Jenga

01Discover the game

In Jenga, players each pull a brick from the tower and then rest it at the top. The tower becomes higher, but its base contains more and more holes. So each success prepares a new problem for the following players. There is neither a dice nor a map: it is the bricks, their frictions and balance of the moment that determine what one can try.

The overall difficulty is Medium. The rules are easy, but a precise hand, patience and a good reading of the supports require practice. We keep the classic Jenga Hasbro, notice 53557, with 54 bricks and without variations to dice, challenges or inscriptions on the pieces. The solo mode is presented separately as training.

02Equipment

The holding box includes exactly 54 wooden bricks and a mounting sheath or support. It takes a flat and stable surface, large enough to collect the bricks if the tower falls. The sheath is not used to support the tower during the game towers.

The bricks all have the same function, even if their frictions may vary slightly. There is no joker brick or special value part. A sheet can be used to record a solo record. A chronometer is not necessary to impose a speed of reflection: the ten seconds of the rule concern the end of the tower, not a delay to find a brick.

03The goal

Being the last player to have withdrawn and then rested a brick without dropping the tower. He who causes it to fall loses; the player who had completed the previous round correctly wins. Therefore, to three or more players, the rule is not only to declare all the other winners: the last successful round designates the winner.

04Build the tower

Lay three bricks side by side to form a floor. Above, place three other bricks turned at right angle, then continue alternating the orientation. With 54 bricks, you get 18 floors of three bricks. Use the sheath to align the mounting, then gently remove it.

The person who built the tower starts, then the turn passes to the player placed on the left. Check that the floors are complete and the table does not move. Everyone must be able to reach the sides of the tower without moving the board or dragging the table. You can observe from several sides, but not touch to stabilize.

05Remove and then rest a brick

Choose an authorized brick

In your turn, remove a brick located under the highest complete floor. The upper complete floor cannot be chosen, nor can an incomplete floor placed above provide a brick. This limit avoids simply taking a piece from the top to place it almost in the same place.

You can touch bricks to look for which one is loose. If you push a brick out of its place and decide not to take it, first put it back correctly before trying another. A gentle search does not allow to leave several bricks partially out.

One hand at a time

Use only one hand to remove and replace the brick. You can change hands during the turn, but not use both simultaneously. The other hand does not hold the tower. You can push the brick from one side and then recover it from the other, always with one active hand.

Build the summit

Repose the brick at the top, at right angle compared to the bricks on the next lower floor. Complete a three-brick floor before starting a floor above. So an incomplete floor cannot be used as a pretext to raise a single-brick pile at each level.

A single brick is removed and rested per turn. Do not take a second piece to compensate for a wrong placement. Adjust carefully your single brick until it rests properly, then release it and spread the hand.

When the turn is over

Your turn ends ten seconds after pose, or as soon as the next player touches a brick if it happens before. Do not rush your neighbor to pass on a lap that already falls. If it collapses while your turn is not finished, you are still responsible.

The game continues until the fall. Dropping several bricks is a fall, even if a part of the bottom remains standing. It is not allowed to catch the tower with its second hand to cancel the accident.

06A series of tricks as an example

The tower starts with 18 full floors. Alice removes a brick from the third floor and the laying at the top: a nineteenth floor starts with a brick. Bob has to lay his brick next to that of Alice, and Chloe completes this floor. The next player will be able to start a twentieth floor, in the other orientation.

Alice then hesitates between two bricks on the seventh floor. She pushes the first one slightly, finds that she drives the next block and puts it back in place. She tries another brick, which slides easily, then removes it. Tester is not automatically losing: what counts is to respect the mounting and not to bring down the tower.

If Bob rests his brick and the tower falls three seconds later, before Chloe touched a coin, Bob's turn is not over. Bob loses and Alice, the last to finish a successful lap before him, wins. This example explains why the players have to distinguish "I dropped the brick" and "My turn is over".

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07Victory and solo mode

In group, the last player who passed a lap before the fall wins. The person who dropped the tower rebuilt it for the next game. You can change the constructor from one game to the next to vary the first player.

In solo, try to beat your record of height or successful travel. The booklet presents this training separately and allows to remove a brick from any level. To compare records, always keep the same convention: solo mode of the booklet or the same restrictions as the group game. Do not compare a record obtained by discreetly changing the rules.

08Frequent errors

• Take in the highest complete floor or in the incomplete floor above in collective part.
• Hold the tower with one hand while the other removes a piece.
• Start a new floor before finishing the three bricks of the previous one.
• Leave several bricks moved after testing them.
• Announce that his turn is over as soon as the hand leaves the summit.
• Move the table to help or hinder another player.

09Tips for starting

Observe the support before pushing: a brick that supports a heavily loaded column will often be harder to remove. First look for the parts that flow almost effortlessly. If the tower moves with your first try, stop forcing and examine another possibility.

At the top, gently lay the brick flat rather than drop it. Keep a calm pace, and leave the others space to reach the tower. The best learning consists of explaining after the fall what support seemed fragile, not giving instructions during the round of the neighbor.