Jenga

About this board game

Jenga is a tower-building game for 1–8 players that takes about 20 minutes to play. It uses 54 wooden blocks arranged into a tower, with each story made from three blocks placed side by side and each successive story set perpendicular to the one below.

To begin, stack the blocks into 18 stories using the included plastic loading tray. The person who builds the tower takes the first turn. On each turn, remove exactly one block from any story except the currently completed top story, then place it on the topmost story to complete it.

• Use only one hand at a time while removing a block.
• You may gently bump blocks to find one that is loose.
• If a moved block would cause the tower to fall when removed, it may be left out of place.

After placing a block, the turn ends when the next player touches the tower. That player may wait 10 seconds before moving if they believe the tower could fall during that time. The game ends when the tower falls in a significant way, such as when a piece drops, excluding the block being moved to the top.

The player whose turn caused the tower to fall loses, while the player who moved immediately before them wins. With its simple structure and increasingly precarious tower, Jenga turns every block into an important decision.

The same game concept was published by Fagus in 1984 under the name Hoppla – eins zuviel! According to the designer, the game developed from Takoradi blocks or bricks. “Jenga” is Swahili for “build.”