Jenga, the ultimate childhood game of close calls and epic falls.
The game of strategy where small fingers and a little flexibility makes you the victor. And more recently, the game that some bars in Dallas have decided to upgrade to giant wooden pieces making the falls even that more epic. You haven’t lived until you’ve won a life-size game of Jenga.
And now the childhood game is trying to join the big leagues. Yep. After more than 30 years, Jenga is nominated to be the 2015 Toy and Game of the year for the National Toy Hall of Fame, beating out other games like Battleship, Ninja Turtles and even those precious American Girl Dolls.
Right now, Jenga is in the top 3, but if it wins by popular vote, the game will be inducted in the Hall of Fame, joining other timeless games like Etch A Sketch, the Hula Hoop, Alphabet Blocks and one of my personal favorites, Play Doh!
Random bit of knowledge you can share during your next awkward conversation….Englishwoman Leslie Scott expanded on the wooden block from her childhood in Africa, gave her game a catchy name and made everyone a fan of the towering toppling blocks. And the word Jenga comes from the Swahili verb that means “to build.”
Like the game itself, there are no tangible prizes if Jenga enters the Hall of Fame, but the bragging rights are enough.
So if you’re ever enjoyed a game (or three) of Jenga with friends or family or let a scream of excitement as the tower crashed to the ground after your opponents move, cast your vote for this family-friendly, timeless toy! Voting ends on Nov. 4.
You can vote here once a day, every day.
We LOVVVVVE Jenga in our family! We have an awesome Red Sox version and play all the time.
We love Jenga and I a, definitely voting for this game. I hope Jenga makes it to the toy Hall of Fame.
Jenga is the best game ever! We’ve been playing this game for years.
I haven’t played this game in years, it is a fun game for sure. I want to buy a few for christmas for my son. He loves to play games!
I adored Jenga as a kid. I haven’t played it in so long. I really need to get it and play with my kids!
I remember playing Jenga when I was younger. Some games never go out of style though.
I love Jenga! I played this game all the time as a kid. I have a couple of these games at home now, and my girls love it. We always have a great time playing this.
Jenga is fun and nerve-wracking at the same time. It’s such a classic. It definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
Oh we love Jenga. We have Jenga in our game collection. It should be in the toy hall of fame.
I didn’t realize there was a toy hall of fame! Jenga definitely deserves an award, it’s a classic!
I still have a Jenga game in my cupboard. Its fun to play.
I remember when Jenga first came out! Glad to see it is still so popular my kids love it!
Oh, these are some of my most favorite toys! I love Jenga!
I didn’t even know there was a toy hall of fame! Jenga definitely belongs in there!
Jenga is a fantastic game. We used to play it on the weekends with the kids. I would love to see it get into the Hall of Fame.
I have never heard of a toy hall of fame. Jenga is so much fun to play. I hope it makes it into the hall of fame.
Battleship was one of my favorites when i was younger. I would love to help Jenga get into the hall of fame.
oh man we used to play jenga all the time. this is bringing back so awesome memories. jenga is the best.
Jenga is one of my all time favorite games! We have it in our family game night collection.
Jenga is definitely one of the best toys my kids owned while growing up and deserves this top award. My own children played with this for hours with their siblings and friends and now that they’re off at college I bring it out whenever little kids are visiting to play with this classic toy game.
Jenga is one of the best games out there. We are in the process of building a human sized jenga for our teenagers.