Jenga

Jenga is a game of physical skill. It was invented by Leslie Scott, a British board game designer and author, and is now sold by Hasbro. The game’s name comes from the Swahili word *kujenga*, meaning “to build” or “to construct.” Players take turns removing a single block from a tower made of 54 wooden blocks. Each block they remove is then placed on top of the tower, making the structure increasingly unstable. The game ends when the tower falls.

**History**

Leslie Scott, co-founder of Oxford Games Ltd, based Jenga on a game her family played in the early 1970s using children’s wooden building blocks bought from a sawmill in Takoradi, Ghana. Scott, a British national, was born in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and raised speaking English and Swahili before moving to Ghana. She launched the game under the trademarked name “Jenga” at the London Toy Fair in January 1983, selling it through her own company, Leslie Scott Associates. The first sets of blocks were made for her by the Camphill Village Trust in Botton, Yorkshire. One of these original sets has been exhibited at the V&A Museum of Childhood since 1982.

In 1984, Robert Grebler, a California entrepreneur and brother of a close friend of Scott, contacted her about importing and distributing Jenga in Canada. In April 1985, Grebler obtained exclusive rights to Jenga for the United States and Canada from Scott. Later that October, Scott assigned worldwide rights to Grebler, who then transferred them to Pokonobe Associates. Convinced of the game’s potential, Grebler had invited two cousins to form Pokonobe Associates in 1985 to expand distribution. Pokonobe then licensed Irwin Toy to sell Jenga in Canada and act as master licensee worldwide. Pokonobe takes 80% of royalties, while Scott receives 20% or less—the reverse of the typical split. Scott has said she “came to regret signing away my rights to Jenga on those terms,” as Grebler effectively acted only as an agent.

Irwin Toy licensed Jenga to Schaper in the United States. When Schaper was bought by Hasbro, Jenga was launched under the Milton Bradley banner in 1987. Hasbro eventually became the licensee in most countries worldwide.

By 2019, according to Pokonobe Associates, over 80 million Jenga games—more than 4.3 billion blocks—had been sold. On November 5, 2020, Jenga was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

**Rules**

Jenga uses 54 wooden blocks. Each block is three times as long as it is wide, and one-fifth as thick as its length—1.5 cm by 2.5 cm by 7.5 cm. Small, random variations in these dimensions create imperfections in stacking, making the game more challenging. To start, the blocks are stacked into a solid rectangular tower of 18 layers, with three blocks per layer. Blocks in each layer are oriented the same direction, with their long sides touching, and are perpendicular to the layer below. A plastic tray can be used to help set up.

The player who built the tower goes first. Players take turns removing one block from any level below the highest completed one and placing it horizontally on top of the tower, perpendicular to the blocks it rests on. Each player may use only one hand to touch the tower or move a block at any time, but may switch hands as desired. Once a level has three blocks, it is complete and cannot have more added. A block may be touched or nudged to check if it is loose enough to remove without disturbing the tower, but it must be returned to its original position if the player chooses a different block. A turn ends when the next player touches the tower or 10 seconds have passed after a block is placed, whichever comes first.

The game ends when any part of the tower collapses, whether from removing a block or placing one. The last player to complete a turn before the collapse wins.

**Tallest tower**

The packaging of one Jenga edition claims that Robert Grebler may have built the tallest Jenga tower ever at 40⅔ levels. He built it in 1985 using an original Jenga set produced by Leslie Scott in the early 1980s.

**Official variants**

Throw 'n Go Jenga, originally marketed by Hasbro, uses blocks in various colors and a six-sided die. It is now sold by Art's Ideas. Jenga Truth or Dare, also by Hasbro, looks like regular Jenga but has three colors of blocks instead of just the natural wood color. Jenga Xtreme uses parallelogram-shaped blocks that create leaning towers. Casino Jenga: Las Vegas Edition features roulette-style play with a felt board, betting chips, and extra rules.

There have also been many collector edition Jenga games, featuring the colors and logos of the Boston Red Sox, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Yankees, and John Deere, among others. Licensed variations include Hello Kitty Jenga, Transformers Jenga, Tarzan Jenga, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Jenga, Donkey Kong Jenga, Bob's Burgers Jenga, National Parks Jenga, Jenga Ocean, The Walking Dead Jenga, Super Mario Jenga, Fortnite Jenga, Godzilla Jenga, Rick and Morty Jenga, Onyx Jenga, and Harry Potter Jenga.

Jenga XXL and Jenga Giant are licensed giant versions manufactured and distributed by Art's Ideas.