How to play Jenga

Content

Part 2 of 3: Gameplay
Part 3 of 3: A Strategic Approach to Play
Tips
Warnings
What do you need
Additional articles

1 Build a tower from blocks. First, lay all the Jenga blocks on a flat surface. Then start stacking them on top of each other in three parallel blocks in a row until a tower is 18 blocks high. Each new layer of blocks should be laid perpendicular to the previous one (rotated horizontally by 90 degrees).

A set of blocks for playing Jenga should consist of 54 parts. However, if you don't have enough blocks, the game can be played too! Build a tower in the usual way from what you have.

2 Straighten the tower. Before starting the game, you need to make sure that the tower is strong. The layers of blocks must support each other, thanks to perpendicular stacking, so that the tower can stand level without external support. Straighten the built tower by hand or with the help of some kind of flat object.In this case, it is necessary to push any protruding blocks into the tower.

3 Gather players around the tower. The game requires at least two players. All players must circle around a tower of blocks. If there are only two players in the game, sit opposite each other on opposite sides of the tower.

There is no strict limit to the maximum number of players in the game. However, it will be more interesting for you to play if there are not too many players for everyone to make several successful moves.

4 Consider pre-writing player quests on the blocks. This is an alternative version of the Jenga game. Before building a tower, on each block, you must write a question, task or other instruction. After that, the blocks are mixed and the tower is built in the usual way. When a person pulls a block out of a tower, he must do what is written on that block.

Questions. When someone pulls a block with a question out of the tower, he must answer that question. Questions can be romantic (“Who do you want to kiss the most in this room?”), Require some thought (“When was the last time you felt humiliated?”), Or humorous (“What episode in your life is the most awkward ? ").
Tasks. When someone pulls a quest block from the tower, they must take the specified action. The assignments can be anything from demanding to sell one piece of your clothing to your neighbor to demanding a glass of hot sauce and ending with a request to make a terrible grimace.

Part 2 of 3: Gameplay

1 Select the first player. The first player can be the one who built the tower, the one who is most likely to have a birthday, or the one who just wants to start the game himself.
2 Take one block out of the tower. Carefully remove one block from any level of the tower except the topmost one. Look for blocks that are loose enough and easy to remove, or those blocks that have the least impact on tower stability. To remove a block, you can first push it or immediately pull it out of the tower, it all depends on its position in relation to you and on its location in the tower.
- Remember: you can only touch the tower with one hand. This rule prevents players from holding the tower while removing blocks.
3 Place each extended block on top of the tower. The player who pulled the block out of the tower must place it on top, continuing the original stacking pattern of three blocks in a row. Try to stack the blocks neatly to keep the tower strong. As the game progresses, the tower will get higher and higher until it tilts, becomes unstable and falls.
4 Take blocks out of the tower until it falls. The loser is the player who causes the tower to collapse. Then rebuild the tower and start a new game!

Part 3 of 3: A Strategic Approach to Play

1 Be patient. Jenga doesn't like rushing! When it's your turn to make a move, take your time and carefully and deliberately pull out your block. If you are in a hurry, you will increase the chance of the tower being destroyed.
2 Take out free blocks from the tower. Feel the tower carefully to find the safest blocks to remove. Pay attention to those blocks that are free enough or are already sticking out of the tower. Be careful not to forget to keep an eye on the overall stability of the structure. Try to keep the balance of the tower.
- Each layer of the tower consists of three parallel blocks, two of which are located on the sides and one in the center. If you pull out the central blocks, then the chance of overturning the structure will be noticeably less.
- Try to remove blocks from the top and center of the tower. The lower blocks are quite difficult to remove without dangerous destabilization of the entire structure. Blocks near the very top of the tower can stand so freely that when pulled out, they will pull other blocks along with them.
3 To remove the block, pull it out or push it out. If you decide to remove the center unit, try carefully pushing it through the tower. If you need to remove the outermost block, try pinching the block between your thumb and forefinger and swinging it out. To remove difficult blocks, try a combination of swinging motion and tapping.
4 Place the removed blocks on the tower in such a way as to balance it. Pay attention to the direction in which the tower begins to tilt after you remove the block from it. Then, carefully place your block on the tower so that the additional weight does not cause the structure to collapse.
- Alternatively - if you think you can get away with it - you can, on the contrary, place the top block on the weaker falling edge of the tower, so that it will be more difficult for the next player to pull out his block.
5 Play to win. If you are more interested in the competitive aspect of the game, you should try to make sure that the tower does not collapse on your turn. Try to plan your actions to destabilize the tower so that it collapses on someone else. Try to start removing the important blocks from the bottom of the tower, try to choose the best possible from among them.
- Play fair. Respect other players and do not interfere with them when they make their turn. If because of you the game seems to someone less interesting, then they simply will not agree to play with you next time!

Tips

Try to pull out the central blocks of the tower so that there is less chance of bringing it down.
In most cases, there are always free center or end blocks in the tower, remove them first! If you try to pull out a tightly gripped block, there is a chance that the tower will collapse.
The name of the game Jenga comes from the Swahili word for "build".