After coming across this the name stuck right away. The word “Jenga” means “build” which comes from the word “cojenga” which means “to build”. They thought about what was involved with the game and that the whole principle was to basically just build. But it was also the name of their dog so she looked for something else. ![]() The first one was “chezza” which means to play. Leslie played around with a few names of what to call it. They had come up with this simple stacking game and found it to be pretty fun and addicting to play. The family had purchased the blocks from a sawmill in Takoradi, Ghana as Ghana was a huge producer of wood. It was the early ‘70s and the game evolved within her family by using building blocks. and she was born and grew up in East Africa. Leslie Scott was the co-founder of Oxford Games Ltd. This may seem like a corporate game dreamed up in a big pitch meeting set in a boardroom with big time game designers. They’re real sticklers for the rules with Jenga… You lose when the tower falls over or if any piece falls from the tower that’s not the block you were trying to move. There’s also an official rule that you have ten seconds to move a block. You can’t take blocks from the top level or the level beneath it and only one hand can be used to move a block. There’s a little cardboard stand that helps you build the tower and the official rules are that the person who builds the tower gets to go first. It’s a simple concept but is behind what makes the game so great and challenging. These small variations also allow for imperfections in the stacking process so you have to adjust to each situation. If they were all exactly the same there would be a tough time in even moving the blocks. You may have wondered why they are sometimes so easy to move out of the stack and it’s because of these little variations. Each of the blocks actually has really small, and random, variations and that’s what allows them to slide out. ![]() It’s also a game that can be over in a few seconds but the average play time lasts around 5-15 minutes and takes around 2 minutes to set up if you haven’t kicked over the coffee table in disgust after losing.Įach block is three times as long as it is wide and 1/5th as thick as it’s length. You can play by yourself or with as many people as you’d like. OK, in case you haven’t played Jenga for some reason here’s a quick recap: The entire set is made up of 54 blocks and involves taking out one piece at a time and stacking it on top of the tower. ![]() It’s one of those classics that is a core part of the ‘80s and ranks right up there with Monopoly and Connect 4. It has turned into a big drinking game and you see giant block Jenga games in a lot of bars now. It’s the perfect game no matter your age and it’s one of the few games that kids can compete straight up with adults. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a house that doesn’t have Jenga in it. ![]() The story of Jenga is really interesting as it has roots in an ancient game and became a huge hit in the 1980s. “You take a block from the bottom and you put it on top” is that song going through your head yet? Don’t worry it will as it remains one of the most famous jingle slogans of all time. It was released in 1987 and is considerd one of the best selling games of all time. Jenga is a game made up of 54 blocks that are removed one at a time and stacked on top of each other. What is a simple, yet infuriating game, that makes you want to immediately play it again after you lose?
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