Jenga: Something for Everyone
Written: Dec 30 '99 (Updated Nov 05 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Simplicity, good for many skills levels, fun!
Cons: none
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| wovengold's Full Review: Jenga |
As someone who works with elders, I am constantly seeking interesting, simple, inexpensive and "just plain fun" activities for people who may have lost physical strength, muscle tone, and even some mental capacity. Jenga is one of the first games I've found that truly works for everyone.
The premise of the game is simple in concept, more difficult in execution.
Game pieces consist of smoothly polished wooden bars. To begin, players stack these bars into a tower, each level consisting of three bars placed side by side, with each level's bars placed perpendicular to the level below and above it.
The object of the game? Remove as many bars as possible without making the tower fall down. Players take turns, removing one bar at a time. The concentration is intense. Invariably, the room quiets and all attention is riveted on the hand of the player as the bar is pushed or pulled out of the tower.
Finding the bar to remove is an art in itself -- as the structure of the tower changes, some pieces become loose, while others seem to stick. The only way to determine which pieces will move is to tap them, lightly. I always find myself holding my breath during this process.
What happens when the tower falls down? A big, satisfying crash! The "loser" has to stack all the pieces up again so the game can begin over. (Invariably, everyone wants to play again, so there really is no loser -- another plus when working with people of varied levels of skill.)
I first played Jenga with a 90-year-old woman who has some Alzheimer's dementia and many physical ailments. In addition, she is an Alaska Native whose first language is not English. To my amazement, this woman -- who seldom spoke and spent much of her time alone, sitting -- was a Jenga fanatic! In spite of her shaky hands, I cleaned up the blocks the first go-round. What a joy to see her focus and determination, as well as her childlike laughter when I knocked the blocks down!
Since then I have played Jenga with children, people with disabilities, many elders -- even by myself. The game can be adapted to the physical abilities of almost everyone: I have seen a person without the use of his hands hold a pencil in his teeth to push the blocks out.
The fascination of the game derives from the intense focus and the suspense that builds with the removal of each successive block. It reminds me of my childhood game of building houses out of playing cards --in reverse.
I am so glad to have found a game that truly can be played by the whole family, including the elderly and those with disabilities.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
wovengold
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Member: Kristin Summerlin
Location: Two Rivers, Alaska
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 45 members
About Me:
Life's too crazy. Be back someday...
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