Until this month, I’d never owned a JENGA game. It’s a classic that I’ve played in the past, but for some reason I just never had one to call my own. Well, the good folks over at Hasbro Games filled the void when they sent over their new version, JENGA BOOM. The “explosive” package arrived here at Rock Father HQ, immediately piquing the interest of Addie, who was curious why the box had a string on it. That “string,” is actually a fuse, as the box is made to resemble four massive sticks of dynamite, bound together as a bomb. Most awesome disclaimer ever? “ACTUAL PRODUCT DOES NOT EXPLODE.“
The game itself is simple: You set the fuse… build the tower… and then take turns playing traditonal Jenga – taking a loose piece from within the tower, and placing it on the top to increase the tower’s height. The difference here is that each player must push the “play” button on the bomb while taking their turn, the press “stop” at the end. If you make a mistake and the tower topples – you lose. If the bomb goes off during your turn – you lose, but this time the tower goes BOOM!
It could be argued that Jenga was a perfect game to begin with, thus it can’t really be improved upon. There have been different variations over the years, but the core gameplay has been the same since at least the 80s. Personally, I think that Jenga Boom is an interesting spin on the classic in that you’re not only working against people to destroy the tower, but also an external force that adds an element of speed to the game – time is of the essence. Additionally, playing against a child, it’s evident that Jenga Boom taps into that little quirk that all kids seem to have… the love to destroy stuff, or knock things over.
Addie? No exception:
While the “explosive” nature of the game is certainly fun (we’ve had it for about two weeks and it’s still being requested), you can just set the wooden blocks up on the table by themselves and play a game of traditional Jenga if you’d like. Old-school and New-school together as one.
Jenga Boom is available now.
The Rock Father Rating: 4/5 Stars
FTC Disclosure: A Jenga Boom Game was provided to The Rock Father for review consideration by Hasbro Games. All opinions are that of James Zahn with influence from his children.
