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Home » DIY » How to Build a DIY Giant Jenga Yard Game in Just TWO Hours and Only TWENTY Dollars

September 2, 2016

How to Build a DIY Giant Jenga Yard Game in Just TWO Hours and Only TWENTY Dollars

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

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You can make this Giant Jenga game within two hours.  These large Jenga sets retail for upwards of $100.  You can make it for $20.

Surprise!  Ben is guest posting today!  He is sharing with us how to make a Giant Jenga game that you can play in your yard or on your patio.  Ben, take it away!

DIY Giant Jenga-3 Hey guys!  I built this Giant Jenga game within only two hours.  You can do it in less time if you decide you don't want to sand it.  But, I encourage you to not skip the sanding part because this is what makes the pieces slide easily and you avoid splinters.  These large Jenga sets retail for upwards of $100.  You can make it for $20.

Here is the step-by-step with photos:

Materials:
6 2x4’s (8 feet long)
Sandpaper (180 grit)

Tools:
Mitre Saw
Adjustable roller stand
Clamps
Spindle, orbital, or belt sander

Safety Supplies:
Glasses
Ear protection

Step 1: Cut the 2x4’s
After purchasing the 2x4’s from Home Depot (around $18), I setup my Makita mitre saw on a portable table in my garage. Cutting an 8-foot long 2x4 it’s a bit tricky to maintain the board level with the saw, so I suggest using an adjustable roller stand. Once the 2x4 is stable on the mitre saw, setup a stop for making repeatable cuts. This will allow you to cut the exact same size without the hassle of measuring every cut. I used a scrap board and two clamps to create my stop. Once the stop is in place, cut 54 piece at 10 ½”. This step will take only a matter of minutes with the help of the stop!

DIY Giant Jenga for less than $20 and only 2 hours.

DIY Giant Jenga for less than $20 and only 2 hours.

Step 2: Sand, sand, sand
Now that we’ve cut 54 blocks, we need to sand each of them. I could have used an orbital belt sander, but I decided to use my Jet spindle sander. I don’t have a belt sander, and an orbital sander will take much longer. To prevent splinters, I was careful to sand each side of the block. It took me about 45-60 seconds per block, and with 54 blocks, the sanding process took about an hour.

DIY Giant Jenga for less than $20 and only 2 hours.

Step 3: Have fun!

DIY Giant Jenga for less than $20 and only 2 hours.

(Inspired by DIY Pete)

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Collage of person playing giant jenga and table saw.

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About Seeded At The Table

Thanks for visiting! We’re the Gladd family! We love donuts, Disney, LEGO and Jesus. Not in that order, of course. 🙂 Ben shares DIY wood-working projects and Nikki shares delicious recipes. You’ll also find a sprinkling of travel adventures and other family fun ideas!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    July 19, 2022 at 4:12 pm

    Use Minwax paste wax to help them slide smoothly.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    August 26, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    What’s the math behind the cuts ? I want to make it with a 4x4

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      January 14, 2021 at 5:03 pm

      the pieces are 10.5" long and if you wanted it the same height(roughly) you would need half the amount so 27 pieces. to adjust the height just add or subtract 3 pieces.

      Reply
    • Anonymous says

      January 14, 2022 at 8:50 am

      I know I'm late to the post, but I'm not seeing that anyone answered you thoroughly. To get the length of the boards, you'll have to first measure the width of the boards. Typical 2x4's are actually 3 1/2" in width, so you'd multiply 3.5 x 3 (or amount of blocks you want in a row) and you'll get the total length you should make your boards. In this case, 3.5 x 3 = 10.5"/board. Typical 4x4's are actually 3.5 x 3.5, so the measurement of the length would be the same for you.

      Reply
  3. Logan says

    August 26, 2020 at 2:23 pm

    I blog frequently and I really appreciate your information. This article has truly peaked my interest. I will take a note of your blog and keep checking for new information about once a week. thanks for sharing and keep on sharing more stuff.

    Reply
  4. Michelle says

    November 17, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    Super easy! Just gotta have a miter saw, which I don't have... 🙁

    I guess I could use my hand saw but that would take a little longer than 2 hours I think 😉

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      November 17, 2019 at 6:46 pm

      I know what you might add to your Christmas wish list! 🙂

      Reply
    • Brad Raper says

      August 22, 2021 at 7:55 am

      Rented one from Home Depot- 29 dollars for 4 hours
      Much easier!

      Reply
  5. Melinda Rusaw says

    March 19, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    I cut my piece carefully, sanded them all (it took a loooong time) with an electric pad sander, they look great, but they don't slide easily at all. Only a few do. I'm thinking I'll sand them all again with a finer grit?

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      March 19, 2019 at 5:25 pm

      Hi Melinda! Ben said to sand it with at least a 220 grit. (I have no idea what that means as he's the handy one, but hopefully you do!) 🙂

      Reply
      • Rad says

        April 23, 2020 at 7:47 pm

        The higher the number, the finer the grit of sandpaper. You could use courser 100 grit sandpaper to knock off the splinters, then finish with 220 for smoother finish.

        Reply
    • Anonymous says

      March 19, 2019 at 8:57 pm

      Thank you, I know what is means and that's what I was hoping would work.

      Reply
  6. Jengagiant says

    January 03, 2019 at 1:44 am

    What a great job! You can also get the original Jenga Giant if you're lazy about making it yourself or you don't have what you expected to play with 100% effectiveness. A hug!

    Reply
  7. Nick says

    November 07, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    This is awesome!! I’ve been wanting to do life size jenga for a while now and this is definitely giving me some motivation…I even have some glow in the dark paints and never would of thought of those for it! Thanks , hope your baby girl and everyone else is well!

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    May 26, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    I would recommend sanding the boards before you cut them, then sand the cut ends afterwards, saves a lot of sanding.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      June 27, 2018 at 11:26 am

      +1

      Reply
    • Daniel Leamon says

      July 27, 2020 at 7:48 pm

      You are correct. Why not sand them to 220 grit or finer?

      Reply
  9. wayne ledbetter says

    May 25, 2018 at 11:21 pm

    You need to consider if you paint them they may not slide as desired. A thickness planer will elimate the need to sand the 3 1/2" sides but not the 1 1/2" sides. Planing them to 1 1/4" would make them lighter as well. Use caution playing as the whole stack is quite heavy.

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says

    May 09, 2018 at 2:11 pm

    2x4 are actually 1 1/2 x 3 1/2

    Reply
  11. Mark Collings says

    May 05, 2018 at 9:36 am

    Maybe I’m a little stupid owing to my use of metric language, but can someone please tell me how you can cut these blocks 10 1/2” long when the pieces are 4” wide? Surely the pieces should be 12” long?

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      May 06, 2018 at 11:54 am

      Hi Mark, The 2x4's are 8 feet long. 🙂

      Reply
    • Steve White says

      September 19, 2018 at 10:48 am

      A 2x4 is actually 1 1/2 x 3 1/2

      Reply
    • Anonymous says

      November 08, 2020 at 2:55 pm

      2 x 4 is what the board starts out a it finishes to around 1 1/2 by 3 1/2

      Reply
  12. Aln kirkwood says

    May 01, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    Just wondering if a thickness planer would leave a smooth enough finish so that I wouldn't need to sand. The blocks would all be uniform as well.

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      May 06, 2018 at 12:35 pm

      Hi! No, unfortunately, you could still get splinters and need to sand.

      Reply
  13. ramanath says

    February 01, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    Is it any wood that is available for cheap price? or do you recommend some special kind of wood

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      February 01, 2018 at 8:29 pm

      Hi Ramanath -- we just use 2x4's from home depot. Nothing special! 🙂

      Reply
  14. bella bregar says

    July 21, 2017 at 9:33 am

    do you have to stain them or can you paint them.

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      February 01, 2018 at 8:32 pm

      We didn't stain or paint them, but you can. It's really up to you!

      Reply
  15. Brigette W says

    April 17, 2017 at 9:45 am

    Hello and thanks for this post! My husband and I are going to be making this and wondered if you sanded all sides, including the top and bottom of each piece, or did you just sand the edges?

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      April 22, 2017 at 3:57 pm

      Hi Brigette,
      We sanded all sides on a spindle sander, but you can use any sander. 🙂

      Reply
      • Kathy says

        June 07, 2018 at 6:17 pm

        They look best stained and varnished. Wr used 2x3 cut at 7.5"

        Reply
  16. Louise Clark says

    February 11, 2017 at 10:54 pm

    You are so creative. These yard games look so fun. I’m sure the giant Jenga would be a hit, not just for the kids, but the adults as well.

    Reply
  17. Ricky C says

    January 10, 2017 at 12:28 pm

    My wife and I made this game and its soooo awesome! We stained it after with a light wood tone coat. Our friends love it. Whenever we have a bbq or game night we all play drinking games. My wife also found a more green cork version of the blocks from a site called Tumbling towers. We love the wooden blocks we made, but the cork version is lighter to put away. Such a great idea thank you!! wish i could post some pics of all us playing 🙂

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      January 12, 2017 at 8:01 pm

      That's so great, Ricky! Thank you for letting us know. 🙂 If you want to share some photos, you can post them to the Seeded at the Table Facebook page! Would love to see them!

      Reply
    • Larisa says

      August 02, 2018 at 5:32 pm

      Where do you find the green cork? Used google and could find it that size?

      Reply
  18. John Dalquist says

    October 17, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    Wow, this is a GREAT idea! Since I have the tools around we can definitely get the project done asap. What a great party or group game. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply

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