Jenga – It’s Not Just for Kids

Jenga Machine Gun (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After a doubles match in tennis, our friends came over for dinner tonight. (We would have played a second match, only the lights went out during our fifth game, leaving us all scrambling for our iPhones and flashlight apps.)

They brought clam dip and wine, which we dug into enthusiastically while skewering beef kebabs and veggies to put on the grill.

After dinner, the kids all scattered, leaving us adults at the dinner table, talking and nursing our wine. I looked over to see the three little ones (ages 9, 9, and 11) sprawled on the couch. playing games on their iPods.

“It’s time for a game!” I said. I went into the office and fetched Jenga.

“Noooo,” the kids all said in unison. “We don’t want to play!”

“Yeeeesssss,” we parents insisted. “Put the iPods away.”

The kids came to the table reluctantly. Before long, we had an exciting game of Jenga under way. The engineer in the group – who gave lots of strategic advice – somehow ended up toppling the tower, to the delight (and relief) of the children. They made their escape back to the couch and their iPods.

Meanwhile, we adults decided to play another round. (We had learned some good tips from the engineer.) So we cracked open another bottle of wine and carried on. Jenga is actually a very fun game … without kids!