My least favourite game (Jenga)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Jenga
Date:	17/06/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Could be good for kids

Disadvantages: See review

Jenga is a very simple game which I'm sure most people have played once or twice in their lives.

Basically, it consists of a tub or box of wooden blocks, which are then stacked in a certain way. The people playing each have to remove a block at a time without knocking the tower over. The loser is the one who knocks it.

Well, as you can see I've given Jenga 1 star. I know a lot of people are fans of this game but it has no appeal to me. Here's why:

1. It takes forever to set up
For a short game, it's boring to spend more time building it up than playing.

2. It's repetitive
With everyone doing the same thing every turn and only 2 possible outcomes - you knock the tower over or you don't - I don't find it has appeal at all. Maybe some people get excited about whether the tower will fall or not, but I just don't care.

3. It's dull
Yes the wooden blocks have a nice retro touch, but it would be interesting to have different coloured or patterned blocks, or even different sized blocks. I have seen an 'own brand' version of Jenga which has text on the blocks to say tongue twisters, gargle songs etc. as part of a drinking game which would be slightly more fun. They could also adapt this for kids to make it educational.

4. You have to pick your players carefully
It's almost inevitable you'll end up playing with or near someone who gets bored or thinks they're being funny and deliberately knocks the tower. Alternatively I have seen people throw tantrums when they knock the tower and go around knocking all the blocks everywhere because they are annoyed (insert eye roll here). You can play on your own to make it even more boring.

5. The price
Actual Jenga costs £14.99 at Amazon, which is hideously expensive for some wooden blocks. It would be cheaper to play with actual bricks. Toyshop and supermarket own brands are available for a fraction of the price and under different names. This makes me surprised Jenga itself is still profitable - perhaps people buy them as gifts for people they hate.

The only positive in my view is that it might be good for kids to learn co-ordination, turn taking etc. I don't understand why anyone over the age of about 10 would ever want to play it. I much prefer more complex games or at least ones with more variety and less set-up.

Summary: Don't ask me to play this!