What are the official rules of Jenga?

Jenga has become an iconic game all around the world since its first introduction to the public in 1982 at Harrod’s department store in London and its launch in North America in 1986.

The original Jenga classic game from wooden blocks is a stacking game that Leslie Scott and her family had created in Ghana in the 1970s.

Like any other game, there are official rules in playing Jenga.

Here are the Jenga rules that should be followed in the classic Jenga game.

A classic Jenga game has 54 highly-crafted, especially finished hardwood blocks. To get the game started, you have to set up the tower first. Then the blocks should be stacked in levels of three placed next to each other along their long sides and at a right angle to the previous level up to the 18th levels high.

After the tower was built, the person who stacked the tower gets to play first. The rules now are as follows:

Each player should take and be able to remove one block each turn from any level of the tower but except the one below an incomplete top level.

The block that was successfully removed then should be placed on the topmost level.

The players can only use one hand at a time and either hand may be used, but only one hand may touch the tower at a time.

All players are allowed to tap or test the looseness or tightness of any block. Any blocks that were moved but eventually decided not to be played should be replaced unless doing so would make the tower fall. The turn ends when the next player touches the tower, or after ten seconds, whichever occurs first.

The game ends when the tower falls and collapses completely or if any block falls from the tower that’s other than the block a player moves on a turn.

The loser is the person who made the tower to collapse or technically whose turn it was when the tower fell.

Here are commonly asked questions regarding the rules of Jenga.

The rules of Jenga are quite simple but there are some rules to put into mind all the time.

Who is the player who starts the game and have the first turn?

The player who set up the Jenga tower is the one who gets the first turn. This is how the game should begin at all times.

Can you touch and test the blocks before finally removing it?  

Yes, you can take the time to test how tight or loose any block in the tower before you finally decide to remove them.

What happens if you are not decided with the block you tested to move? 

It’s okay and allowed not to remove the block you tested if it’s not going to work at your end. You just need to leave the block in its original position you found it in by using only one hand.

How many hands are accepted to be used?

During the game, you can use only one hand at a time and can change it from your right to left hand.  You can use one hand to carefully remove a block and to test a bloc

When do you end your turn?

Your turn will end whenever the player after you touch a block, or 10 full seconds have passed after you put your block on top of the tower. If the tower collapses during the 10 seconds after you placed your Jenga block, you automatically lose.

How do we re-stack the removed Jenga blocks?

When you remove a block and you need to place this block back on the top of the tower. You need to be sure that one story of the tower is complete before you begin to build another level up.

If you are placing a block on the top layer that still has only two blocks, you need to complete that into three before putting the blocks on top of that level.

When does the game officially end?

When the tower collapses completely, or if any block falls from the tower other than the piece currently in use during a turn then the game has officially ended.

The loser, of course, is the player who caused a block or the entire Jenga tower to collapse. The last one who successfully added a block on the top level of the tower is considered the winner of the game.

And whoever causes the tower to fall and collapse is the one who sets up the next round as well.

After Thoughts

The possibilities are always fascinating and endless. Each set of the game is different from each other. 

What makes it more over the edge is that rules should be 100% implemented and followed to really make the winner truly deserving of it.

There should be no short-cuts in winning!

You can buy Jenga blocks on Amazon.

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• How many Jenga blocks are in a set?