Talk:Jenga

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Contents 1 Giant Jenga 2 Number of moves 3 Jenga is popular in the beer bars of Thailand 4 Jenga userbox

[edit] Giant Jenga

Not sure why my entry for Giant Jenga was removed. Clever vandalism? I'm not that smart. This version, while heavy and bulky to store is has proven to be a hit at numerous parties. The idea should be shared!krioboy 05:01, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Giant Jenga is commerically available, here are a couple of places that sell it:

* http://www.mastersgames.com/cat/giant/giant-bricks.htm

* http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/garden-games1.htm

James Fryer 14:25, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Number of moves

In Theory, what is the highest number of moves possible in Jenga????

So the tallest tower would be 81 stories tall, with a single piece in the center of each story. That means that each of the lower 80 stories would have had three pieces in it at one point, and was then later reduced to one piece. So two moves per story = 160 moves? That's probably not an exact number, since you might run into some problems at the end when the top story is the only one with more than a single block, but that's got to be about right. --Dantheox 06:04, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

A more careful argument gives 152 moves, yielding a 78 story tower. Assume you're building a tower with one block per story (which you should, if you're maximizing total possible moves) and moves are made from the bottom up. Then a tower with n stories consisting of a single block has 81 − n more blocks above these floors. So for n < 76, there are blocks on the top. Six blocks are required to make any moves (you need two complete stories). So you can get to n = 76, leaving 81 − 76 = 5 blocks on top. At this point, there are no more possible moves. By the reasoning in my previous post, 76 * 2 = 152 moves were made to get to this point. Hopefully that's more of an answer than you were really looking for... =) --Dantheox 09:44, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

Man, if that's accurate, that's a great answer! And I think it's worthy of being in the main article. Can somebody with more statistical credibility than me please verify the math so we can find a place for it in the article? Joe 17:03, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

It's definitely interesting, but wouldn't this constitute "original research?" Unless there's a "theoretical Jenga" website out there somewhere. --Dantheox 23:35,

11 December 2005 (UTC)

There are only 54 blocks in the traditional Jenga so here is my go.

Starting at the bottom.

2 Moves Out of moves because you have to leave 3

6 Moves 2/3 of 6 is 4 plus the 2 left over = 6 again

6 Moves 2/3 of 12 is 8 so 2 left over to start the next phase

12 Moves 2/3 of 15 is 10 so 2 left over to start the next phase

15 Moves 2/3 of 24 is 16 so 1 left over to start the next phase

24 Moves 2/3 of 36

36 Moves 2/3 of 54

101 Total Moves

Will anyone agree with me?????????????

Right, I don't know why I thought the tower started with 27 stories; It actually starts with 18. So my reasoning from before still applies... with n defined as above, so long as , you can still make a move. So at the end, n = 49, and the tower is 51 stories tall, and there would have been 102 total moves. Is there an off-by-one error in your calculations? --Dantheox 08:31, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

When you get to 101 moves, correct you are at deck 51 (stories tall). At this stage at the top you will have 2 blocks on top of 3 and can’t move any of them. This is where you lose the extra move. In other works your not left with 1, 1, 3. you will be left with 1, 3, 2. So my answer is still 101

OK, that's reasonable and I agree. Now all we need is a picture... --Dantheox 02:48, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

I Oppose a picture with 51 storeys as it will likely not be the result of a Jenga game. It would simply be a stack of 51 Jenga blocks. Pictures from a real game, following the rules, are more suitable for the article. Cafe Nervosa | talk 00:59, 22 December 2005 (UTC).

Nah, we don't need a picture. We've already got a good one. But I think a good narative about the maximum number of moves would be very appropriate. Joe 02:26, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jenga is popular in the beer bars of Thailand

Yeah, right. I wonder how long a Jenga game can last when the players are drunk. Oh wait... maybe they use it as a test for drunkness. Definitely needs citation. 165.123.140.215 01:37, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I, too, wonder about the validity of this claim. The Connect Four article also claims (undocumented) that the game is popular in the bars of Thailand and Argentina. Sounds dubious to me. Joe 02:23, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I can confirm this - virtually every bar in Thailand had a Jenga set and a Connect Four set, and my favourite gave out a free drink if you beat the barman three times in a row. Can't cite it, alas, so maybe should be removed. Tyrhinis 10:35, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jenga userbox

There's a Jenga userbox now, for those interested.

{{user jenga}} --Buchanan-Hermit™..CONTRIBS..SPEAK! 23:11, 4 February 2006 (UTC)