UIS Springfest welcomes Jenga XXL as new sports day competition

The University of Illinois Springfield introduced Jenga XXL as a new competition during this year's Springfest, a week-long event during which students compete in a variety of fun and educational events. As students found out, Jenga is a game that requires both skill and focus.

A total of 38 Springfest teams competed to see who could create the tallest Jenga tower without it falling. The game forced teams to remove lower blocks, which in turn made their towers unstable. Winner in the first round were determined by the number of block removed after two minutes. Six teams competed in a final round where the final tower standing won.

“I play every now and then,” said Dyllan Tiburzi, a chemistry major. “I heard we were having it for Springfest this year, so I’ve been doing a bunch of research like a nerd trying to find a perfect strategy for it.”

Several teams practiced for the Jenga competition before the event in an effort to develop their own winning strategies.

“We went in with a strategy of take out the middle ones, stack as high as we can, keep on going as fast as we could,” said Leigha Light, a clinical laboratory science major.

Many of the students grew up playing Jenga as a child, but had never seen a set this large.

“Jenga is really cool. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this,” said Prerna Khullar, a business major. “I’ve always seen it as little blocks.”

The Jenga competition came at the end of a long day of physical activities. Caitlyn Clausen, a accounting major, said she enjoyed the game because it was something different.

“I thought it was a lot of fun,” said Cluasen. “It kind of focused on team strategy more and playing a game and you really had to work on your communication with your teammates.”

The eight Jenga sets used during Springfest were donated by the company. Student Life plans to utilize the sets again during Welcome Week and next year at Springfest.