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Rules for Jenga!
How to Play Jenga Block Game

Jenga is a branded commercial game currently marketed by Parker Brothers that uses specially-designed wooden blocks. The game traces its roots to the African Continent where a similar game has been played for generations.

On its way to becoming a timeless classic, Jenga continues to be a popular party game with dozens of Jenga variants and similar games being marketed to this day.

A Brief Introduction to the Game Jenga:

Jenga involves stacking blocks one on top of another. Blocks all along the height of the tower are removed and stacked on top to form an ever increasingly tall tower. The taller the tower gets, the less stable it becomes until it simply has to collapse. The player in whose turn the tower collapses is the loser.

The Jenga Game Package:

* a Jenga Loading Tray
* 54 Jenga Blocks

About the Jenga Blocks:

Jenga blocks are made of hardwood for stability and durability. The standard Jenga block measures 1.5cm x 2.5cm x 7.5cm.

How to Set Up a Game of Jenga:

Use the Jenga Loading Tray to arrange the blocks into its initial Jenga tower configuration. (See Photo)

The Jenga Tower, in its initial configuration, is 18 levels tall. Each level is made up of 3 Jenga blocks made to lie on its wide side. In each level, the blocks are positioned in cross-piece (perpendicular) to the level below it.

Once the Jenga Tower is assembled, the game begins.

How to Play a Game of Jenga:

The Players must decide their play order. Note: the person who moves first is also the one who has to build the tower using the Jenga Loading Tray.

Making a Move in Jenga: Moving requires that a player take 1 block from any level of the tower and re-position same block at the very top of the tower. Note: moveable blocks do not include the topmost level (in case it is a complete level composed of 3 Jenga Blocks); nor the level that follows in case the topmost level is an incomplete level.

Always Place Each New Level in Cross-Piece: The blocks are stacked perpendicular one level atop another. As the game is played, each new level that is built on top has to be stacked following this manner.

The Art of Moving a Block in Jenga:

Knocking for Loose Jenga Blocks: When making his move, a player is allowed to “Knock” any of the moveable pieces in order to check for loose blocks. Loose Blocks are the easiest to move; these are also the ones that typically will not undermine the stability of the entire tower.

Loose Piece.. or Not? A Player is allowed to change his mind while in the process of moving a Jenga piece. To do so, he must re-position the piece as it was at the start of his turn. He can then make a new move.

Ending Your Turn and/or Losing in Jenga:

In a Game of Jenga, there is really only 1 loser – the player during whose turn the Tower collapses whether in part or in whole.

A Jenga Tower can collapse at any time – even long seconds after a player has finished making his move. For this reason, it is important to decide how the turn passes from player to player.

A Player’s turn officially ends the moment the next player starts his. Usually, this is signified when the next player touches the stable Jenga Tower – presumably to look for a free moveable piece.

In practice, IF a Jenga Tower collapses before the next player touches any part of it, then it still counts as the previous player’s turn (the player who stacked the latest piece on top) and therefore the previous player loses the game.

However, you can all agree to wait for a set amount of time (say, 10 seconds) after a move is made to determine if the Tower is stable. After the wait is over and the Tower is still standing, the turn officially passes to the next player.

Jenga as an Adult Party Game:
How to Play Jenga as a Drinking Game

Now that you know how to play a standard Jenga game, do visit our page dedicated to Jenga Game as an Adult Party Game: Drunken Jenga, Strip Jenga, with elements of Truth or Dare intermixed.

Learn how to Play Drunken Jenga when you visit this page.

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