Drunk jenga one is an old favorite from my university days (oh, to be 20 years old again!). Me and my student buddies used to play it while pre-gaming (as in getting really drunk on cheap booze as soon as evening time hits, so that by the time we are all ready to go out and hit the night clubs, we’re pretty tipsy and don’t have to spend what little money we have on expensive, watered down drinks at nightclub bars) and drunk jenga is a very good way to cause some trouble and maybe get a bit of flirting and jokes going amongst strangers/newbies to the group!
Note: Our jenga drinking game block ideas are so popular that we’ve compiled them all into one easy to read block idea book!
Never Heard of or Played Jenga Before?
Seriously?
… OK, we don’t judge here on the Sobur blog (maybe just a bit… Jenga is a classic!) so here’s a little history lesson for you:
In terms of home ‘board games’, Jenga is second in popularity world-wide only to Monopoly.
It was introduced to the world by the enterprising Leslie Scott, a British woman born in East Africa who moved to Ghana, West Africa as a child. Jenga, a Swahili word meaning “to build“, is such a simple game to understand, but also a complex and somewhat stressful game to master.
Following the launch of her book ‘About Jenga‘ which chronicles the amazing story behind the business and the entrepreneur who created it, Leslie Scott revealed the origins of Jenga in an interview:
“Jenga was based on a game that my family devised in the mid-1970s using my then five-year-old brother’s wooden building blocks. We played this game within the family, and with friends, for several years before I decided to modify it, name it, manufacture it and take it to market in 1982.”
Apparently the children’s wooden building blocks that Leslie and her family used throughout her childhood were bought locally in a town known as Takarati (Takoradi) in Ghana during the early 70’s. The Takarati wood mill is still operational today. The game is well known amongst the Asanti people of Ghana, where it called, “Sidan”, which means, “To build the House”.
While trying to get the game to market, Leslie Scott suffered through bad business relationships, patent and branding troubles, insufficient funds and lack of a platform for her game for years. But due to that special Jenga magic that seems to draw people near, she succeeded. This ‘special magic’ proved invaluable as Jenga’s prowess reached first a small circle of friends, and then a circle of companies, and finally encircled the world with a pair of wooden arms!
Jenga really is as simple to play as it sounds: during the game, players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. Each block removed is then balanced on top of the tower, creating a progressively taller but less stable structure.
How To Play Drunk Jenga
So now you know the history and basics behind plain ‘ol regular jenga, let’s get into the fun stuff: the jenga drinking game!
The basics: Rules are the same as regular jenga. I.E. take turns removing one block at a time from the tower and placing it on top without knocking the tower over. Where it gets tricky (and fun) is when you write different crazy challenges on each of the 54 jenga blocks with a sharpie.
Remembering that you can only use one hand, when (if!) the block is successfully removed, the rule on the block is followed. The person who knocks over the tower receives all of the ridicule and surprise that they would in a normal game of Jenga, only now they also have to down their entire drink and then pick 2 blocks to follow as extra punishment.
Jenga Drinking Game Block Ideas
Now that you know the rules of drunk jenga, you’ll want some help and inspiration for choosing the challenges to write on your jenga blocks.
You can find a massive list of suggestions in our Jenga Drinking Game Block Ideas book here (downloadable PDF), but to get you started quickly here is my personal list of suggestions:
- Swear every sentence until the end of the game
- Throw this block at someone. If they miss it, they drink. If they catch it, you drink.
- Truth or dare
- Everyone has to switch seats, last person to sit drinks
- Nibble someone’s earlobe
- Give someone a hickey
- Make a drink using something in the fridge
- Make an animal noise
- Talk in a (funny) accent for the rest of the game
- Carress person directly to your left/right. Make it weird
- Lick the carpet (30cm square) then do a shot
Giant Jenga: How To Level Up!
For the Bing Bang theory fans out there, you may have seen the scene where two main characters, Sheldon Cooper and Leonard are playing a game of life size jenga, check it out:
If you and your drinking buddies want to take your game of drunk jenga to the next level; up-size it and get some jumbo jenga in your life! The same rules apply as in normal drunk jenga, although you may want to remove that one hand only rule to be fair to everyone playing.
The best place I’ve seen for getting hold of your own giant Jenga set is Amazon.
If you want even more (quality) drinking game versions of popular board games, check out our Twister drinking game page!
Strip Jenga: The Dirtiest, Funnest Drinking Game Ever!
As is the case with anything wholesome, if you add drinking and alcohol to it, it becomes an order of magnitude better! Strip Jenga (or naked jenga, whatever you want to call it!) is a perfect example of this.
I came across a brilliant Strip Jenga drinking game rulebook and tile suggestion list on Reddit, and thought I’d share it with you here. As stated on the reddit post, the rules are “designed to be played with two couples but can be altered [sic]. The game is in 3 stages, so first you get drunk, second you get more comfortable with each other, third gets more intense. Couples would probably want to jump straight to the second or third list.”
Strip Jenga Game Download: We have made our strip Jenga rules/block ideas list available for download in one easy to read Strip Jenga block idea book!
Remember, once you’ve finished having fun and (very likely) getting pretty drunk after playing jenga drinking games, try a Sobur hangover remedy to banish the next-morning hangover and wake up feeling great!
If you’re looking for more jenga drinking game block ideas, check this out:
fun and creative idea. DIY with kids is fun. I need to plan a fun DIY project for our family , maybe next weekend