Jenga consist of 54 blocks made of wood. The game’s objective is to increase the height of the tower using blocks removed from the lower levels.
In a player’s turn, a player has to take one block from the tower at any level below a completed top-level. Once the player has taken out the block, they must place it on the topmost level to complete it three pieces before building the next row.
So, can a player tap a block in Jenga? Yes, there is no harm in tapping a block to determine whether it’s loose before removing it from the tower. If a player makes the tower fall, the game will end, and the player who removed the block will lose the game.
Tapping allows the player to fix any loose support before removing a block. The block becomes loose due to the weight shifting in the tower and being distributed to other pieces.
Although tapping is allowed, a player can only use one hand to tap because two hands cannot be used at the same time.
A turn ends once the next player touches the tower, or when the 10 seconds has elapsed after the previous turn. If the player, by whichever means causes the tower to fall, the game ends, and the player who removed the block last loses the game.
This article discussed whether it is ok to tap a block in Jenga. Answered below are frequently asked questions about tapping block in Jenga and if touching multiple Jenga blocks is allowed.
Can you touch all the blocks in Jenga?
A player can touch as many Jenga blocks as they want to ensure stability and fit before removing any block to prevent the tower from falling. However, a player can only use one hand to touch the tower.
Some blocks become loose, thus easier to remove. However, others make the tower unstable, and can make the tower fall, which ends the game and makes the player lose the game.
Tapping helps to locate loose blocks that are easy to remove. As the tower become less stable, the loose blocks are the golden ticket to a successful move.
Touching a block in Jenga can be done with any part of your hand, but only one hand can interact with the tower at a time. Feel free to switch hands and approach from a different angle, but the seconds hand cannot simultaneously engage the tower.
Switching hands is allowed any time, but a player cannot use two hands at the same time. When moving a block out of its original position, a player may try to fix it using one hand before pulling it out of place.
Can you grab it from the bottom in Jenga?
Yes, a player can grab a block from the bottom, but it is not recommended because it can make the whole tower unstable, causing it to fall.
Jenga game rules allow a player to take any block beneath the highest complete level of the tower.
However, Jenga blocks are not uniform positioned within the tower, and some blocks are structurally more significant than others. That makes the weight of the tower unevenly distributed across levels and blocks.
As a result, grabbing a block from a bottom row makes the rows above unstable.
Can you pull a Jenga from the top?
No, you cannot take from the top 3 in Jenga. The top-level is off-limits, and you can only take from below the top complete level.
Jenga rules allow a player to remove blocks below a whole level, and therefore the top row is off-limit. If the top row in incomplete, then the highest complete row is the second row, and blocks are allowed to be removed from the third row.
Once the top row is complete, then a player can remove from any row below that.
Jenga Rules Touching
The following rules apply to the Jenga game when touching a block:
- A player is only allowed to use one hand while touching a block in Jenga. Switching hands is allowed, but not using two hands at the same time.
- Tap a block to find out which one is loose before removing a block. The block may be not fixed in place because the tower’s weight has shifted and took pressure off the piece.
- A block that is moved and not played must be returned to its place before a player touches another block. If fixing the block will make the tower fall, the block should be left loose.
- When the next player touches any block in the tower, the previous player’s turn ends right away and a fallen tower is no longer their fault.
- Whenever a player makes the adjacent block loose, they are allowed to push it back to make the tower stable so that it doesn’t cause a problem for the next player.
- A player can touch multiple blocks during their turn, but one at a time and with only one hand.
Tapping Blocks in Jenga: Conclusion
Players can tap a block in the Jenga game. The objective of tapping a block is for a player to check which block is loose because some blocks are looser than others, making a tower less stable as the game goes on.
In the Jenga game, a player can remove a block below the topmost complete level, but not blocks that belong to the incomplete level on top. Once the level has three blocks, the level is complete, and according to Jenga rules a player can only grab blocks below the highest complete levels and not from the top.
If a player makes the adjacent block loose as they remove theirs, they can push it back into place to fix it. This ensures the tower is stable so that it doesn’t fall when the next player tries to move their block.
The player’s turn ends when the next player touches any block in the tower or when 10 seconds elapses.
Once the player spots the loose block, they can remove it from the tower for an easy move. Tapping a block should be done with one hand, and touching multiple blocks during a turn is allowed as long as two hand are not used simultaneously.