Launched in 1983, the game of Jenga has quickly become a favorite around the world. You can find people playing at carnivals, fairs and even at your local pub.
It has come to rival corn hole as a game that seems to be everywhere.
There’s a reason for that. While simple, the game is a lot of fun to play and requires skills, intelligence and good decision making – sometimes all at the same time.
With party rental companies such as Air Fun Games, you can now rent your own Giant Jenga Game, bring the fun of the Jenga to your own backyard or neighborhood party.
How Jenga Is Played
Jenga is actually a Swahili word meaning, “build.”
The game involves 53 wooden pieces, each block three times longer than its width. To begin the game, the blocks are stacked into a tower. The object of the game is for players to remove a block from the tower and then placing it at the top level without cause the tower to fall.
It’s that simple. But as the game goes on, it gets very, very hard.
Part of the beauty of the game is that it can be played by players of any age (usually the youngest players must be at least six years old).
The Game’s Origins
Leslie Scott, a British national who grew up in Ghana in West Africa, invented the game. It was based on a game that she had played with her family using pieces from her five-year-old brother’s set of wooden blocks.
“I think Jenga satisfies all the basic requirements we have of a game,” Scott said in an interview. “It demands skill, involves interaction with other players, provides suspense, and takes place within a finite period of time.”
Scott went on to create a company focused only on bringing the game to the market, rather than licensing it to an established toy company. She unveiled the game at the 1983 Toy Fair in London. Eventually, the rights to license the game went to Milton Bradley.
According to a book written by Scott about Jenga, people have bought more than 50 million Jenga games worldwide. There are now many special editions of the game, such as those with the logos of sports team like the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Raiders. There is even “A Nightmare Before Christmas” Jenga.
From the humble origins of a game being played with a little boy’s blocks, Jenga has become a household name and a worldwide phenomenon.
Popular Sports Themed Inflatable Games
Renting Your Own Giant Jenga Game
As mentioned above, you can get your own Jenga game by renting it through Air Fun Games. It’s just like regular Jenga but, as the name implies, such bigger. It stands at over 3-feet high.
It’s the sort of game that can become a center of activity at your party because it appeals to people of all ages.
Given its history and years of fun it has given so many people, renting the Giant Jenga could be the part of your party that everyone remembers for years to come.
Hi.
I would like to make a point of correction. Ghana is in West Africa and not East Africa. East African countries are Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi. South Sudan and Somalia.
Thanks.
Point of correction, Leslie grew up in East Africa not West Africa, where Swahili is more dominant.
The name was Leslie Scott, not Leslie Jones, AFAIK.