The memory that stands out, when thinking about Jenga, is of my great-aunt with her head on one side, tongue sticking out (unbeknownst to her), sliding a brick out of the bottom of the stack.
Like all the best games, Jenga is intergenerational, and has elements of skill without relying too much on an ability for strategy. It also happens to be a great game for those with steady hands.
What is Jenga?
Jenga is all about a pile of wooden blocks. They stack in piles of threes, first one way, and then the other, making a (hopefully) strong structure.
You have about 20 levels of bricks – they tend to come with a plastic sleeve that helps you with your initial tower shaping.
The next step is to remove a brick from lower down the structure, and add it to the top of the stack. Â Each player does this in turn.
You have to remove a brick a certain number of layers down from the top – I think there need to be 5 or more complete layers between the top and the level you’re wanting to remove a brick from.
The game stops when someone’s attempted selection of brick means that the tower falls down. (It’s all about the crash, really.)
Strategy
So far, so good. Â How do you decide which bricks to remove?
If you remove a brick from one side of a set of three, there is the potential for the structure to wobble. Â It can be useful to remove the central brick of the three instead, to keep the structure stronger (and make the game last longer).
Part of the fun is in scaring your opponents with where you choose to remove a brick from.
It is perfectly possible to remove a brick from the bottom, or next to bottom, row – in fact, it’s often easier than taking one higher up, because the structure feels more stable lower down.
One hand behind your back
Jenga also works well when you only use one hand to remove the brick. (You might allow for one hand on the other side, to catch the brick as it comes out.)
With practice, you can use one finger to slide out the brick you want to move, and the other fingers on that hand to steady the tower as you do so. We also tend to allow for a certain amount of ‘tapping’ at bricks in the structure, to see which ones are easier to move.
Change over time
When you first buy a set of Jenga, the blocks fit well, and are stiff to move. Â This makes for a strong tower, but it can be harder to get the bricks out without knocking down the tower.
Over time, the bricks get smoother to move, and the fit becomes slacker – easier to remove a brick, but also easier to knock the tower down, if the layers above aren’t stacked so well.
Buy wood
At one point, I spotted a plastic travel version of Jenga second-hand, and picked it up. Concept OK, but not half as much fun as playing with wood – particularly because the plastic is more prone to falling over.
A lot of the appeal of Jenga is the feel of the wood, the different grain patterns on different bricks. Â It would probably be lovely to make your own version of, but your woodcutting skills would probably need to be pretty exact, to keep the brick proportions the same.
Large version
Such is the popularity of Jenga that you can get large versions of it too. Think large-scale chess games – why not play Jenga in enhanced size too?
I must admit, I’ve never had the chance to try a set like this, but I quite like the idea. Given time, I’ll see if I can find a picture of one somewhere.
But whatever size you play – whatever generations of family, or friends, you have with you – this is one game that Just Seems To Work.
And whatever your thoughts on winning or losing, having at least one game that works, whoever you play it with, is well worth the investment. Whether or not you stick your tongue out as you play.