The 1980s were notable for many reasons—huge strides in computer technology, like Apple’s Macintosh Plus; distinctive fashion trends, like legwarmers and Spandex; and blockbuster movies, like E.T. and Back to the Future, to name just a few. Also during that decade, a breakout game called Jenga surfaced. This unusually named game tests players’ nerves as they take turns removing a single block of wood from a tower, then placing that block on top of the stack, all without toppling the tower. The game ends when the tower collapses.
Jenga is the brainchild of Leslie Scott, a British national who was born and raised in Africa. Scott based the concept on a game her family played in the 1970s using her brother’s set of wooden blocks. Jenga’s journey to success was not without challenges; along the way Scott racked up debt and tangled with toy company executives who wanted to rename her product. But eventually, her struggles paid off; today Jenga is a worldwide phenomenon with sales of over