We’ve had it stored away for a while, so I kind of forgot about it until I was in the mall the other day and stumbled over a gigantic Jenga game.
The photos in this post are from that game because, surprisingly, I don’t have any photos of our game. The process, though, is how we made ours.
DIY Gigantic Jenga
What You’ll Need:
- 2×4’s
- Table saw
- Pencil
- Measuring tape
- Mineral spirits
- Spar Urethane
What You’ll Do:
Okay, before we actually start, we need to have a little lesson. A 2×4 actually isn’t 2-inches by 4-inches when you buy it at the hardware store. That’s a misnomer. Sort of. A 2×4 is 2-inches by 4-inches originally. When it’s cut, a half inch is removed from each side. So when you purchase it, it’s actually a 1.5×3.5.
So, when you are doing projects like this at home, you need to keep that in mind.
The wood will be 3.5 inches across. You need three of them for Jenga. So those will end up being 10.5 inches across. So you need to cut the wood at 10.5-inches long.
Mark 10.5 inches with a pencil, then cut it with a table saw.
Three pieces equal one Jenga row.
For a full set of gigantic Jenga, you want it to be 3-feet tall. That’s 24 rows. Since each row has three pieces, you need to cut 72 pieces total.
If you really want to, you can sand the edges but after a bit of playing, they’ll basically sand themselves.
Rub them down with mineral spirits to remove any sawdust from cutting them. Then, spray them with spur urethane.
You’ll want to spray three layers of the spar urethane to seal it completely if you are using it outdoors like us. If you are keeping it indoors, you can spray it with a layer of polyurethane instead. Just keep in mind that poly is good for the indoors only.
You can also paint them if you want, like the ones that are in these photos. I would really only suggest that if you’re using them indoors though. If they’re left outdoors, the paint will really wear.
Princess Quinn
Monday 6th of May 2019
Jenga is definitely one of my favorite games. It is honestly so good. This is pretty creative as well.
Stephanie Parrell
Wednesday 1st of May 2019
I played this at a wedding once and it was so much fun especially for the kids.
Monidipa Dutta
Tuesday 30th of April 2019
Lovely ideas. And a lovely DIY I will say. I wish I could be so creative.
Brittany Vantrease
Monday 29th of April 2019
I just saw a lawn Jenga game in the stores, but it didn't really look big enough to play with outside. This would be so easy to do, and we actually have some 2x4s left over from a different project. Thanks for sharing!
Melanie
Monday 29th of April 2019
I looked at Jenga for the backyard at the store and was shocked by the price. I would much rather DIY them! It's a lot of fun to make home projects, and worth it to save $100!