TV series)|''The Final Straw'']], a game show with a similar format

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Tim |date=2004 |title=The Playmakers: Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys |publisher=Keys Publishing |isbn=9780964697348}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.jengagiant.com/ Jenga GIANT official website]
* [https://www.dexigner.com/news/2798 The Jenga Chair] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220205506/https://www.dexigner.com/news/2798 |date=2016-12-20 }}) in the [[Bröhan Museum]]
* [http://www.yatzer.com/1222_the_jenga_house The Jenga House]
* [http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/games/puzzles/jenga/index.html Jenga] at the [[V&A Museum of Childhood]]

{{Hasbro}}
{{Milton Bradley}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1980s toys]]
[[Category:British inventions]]
[[Category:Combinatorial game theory]]
[[Category:Games and sports introduced in 1983]]
[[Category:Games of physical skill]]
[[Category:Milton Bradley Company games]]
[[Category:Party games]]
[[Category:Swahili words and phrases]]