This is interesting. A very simple game, but fun to play with the family. It is called as “Jenga”.
Jenga – a family game, a never ending game, a game which never gets old along with you . A game which never gets boring. Let us talk about this nice game today!
So what is Jenga?
It is a very simple game of wooden blocks which tests your physical skill.
It has around 54 wooden blocks, which needs to be stacked one over another. So stacking blocks over one another , Is that so simple ? Well this is where the fun is…
Do you know? – Jenga was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame on November 5, 2020.
Jenga History
This is a physical skill game developed by Leslie Scott, a British board game designer and author, and currently marketed by Hasbro.
The players take turns removing one block at a time from a 54-block tower.
Each removed block is then piled on top of the tower, resulting in an increasingly unstable structure.
The word jenga itself comes from the Swahili word kujenga, which means ‘to create.’
Leslie Scott was a British resident and was born in Tanganyika and raised there, speaking English and Swahili, before moving to Ghana, West Africa.
So when she created the game, she called it Jenga and trademarked it at the London Toy Fair in January 1983, selling it through her own company, Leslie Scott Associates.
The Camphill Village Trust in Botton, Yorkshire, made the first blocks of this game for scott.
Since 1982, one of the original Jengasets has been on display at the V&A Museum of Childhood.
Today this toy brand is owned by Pokonobe Associates. And as per them over 90 million Jenga games have been sold worldwide. This is equivalent to more than 4.86 billion blocks, have been sold worldwide and this is amazing!
Material it is made of
The original Jenga classic blocks are made up of wood.
The blocks are chemical free and are not painted. The smooth finishing offers a lot of safety for younger children.
Being made of wood, it is always environment friendly and easy to recycle as well.
Does it require any special maintenance
Not really. It is true that kids toys wear & tear due to constant usage. But this toy is really maintenance free with no wear and tear as such.
All the blocks are made up of same sizes so they will fit very symmetrically and hence easy to store.
So the structural damage to the toy is minimal.
Is the toy safe for kids?
We all take safety with respect to toys quite seriously and hence it should be the case with this toy as well.
As I have mentioned below, this toy is made up of wood with no chemical paints and hence quite safe for kids.
Also the quality being good and edges being smooth, it makes is quite a safe toy.
The only point which I would like to make is to keep this toy away from kids less than 3 years as they might try to put the pieces in their mouth and chew it.
Also should be kept away from pets as the smell of wood attracts them and they also try to chew it.
Easy to carry along?
The pieces are not very small but not very large as well and hence this toy is quite handy to carry along.
It can be a nice travel companion. It easy fits into a your back pack. Quite a portable toy !
Preferred Age Group
The game is perfect for 3+ years and there is no upper age limit. Yea this game can be played by anyone. So it is a very cool family game.
Well kids at 3 years of age would struggle as there hands are lot really steady at this age. But then this is good toy for improving hand and eye coordination.
It helps them improving the focus.
By playing it together with younger kids also improve the bonding with them.
Jenga cost
The game offers a huge potential and is not really as costly as well. You can click here to check the latest price. Or check out various types of Jenga toys and their prices as below.
Rules of the game
Rules of the game is very simple. In-fact there are no rules at all. Just stack the block vertically making sure they do not fall down.
The blocks may have some small variations to create some imperfection which adds some additional challenge to the game.
The fun part of the game is after the tower is built i.e the second part of game, which involves taking out one the block from middle (any block after the topmost one) and placing it on the top and make sure that this does not break the tower in the process.
A very simple two part game, but real fun which can be played with parents, grand parents any one with in the family 🙂
Another good part is that these are light weight and smooth edged wooden blocks which do not pose any risk of getting hurt!
So do give this game a try. I am sure your kids will love it and so will you!
| Why we like it | Who will find it challenging |
|---|---|
| – Amazing game – Can be played by kids as well as Adults – Cool fun game – Durable, lasts long – Quite handy and can be carried along any where – Good travel companion | – Not for those with shaky hands – Not for kids below 3 years |
Jenga official website
Do check these other information about this toy!
You can also have a look at Jenga’s official website. Have a look at below link:
https://jenga.com/products.php
The YouTube channel
You can also look at their you tube channel for some interesting videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6a6f422CY-t99vo5wmDYkg
Official Jenga variants
Do you know that their are Jenga variants. The one which you see in the images are original ones. But let us look at some official variants of this toy !
Throw ‘n Go Jenga
Throw n GoJenga consists of wooden blocks which are multi colored and a six sided die. This variant was originally marketed by Hasbro and now it is marketed by Arts Ideas.
Jenga Truth or Dare
Another variant of this game and is marketed by Hasbro. These sets consisted of 3 color blocks. More or less same as regular toy, but with different colors.
Jenga Xtreme
This is another interesting version of this game where it used the parellelogram shaped blocks which creates some challenging game plays.
Casino Jenga
Its Jenga with Casino theme. Take the blocks from the tower and bet on the outcome . This game features a felt game board, betting chips, and additional rules.
Jenga XXL and Jenga Giant
These are licensed games which are big in size. These giant games are manufactured and distributed by Art’s Ideas.
There are Giant variations of this game which can reach to the height of up to 5 feet (150 cm) or even higher in game.
XXL’s height starts at over 4 feet (1.2 m) and the height goes up to 8 feet (2.4 m) or even higher in the game. It is real fun!
Rules of Giant-Jengas and Classic-Jengas are more or less same. But in case of Gian- Jengaas, people are allowed to use both the hands.
Cheers!
skumar @ //natkhatduniya
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I have written a similar post – it seems edtech is on everyone’s mind! I agree with everything you have pointed out