Product Code Database
Jenga is a game of physical skill created by British board game designer and author Leslie Scott and marketed by Hasbro. The name comes from the Swahili language word "" which means 'to build or construct'. Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. Each block removed is then placed on top of the tower, creating a progressively more unstable structure. The game ends when the tower falls over.
In 1984, Robert Grebler, an entrepreneur from California who was the brother of a close friend of Scott, contacted her and expressed interest in importing and distributing Jenga in Canada. In April 1985, Grebler acquired from Scott the exclusive rights to Jenga for the United States and Canada, and then in October of that year, Scott assigned the worldwide rights in Jenga to Grebler,About Jenga, 108 which he in turn assigned to Pokonobe Associates. Convinced of Jenga's potential, Grebler had invited two cousins to form Pokonobe Associates with him in 1985 to increase distribution of Jenga. Pokonobe then licensed Irwin Toy to sell Jenga in Canada and to be master licensee worldwide. Pokonobe Associates takes 80% of royalties while Scott receives 20% or less, despite Scott having authored and published the game while Greble effectively acted only as an agent, the reverse of the customary split; Scott says she "came to regret signing away my rights to Jenga on those terms."About Jenga, 114
Irwin Toy licensed Jenga to Schaper in the United States, and when that company was bought by Hasbro, Jenga was launched under the Milton Bradley banner in 1987. Eventually, Hasbro became licensee in most countries around the world.
By 2019, according to Pokonobe Associates, owners of the Jenga brand, over 80 million Jenga games, equivalent to more than 4.3 billion Jenga blocks, had been sold worldwide. On November 5, 2020, Jenga was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Starting with the one who built the tower, players take turns removing one block from any level below the highest completed one and placing it horizontally atop the tower, perpendicular to any blocks on which it is to rest. Each player may use only one hand to touch the tower or move a block at any given time, but may switch hands whenever desired. Once a level contains three blocks, it is complete and may not have any more blocks added to it. A block may be touched or nudged to determine whether it is loose enough to remove without disturbing the rest of the tower, but it must be returned to its original position if the player decides to move a different one. A turn ends when the next player in sequence touches the tower or when 10 seconds have elapsed since the placement of a block, whichever occurs first.
The game ends when any portion of the tower collapses, caused by either the removal of a block or its new placement. The last player to complete a turn before the collapse is the winner.
In addition, there have been a number of collector edition Jenga games, featuring the colors and logos of the Boston Red Sox, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Yankees, and John Deere, among others. Hello Kitty Jenga, Transformers Jenga, Tarzan Jenga, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Jenga, Donkey Kong Jenga, Bob's Burgers Jenga, National Parks Jenga, Jenga Ocean, The Walking Dead Jenga, Super Mario Jenga, Fortnite Jenga, Godzilla Jenga, Rick and Morty Jenga, Onyx Jenga, and Harry Potter Jenga are some of the licensed variations of Jenga.
|
|
