Wooden block pyramid game. What is the name of the game where they pull wooden blocks out of a pyramid?
In the board game "Tower" (also known as "Leaning Tower", "Town", "Jenga"), a tower is built from even wooden blocks (each new "floor" is made alternating the direction of laying), and then the players begin to carefully pull out one block and place it on the top of the tower. The winner is the one who is the last to get the block and does not bring down the tower.
The Tower board game from the Tactic company is, in fact, a very famous “leaning tower” game known in Russia. The principle is quite simple: a tower is built from even wooden blocks (each new “floor” is made alternating the direction of laying), and then the players begin to carefully pull out one block at a time and place it on top of the tower.How to win at Tower
The winner is the one who is the last to get the block and does not bring down the tower. You need to act carefully and carefully, and you should also immediately think about how exactly to place the element on top: after all, this is often more difficult than simply pulling it out of the “foundation”.How tall is the tower?
If the players are experienced and careful, then the tower turns out to be very high: from the outside it seems that if a butterfly lands on it, the whole structure will collapse. Many are building high tower not as part of a game, but simply for fun - for example, to take a photo with it or to drop it beautifully.Why is this game good for children?
What will I find in the set?
The tin box contains 48 even square blocks of dense wood and a mold for building a flat tower, with which the game begins.Who invented this game?
The authorship of the game belongs to Leslie Scott: the first set was released in 1974. Leslie grew up near a house made of similar blocks - and as a child she often assembled various structures from “wooden bricks”. In the 80s, the game became famous in the UK, and in 87 - in America.What other names for this game are used?
Around the world the "Tower" is known as different names. The most famous analogue is the board game Jenga or Jenga from Hasbro. In our country it is also called “Town”, in Brazil - “Earthquake”, in Europe they know it as “ Leaning Tower of Pisa", in Denmark - as "Brick House".Alexandra
" Thanks for playing!! Good idea to spend time with your child!!! »
Today I want to talk about interesting game for two or big company - Tower. Other names are "Tower", "Jenga", "Jenga", "Top Over". We bought this game a year ago and have never regretted it; it brought us a lot of fun minutes (as well as funny photos).
Rules of the game Tower (Jenga)
Tower consists of 54 wooden blocks, they are laid out 3 on top of each other close together (layers need to be laid perpendicular) and form a tall beautiful tower of 18 floors. Now players take turns taking one block from anywhere in the tower (except for the top two, it’s too easy) and placing them on the top floor of the tower. Important Note: You only need to take out the block one hand, the second hand lies quietly and does not help to hold the tower, belay, etc. Here's your one playing hand she can do whatever she wants - poke at all the blocks to check which of them is not sitting tightly, straighten the protruding pieces of the tower and whatever she wants. You are allowed to stop halfway to reach the block if you feel this threatens to destroy the turret.
Who lost?
The game ends tower fall, the one who was responsible for this lost, that is, he tried to get his block, and this led to destruction. 
In this case, even a situation in which only one block fell, with the exception of the one that they tried to get, is considered a loss. True, this is very rare. In 95% of cases, the entire tower collapses epically and with a roar.
At what point is it especially interesting to play?
It becomes interesting when the tower actually grows - or maybe it will grow three times in height. Then it hangs on literally by a thread and each player feels great tension during his turn and great joy if he managed to fish out the block without consequences. And also, when an opponent walks, we usually have cheerful encouragement: “Come on, come on, destroy it already!” and inside there is such hope that the move will not reach you. After all, the situation only gets worse with every move.
How to increase interest
Play for desire! How many everyday issues we solved during this game! I washed the floors, and the dishes, and cleaned the apartment :))) But without tears or resentment towards my husband, because everything was decided in a fair fight. No, of course, in fact he laughed at me and went to help. In a large company, we really like to play, who will wash the dishes after our get-together, then everyone play with passion, at least not to lose, because this is at stake! And when all these options get boring and you don’t know what else to order, then you can use each block apply a number and make a sheet with transcripts, and even take an assignment for forfeits. At the moment of the destruction of the tower, they look at which block with which number is left in their hands; the task under this number will have to be completed.
From what age
Our guy loves to play this game two year old son, it’s already starting to work out well. I think from three he will already be a full-fledged player. The most a big problem- the second pen constantly strives to help, but we, of course, allow it :)
How else to use
When we saw this game on sale, the question of whether to take it or not was not even raised, since we had long wanted a wooden construction set for our child, and compared to a construction set of similar size, the tower was twice as big cheaper! In the end, we took the tower and it turned out to be two in one. My son asks to get the tower almost every day and uses it in all his games. He builds roads, houses, barriers and simply transports them in a truck, loading them with a tractor with a bucket.
Watch the video on how to play wooden tower Jenga
How much does the Tower cost?
Now there are variations of this game, for example, a very gambling version of Jenga Boom, where the tension only increases. You can get acquainted with the prices for the game Tower and make a purchasing decision in the table below.
| The shops | What sets | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Classic Jenga, Jenga BOOM | 970 -1400 rub. | |
Jenga is extremely popular, meditative and at the same time gambling. During the process, players act with bated breath, and the loss is marked by the roar of a collapsed building.
Review
The board game Jenga, also known as Tower, is quite simple.
You need to build a tower from wooden blocks, and then pull the sticks out of the tower and put them on the top floor. The structure will become increasingly unstable until it collapses from careless movement or a blow of wind.
In its basic principle, it is a bit like playing spillikins (with miniature utensils) or Mikado (using wooden skewers). The game takes on average 5-10 minutes.
Who created
The game Jenga was invented by Tanzanian-born Englishwoman Leslie Scott in the early 1970s. Its ancestor was the game of blocks that Leslie played as a child. The word "jenga" comes from the Swahili verb "to build". The game is produced by one of the subsidiaries of the Hasbro company; replicas from the Igrotime company are popular in Russia.
From what age
You can play Jenga from the moment your fine motor skills have developed sufficiently. You can build a tower for the first time at the age of five, although it’s unlikely that an adult should compete with an impatient child.
What is in the box
There are other options for how to play the tower. For example, buy a set with numbers on the dice and take out not random blocks, but the one whose number appears on the dice.
Board game Jenga (Tower) and its variations
History of appearance
The familiar “Jenga” was invented by British board game designer Leslie Scott three decades ago. According to the author, it was created in the image and likeness of the game at which the entire Scott couple spent their evenings in the distant seventies. Only then, instead of elongated wooden blocks, elements of the Takoradi children's construction set, brought from Ghana, were used. Based on the same African fun, another game was created called “Ta-Ka-Radi”, very similar to “Jenga”. It appeared on the American market several years earlier, but did not achieve such deafening popularity as Jenga.
The game has a rather exotic name. "Jenga" is a Swahili dictionary word meaning "to build." The game's author, Leslie Scott, is of British descent, but she was born in Tanzania and spent her entire childhood in Africa. Therefore, Leslie decided to pay tribute to her second native language by christening her new brainchild with a name so unusual for Europeans.
Kit Contents
The original Jenga consists of 54 oblong wooden blocks. The surface of each block is carefully sanded, but not covered with varnish or paint. This increases friction between structural elements and prevents the tower from falling apart. Block Dimensions classic version games are 1.5x2.5x7.5 cm.
With the growing popularity of Jenga, many of its “remakes” have appeared on the market, the dimensions of the elements of which may differ from the ancestor, but the aspect ratio of the blocks is mostly preserved.
"Ta-Ka-Radi" vs. "Jenga"
The two games are very similar, but have some significant differences. Ta-Ka-Radi uses only 51 rectangular blocks. As a result, the original tower is one floor lower than in Jenga, but the height of the structure is greater. The most important difference is how the bars should be placed. In “Ta-Ka-Radi” the blocks are installed on the short side of the section with significant gaps between the elements of the same row. At the same time, in Jenga, the bars lie close to each other on the long side of the section.
If “Jenga” comes in paper packaging, then “Ta-Ka-Radi” is sold in a fabric bag made of natural cloth with a print. The manufacturer also offers a choice of several types of fabrics from which the bag can be made, all colors in the spirit of Africa.
Preparing for the game
Before the start of the round, the starting tower must be level. You can level it using the box from the game itself. Some Jenga sets come with a special plastic corner that acts as a kind of level. Initially, our building has 18 “floors” of 3 blocks each. The bars are laid on long side. All elements must fit tightly to each other. In this case, the bars of each subsequent row are located perpendicular to the blocks of the previous one.
Rules and gameplay
Jenga is designed for two or more players. The principles of the game are very simple: each participant takes out one block from an already standing structure and places it perpendicular to the previous row. At the same time, the “penthouse” tier, preceding the unfinished one, remains untouchable. Also, you cannot start laying blocks in new level, leaving the top "floor" unfinished.
You can only pull the block out of the tower with one hand. You are first allowed to touch the elements and tap the ends of the bars, checking which of them is the most pliable. If something moves out of place, the player must return all affected blocks to their original position before the end of his turn.
All participants take turns taking turns. The turn ends when the next player touches the tower or ten seconds after placing the pulled out block.
Nature of the game
The game trains motor skills and analytical skills well. At the same time, it does not require participants to develop strategy and mental stress, so the gameplay is a relaxed, fun pastime.
Varieties of the game
On modern market There are a great variety of Jenga board games: from small portable versions with tiny bars to huge copies that serve more of an advertising role than serve their direct purpose. Such a “tower boom” among board game manufacturers was undoubtedly due to the popularity that the game found among fans of such games. According to the creator of the classic version of Jenga, about 50 million copies have been sold worldwide original game.
"Jenga: Throw "n Go Jenga"- a game resulting from the fusion of good old Jenga and gaming dice. The elements of the classic set are painted in three different colors. The dice are marked with colors and words that indicate where exactly the block should be pulled from (middle, top, bottom of the tower), as well as exactly how many blocks need to be pulled in one move. For example, after the first roll, you get the words “any two” on the top face of the die. This means that you will have to “fight” with two bars, and not with one.
Throw the die again, and the top one turns out to be a crimson side with the word “beginning”, which means that the first element is crimson, and it is located at the base of the structure. Next, you roll the dice and get the word “middle” on a black background - you pull out a black block from the middle of the tower.
Jenga Truth or Dare. The set consists of the usual number of blocks, two thirds of which are colored orange and purple colors(colors may vary in different editions of the game). Orange bars are desires, purple bars are questions. In this case, one third of the game elements remain uncolored. It is on these pristine bars that players are invited to write own desires or questions. Then the game becomes individual characteristics and becomes one of a kind. Overall, this variation is quite fun and aims to get participants talking, and the gameplay is generously filled with fiction and eccentricity. Due to its nature, it is intended for players over 12 years of age. Nevertheless, many rightfully note that this variety of Jenga is not suitable for children. The desires and questions proposed by the creators cannot be called crystal innocent. On the one hand, you may only be required to sing a song or describe one of the participants and games (why not?). There are also more amusing statements, such as “sensual dance with a mop” and other similar inventions. The questions are tricky ones with a touch of the now popular “American humor.”
More suitable for children Jenga Girl Talk Edition- a much more harmless edition of the game. The blocks are painted pink and crimson and the same as in previous version, covered with questions. This kind of thing could once be seen in children’s notebooks and questionnaires, which were then filled out by friends and classmates. Here you will find traditional questions: “What is your most cherished wish? or the more modern “Name your favorite website.”
Jenga Extreme. The game elements are not a rectangular parallelepiped, but a parallelogram. This adds gameplay a certain extreme and makes it possible to build tilted towers of absolutely bizarre shapes.
"Jenga: Las Vegas Casino" (Las Vegas Casino Jenga)- a completely unexpected combination of two completely different games: Jenga and roulette! As the tower is built, players place bets. The set consists of 54 numbered blocks in red and black, playing field for bets and 75 chips. Recommended for players 18 years and older.
"Jenga" XXL- an enlarged version of the classic Jenga (although there are also much larger copies of the game). The size of each block is approximately 45x22.5x7.5 cm. The set includes 50 elements (48 directly for the game and 2 “in reserve”). All blocks are made not of sanded wood, but of painted plywood, so that when they fall, the structure will not kill players. The original tower is 120 cm high and can theoretically grow to three and a half meters during the game! This version of Jenga is especially good for playing on fresh air, it goes with a bang as a fun accompaniment to a barbecue.
We briefly talked about only some of the varieties of this simple board game. There are also special editions of it. Special attention deserves Jenga Nigthmare before Christmas- a game designed in the spirit of a popular cartoon that appeared on screens more than twenty years ago. The blocks are colored black, purple and orange colors. Each of them bears images of ghosts, funny, sad, cunning faces of Jack Skelington and, of course, the name of the cartoon with its signature “Halloween” font.
In addition, there are many board games created based on Jenga. Some retain the rules of the original game, but the elements themselves are significantly modified. In particular, the snow-white set looks very interesting Jenga Stack The Bones with blocks in the form of bones and a skull crowning the tower. Such a set can become not only your favorite game, but also original decoration interior design, which will also serve as a wonderful gift for lovers of various outlandish things. There are also similar sets with more peaceful themes: with cats, bunnies, carrots, and so on.
As you can see, the good old Jenga does not stand still, but develops in accordance with the desires of modern users. The market is replete with various versions of the long-loved board game, among which you are sure to find the best “Tower” for yourself.
Be the last player to place a block without knocking down the tower.
