Jenga review

Jenga! The offical Jenga iPhone app has hit the App Store from NaturalMotion Games. The game was designed in part by Jenga inventor herself Leslie Scott. You play by tapping one piece of the game to select it, then touch and drag it to remove the piece from the pile and then touch where you want to place the piece on top of the Jenga pile. Play in 3 modes: Classic, Arcade or Pass’n’Play. The game uses realistic 3D models and graphics that render authentic Jenga blocks which are available in the classic wood style, as well colors in the color matching mode.

Using full 3D physics based engine, Jenga lets you get into the game and control as much as you want to. Not only can you touch to select a block and drag to remove it, but you can also tap any block repeatedly to nudge it out of the pile. You can also tap any block back in place if you change your mind. Blocks have either a red, white or pink outline. The blocks with a red outline are the most difficult to move, while the white outlined blocks are easiest to move.

For a better view, you can pinch to zoom in on any level. Rotating the camera angle is implemented to full extent. You can drag the pile in any which direction you wish. Drag the pile left or right to rotate it around, or up and down to change the height of the view. You can even drag diagonally to do a combination of both, and this is all in real time. Very impressive. The game is played on a table situated in a cozy living room model with soothing background music, and there are other environments that you can unlock as well. The combination of various views and touch sensitive actions gives you the ability to really get involved and strategize your moves to your heart’s content.

In the new Arcade mode, you match colors as fast as you can without toppling the tower until the time runs out. Here you also win coins that you can spend on buying boosts like collapse reverse, multipliers, and wildcards. Play solo or Pass’n’Play mode with up to 4 friends, with built in support for Game Center with leaderboards, achievements and friend rankings. An info icon on top shows your current tower height and a timer keeps track of how long you’ve been playing.

For a game that started out in the early 70s, Jenga has come a long way and it has found a great home on the iPhone and iPod touch platform. A job well done by the folks at NaturalMotion. While this Jenga game does not use the Gyroscope and augmented reality functionality of the iPhone 4 as Steve Job’s demoed a while back, it does give you a practical and fun game that is fun to play with your friends and relatives.

AppSafari Rating: 3.5/5

AppSafari review of Jenga was written by Joe Seifi on December 9th, 2010 and categorized under App Store, Fun, Games, Physics Based, Puzzler. Page viewed 5809 times, 3 so far today. Need help on using these apps? Please read the Help Page.