Jenga with Questions: How to make a family Jenga game with questions that help open up communication between you and your kids.
I love Jenga… it’s a game and a toy (they make great building blocks or dominoes too). When I was doing my internship and working with middle schoolers, we had an interactive Jenga game that I’ve written about in the past. This version of Jenga uses questions to make the game more interesting and interactive.
I made my own version of the game and used it for years before finally retiring my set to our family game closet when I decided to stay home with my kids. There are a lot of ways to adjust this game to use with people you know well vs. family vs. use in a situation with strangers.
My kids LOVE playing it with me now though so I tailored it to be questions more appropriate for a family Jenga game. It’s got lots of questions that are great to talk about with your children. This is geared towards younger children (4-10 years old), but I would adjust some of the questions and add some new ones for older children.
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DIY Jenga Questions Game Options
I made this set with my Cricut, but you have other options if you don’t own one! These games are EASY to make with a standard set of plain Jenga blocks, or you could even use giant Jenga blocks to make this.
You have two options- put the question directly on the block, or use a questions sheet and use numbers on each block.
I like the 2nd option because I can use different questions for different people. This allows me more flexibility. I also like that the kids need to find the numbers on the sheet and read the question- it adds more of an educational piece to the game.
You could also write the numbers out to get them to read the numbers for early readers, or write numbers in a foreign language if they’re older and learning a new language. It’s a fun way to learn!
Option 1: Permanent Marker or Acrylic Paint Markers
Permanent marker or acrylic paint markers work really well to write the numbers (or the questions) directly on the blocks. You could also add other decoration to the blocks as well. It would be fun to draw art on the sides of the blocks (as setup in the tower) to create it like a puzzle.
Option 2: Stickers
You could use stick on numbers if they were the right size. If you’re playing with very young children, you could buy two sets of a sticker book, then use unique stickers for each block and put the sticker on your question sheet to find the corresponding question. This gets kids looking at the question, even if they can’t read yet, and following along on the paper a bit.
Option 3: Cricut
The Cricut has permanent/outdoor vinyl that can be adhered to the blocks. This is quick and easy. It looks nice. I wouldn’t use vinyl for this unless you’re doing something simple like numbers. It’s hard to transfer small text.
You could also try Cricut Smart Sticker Cardstock. You would use Cricut pens to write the text on the special sticker paper, then cut the sticker paper into rectangles the size of your blocks, then you’d just stick the sticker on the block. SUPER easy. I didn’t have the Cricut Maker 3 at the time of this project, nor was this product released, so I didn’t consider this. But it would give you a LOT more freedom to do longer stuff on each block.
Option 4: Laser Engraving the Jenga Blocks
I didn’t own a laser engraver when I did this, but now that I do, I REALLY want to redo this with my laser engraving machine! It would look REALLY cool. It would also be easier to engrave smaller text or spelled out words.
You could also engrave designs around the numbers, then color in the designs with acrylic paint markers. I love using acrylic markers on laser engraving projects like my coaster box! They’re so pretty.
Honestly, I’m just updating this post (2024) because I saw some stuff wasn’t working on the page, but now I want to recreate this project a few different ways. It’s SO tempting to try new and prettier ways.
How to Make a Questions Jenga Game with the Cricut
Supplies
- Jenga Game
- Cricut Maker 3
- Permanent Vinyl
- Transfer Tape or Painters Tape
- Free Cricut File: Numbers for Jenga Blocks
- Optional: Lamination Machine for your printed questions list.
Use the Discount Code DIYDANIELLE on cricut.com for 10% off any cutting machine or heatpress (no minimum). Excludes: materials/accessories/mystery boxes/etc. Applies to US/CA only, code expires 12/31/23.
Don’t forget to grab the free printable questions list…
If you like this post, you might also love my post about how to make a Bingo game for the kids to play on car rides! It’s super easy!
Tutorial: How to Make a Questions Jenga Game
First, you’ll need to purchase or make a Jenga set. I scrapped our old set and got a new set for the kids for Christmas… I’m going to upcycle it so keep an eye out for that project!
Originally, I just hand wrote numbers on my blocks, but this time I wanted to use my Cricut Air 2 to put the numbers on the blocks so it looked nicer. You could easily get number stickers at the store, but I used outdoor (permanent) vinyl for this. For numbers 1-10, I used the actual words for the numbers because I want to work with my sons on reading the words for these numbers.
Once I hit ten though, I switched to the numbers though because some of the words were too long for the blocks (without decreasing font size). I’ll save you a couple of minutes if you want and you can print off my Numbers for the Jenga Blocks with your Cricut machine.
You’ll print the file on permanent vinyl. Weed it.
Use transfer paper to place the numbers on each block. Make sure you don’t accidentally put two numbers on one block. I did this then struggled to find the missing number.
There’s all of your numbers. If you’re having trouble with the vinyl sticking to the wood, you can apply a layer of mod podge to seal it. I didn’t do this as they seemed like they were on there pretty good, but I may go back and fix them if I start to see peeling. I feel like I have mixed results with vinyl peeling off wood.
But that’s not all- make sure to print off my Family Jenga Questions Printable that’s available to subscribers. You can certainly make up your own questions too. I ended up laminating the papers because my last papers ended up getting folded up a million times, one piece got lost, they were ripped, etc. And that was before they even got home to my kids! LOL!
Now you can set it up to play.
Do you love to play games with your kids? Check out these DIY card holders! They make playing games with cards SO much easier.
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Family Jenga Game
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