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DIY giant Jenga

DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used EverywhereWhen the weather is good, what better way to spend your time that by having some good old fashioned fun. Is your backyard ready for some serious lawn games?

DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used EverywherePlaying lawn games with friends is a great way to add extra fun and laughs to any outdoor event. This giant, outdoor version of the classic family game Jenga is cheap, easy to create, and a ton of laughs.

DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used EverywhereThe total cost for this project was $20 for the lumber. Of course, you’ll need the power tools to make this work, but if you or a friend have a mitre saw and an electric sander handy, you’re good to go!
DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used EverywhereMaterials

  • Mitre saw
  • Electric sander
  • 6 – 8′ long 2x4s. Examine your lumber to ensure there are no curves. It should be completely straight.
  • Measuring tape
  • Pencils
  • Safety glasses, cause ya know, safety first

DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used Everywhere
Steps
1) Measure your 2x4s into 10½” long pieces and mark with a pencil. You should get nine pieces from each 2×4.
2) Using your mitre saw, cut carefully along the pencil line. (This is where safety glasses come into play!)
3) Sand each piece thoroughly with your electric sander. This is the most time consuming part. The smoother the block, the easier it will be to play with.
4) Assemble on a flat surface with three blocks alternating rotation per layer. Have fun!

I chose to keep the lumber plain to mimic the original version, but you can certainly have lots of fun with some paint. Paint the blocks a variety of colours, or even just the ends. You could make the game more challenging by only being allowed to pull certain colours!
DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used EverywhereWe found playing the old fashioned way thrilling enough. You know that little feeling of fear you get when playing Jenga? “Is this the one? Will this piece topple the entire tower????” Let me tell you, with giant Jenga, the stakes are even higher. Not only are you waiting for the tower to fall, but you just know it’s going to make a huge kaboom! Crash! on the way down.

DIY Giant Jenga game from Squirrelly Minds on Used EverywhereWord of advice: make sure there are no little tots running around the precarious tower.

Tan Rutley, a teacher/blogger/maker/hugger, is the creator of Squirrelly Minds where she shares DIY creations, recipes, and more to make your life pretty and fun. Her mind never stops thinking, planning, and making (squirrelly mind, get it?) and her projects nearly always leave her covered in glitter or flour. Sometimes both. Tan is an island girl living in Canada's west coast with her husband and overly fluffy kitty Lucy.

7 Responses to “DIY giant Jenga”

[…] You just need $20, two power tools and a bunch of 2×4’s to make this giant game of jenga. (Tutorial via Used.ca) […]

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Louise Clark

What a fun idea! This would be perfect for our back porch! Thanks for inspiring me today!

Happy day!

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Good Idea!

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J.B

I sanded the 2×4’s before I made the cuts. I found is less time consuming and able to apply long sanding runs to get the rough stuff off while on the bench. Then afterwards it seemed easier to final sand 🙂 1st use 80 grit then 2nd use around 200’ish.

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    J.B

    p.s. Also I recently stained them with “All in one Poly Classic Oak” after washing with damp wash cloth. They turned out purdy.

Nick

This is awesome!! I’ve been wanting to do life size jenga for a while now and this is definitely giving me some motivation…I even have some glow in the dark paints and never would of thought of those for it! Thanks , hope your baby girl and everyone else is well!

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Wow that’s really nice! And funny too.

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