Somewhere during the 1970s, a bunch of wooden toy blocks turned into what will eventually be termed, Jenga.
It was only a matter of time until Giant Jenga would come about.
But, did the rules change historically as Jenga developed?
For example, can you use 2 hands in Jenga?
The rules for giant Jenga are exactly the same as regular Jenga, and you can always use 2 hands. You can only touch one block with one hand at a time. You can use your other hand but only after you have stopped touching it with your first hand.
For example, you could start pulling a block out with your right hand, but finish taking it out with your left hand, as long as I am never touching that block with my left and right hand at the same time.
Giant Jenga Rules
While the blocks in Giant Jenga are certainly bigger than regular Jenga blocks, they are not so big that you can’t control and move the blocks with one hand.
As in regular Jenga, you are allowed to switch hands as long as you are not touching the block with both hands at any one time.
- Build a tower by removing blocks from below the top layer, and placing them on the top layer
- You are not allowed to build on top of a layer if that layer has three total blocks remaining that includes the block that will be placed
- Blocks can only be moved one at a time
- You may use one hand at a time to pull blocks, but you may switch hands
- You may tap or lightly knock the tower to have any loosened pieces not fall out
- Players determine/agree whether you have moved a block too far to replace it
- If you have moved a piece and want it back, it must be replaced where it originally was placed in the tower
- You have up to ten seconds from and not including when the player before you lifts their hand off of any block to place your block.
- The winner is the player that places the last, successful block, before the stack collapses.
- Players will take their turns clockwise.
Rule Violations
Whenever there are rules, there are going to be violations of the rules, after all, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
In good fortunes, it’s not going to take as long to outline the list of rule violations as it did to outline the general rules.
- You cannot take any pieces off the top of the tower.
- You are unable to take a piece out far enough to pull it out of the tower and then choose not to go with it.
- You may not touch or hold the blocks with both hands.
- Once a next player has touched a block, the piece you were going to move is considered a completed move with one or both of your hands and you must commit to it.
That just about wraps up the rule infractions when it comes to Jenga. We could go on and list more, but we would just be stating the obvious.
For example, you can’t just destroy the tower because you are agitated.
Are the Rules the Same with Dice?
Playing Jenga with dice is a popular offshoot of the game, likely due to it being a common rule clarification on almost any Jenga-based website so it deserves recognition here.
Jenga using dice, is simply a twist on the game of Jenga led by the roll of the dice to dictate how you build your tower. The game is played using a pair of players who build the tower which is dictated by the dice.
The player rolls the dice and according to the face value of the dice will then place a block on the tower based on the following:
- 1 and 4: either horizontally or vertically
- 2 and 5: on an edge
- 3 and 6: laying vertically
The game is fairly simple, but the premise is to remove and place blocks as dictated by the roll of the dice and both players would take turns until one of them collapses the tower while building the highest tower.
As exciting as a twist on the game of Jenga as it appears these rules drastically change how the game of Jenga is played whether it is outdoors, whether that is on a larger family size set or indoors on one of the smaller set the original rules of Jenga apply.
What you roll on the die matters little and the jenga rule still applies regardless. You have one hand to use, and you can interchange hands or use one hand at a time.
In sum, just like in normal Jenga you can pull a block with your left hand and either place the block into the tower using the right, never at the same time.
How Many Pieces are in Giant Jenga?
The number of blocks you will have is the same as in a regular game, which is 54. You’ll have to get a big Jenga set or be careful with how you put the Jenga together with one hand.
Yes, you can make your own Jenga blocks out of lumber if you have the tools and lumber readily available. If you want to stay true to the game, you have to make a reasonable-sized Jenga set.
What I mean by reasonable is if your family has a family member who is 4’3” tall. You don’t want to make a Jenga set that is 7’ tall.
First, the short person cannot reach the top of the pile, and second, it’s going to force them to use two hands.
Official sets that you buy from a store can be in large sizes (sometimes deceptively large), and they are extremely light.
Those official sets achieve lightweight use by using lighter wood material or hollowing pieces out of wood to eliminate the weight.
The goal is to build a Jenga set that is in line with something you can buy off the shelf or order on Amazon. You want to keep as lightweight as possible, and aim for a total height in the range of 4’ to 5’.
This makes it easy for everyone to participate and adhere to the “one hand at a time only” rule across the board for all players.
Read “Can you paint giant Jenga blocks”, like many sets come as unfinished wood. You may have been wondering about paint, but what type of paint do you actually use? We’ll tell you all.
All Things Considered
Though the one-handed rule is frequently asked about with Jenga, the reality is that the rules will not change whether you’re playing regular, indoor Jenga or using gigantic, outside blocks.
This is nice to have some continuity, but remember, you’re at home with your family, not on ESPN for a live, world competition.
If you want to use two hands, that’s completely acceptable and simply state the rule prior to starting the game!