Fun, durable, and skill-building
Written: Oct 14 '06 (Updated Oct 15 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A good strategy game that is constructed well, and can be helpful in skill-building.
Cons: The hole in the box, and the set-up time.
The Bottom Line: This is a durable strategy game that is good for ages six and up. It helps build planning ability, patience, and fine motor control.
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| dolphinboy's Full Review: Jenga |
Jenga is a stacking game that consists of fifty-four wooden blocks, that come in a box, with each looking like a miniature 2" X 4" piece of lumber. The game starts with 18 layers of three blocks each, stacked to make a tower, with the rows alternating in orientation (i.e., east-west, north-south, east west). The players take turns removing blocks from below the top level (due to slight imperfections in size, there is always at least one loose block per level) and adding them on top to build new levels. The tower will become increasing unstable, and the game goes until somebody topples it. The number of players ranges from one to ? (beyond four, it gets hard to maintain interest for each player).
The game can become very competitive, with players hunting for the good (loose) blocks and setting up the next player in a precarious situation, with the tower primed to fall. Each game can last from two minutes to thirty minutes, depending upon the skill and luck of the players, with fifteen minutes probably an average.
The game helps build eye-hand coordination and fine motor control, for children or for adults who have suffered serious injuries (e.g., strokes, spinal cord injuries, etc.). Planning ability and patience also get exercised plenty. If you move quickly and/or carelessly, you will lose quickly.
The blocks are made of hard wood, and mine look new after years of use. There is a three-sided (bottom and two long sides) plastic sheath in the box, that can aid in aligning the blocks in preparation for playing.
Caution: After the events of 9/11/01, a game based on building and toppling a tower might be traumatic to some people who remember that awful day clearly.
Minor complaints: There is a window/opening in the side of the box and, if you don't put the blocks and the sheath in right, the blocks escape. Some of the newer games come in a cardboard tube. The game can take some time to set up (more than chess or checkers, and probably about the same as Stratego, Risk, or Chinese checkers). You need to play the game on a table that is stable and unlikely to be bumped by passers-by, or you might experience premature toppling (in which case you might be tempted to use the fallen blocks in somewhat antisocial ways).
For me: I received Jenga was a multi-purpose present, as my parents bought it for me, knowing that I would enjoy the strategy and competitiveness involved (they were right) and that it would be good for my fine motor control, subsequent to my spinal cord injury (they were again right). Jenga has helped me build shoulder strength and fine motor control, and I just plain enjoy the game. I've played many solitaire games of Jenga for the fun, to see how high I could get the tower (my record is 34 levels), and to build my skills. It is also good when the players differ in age as, once a child learns the basics, adults probably have little advantage over them. I am a child psychologist and have played this game against children as young as six (and often lost!), with the age where interest begins to be strong as ten or eleven. I can get frustrated with the time for set-up, but many games are that way. Mousetrap is probably a prime example of a game with significant set-up time, especially if you have to dismantle a previous game, but I still enjoy it, and the same holds for Jenga.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 12.00
Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
dolphinboy
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Member: Chris McCallister
Location: The Great Lakes of Michigan
Reviews written: 521
Trusted by: 214 members
About Me:
I am a psychologist, new author, and a reviewer on several sites.
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