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Hasbro Family Game Night 2 arrives on Wii in October

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 25th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Hasbro Family Game Night 2 hits the Wii (ever so gently) this October with more family-friendly games based on real-world Hasbro titles. The latest installment delivers: Operation, "Boppit," Jenga, Pictureka and Connect 4x4. It also includes Mii integration and a "Family Game Show" mode that allows multiple players to face off in a game night competition.

For those with a collection itch, playing the various titles found in the game will unlock a slew of items for hosts Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head to wear -- and unlike at home, the items aren't stored up their ... oh my, let's just end here.

Off the Grid + Joyswag: Donkey Kong Jenga

by Kevin Kelly { Nov 10th 2008 at 7:00PM }

Update: Entry period for the giveaway has ended. Saria the Cat was randomly selected, and here's her winning entry: "Ticket to Ride expansion using the Ocarina of Time Hyrule map. Yeah, I know I'm creative. Not." Congrats to the winner, and you can still read our impressions of the game below!

It's been awhile since we've brought you an Off the Grid post, and we're returning with a special edition where you can actually win the game we're talking about. During the final rounds of this year's Omegathon at PAX '08, Jenga was one of the most exciting things to watch. Which block would they pull out next? Who would topple the tower? Is it cheating to use two hands?

USAopoly has been putting out branded versions of popular board games since 1994. They currently produce eight different versions of Jenga including Casino Jenga: Las Vegas Edition, and the timely Jenga: Halloween Edition. The most recent version of the game is Donkey Kong themed, features different colored Marios, pink girders, a spinner, and Pauline (not Princess Peach) who was the damsel in distress in the arcade game. Read all about it after the break, and steady your hand before commenting so you can win one of your very own.

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PAX 2008: Omeganaut shows us his special Jenga move

by Kevin Kelly { Aug 31st 2008 at 7:15PM }

Ben Gray, aka MNC Dover from Monday Night Crew, was eliminated from the Omegathon on Saturday, but they were nice enough to let him pass along his words of wisdom, and his ultra-secret Jenga move. If you want to know how to get a leg up on the competition, check out the video above.

One thing's for sure, if you use this move you'll never get invited to play Jenga ever again. Which might be exactly what you're looking for.

Omegathon 2008 lineup includes Peggle, Boom Blox, Rock Band, Jenga

by Ross Miller { Aug 7th 2008 at 7:00AM }

The 2008 Penny Arcade Expo Omegathon V lineup has been revealed and it feels surprisingly casual. There's no Doom or Quake title like we've seen in every previous Omegathon. Also new: starting the first round with a non-board game (Jenga has been pushed to round 5). Here's the list:

Round 1: Peggle
Round 2: Boom Blox
Round 3: Pictionary
Round 4: Rock Band (Our guess is Rock Band 2)
Round 5: Jenga
Final Round: *** TOP SECRET ***

The 20 Omeganauts have already been chosen (congratulations to any Joystiq readers who made the cut!); first prize this year is a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show with all expenses paid and $5,000 in "walking around money."

While last year's Omegathon skipped the previous tradition of using a classic retro title (Pong, Combat, Tengen Tetris), every year has featured an id Software shooter. With Rage, Doom 4 and the new Wolfenstein looking unlikely, we're trying to think of another potential, unreleased FPS that could top last year's surprise Halo 3 inclusion. If Tycho and Gabe are looking to make our heads explode, maybe they can get Duke Nukem Forever. We won't find out until minutes before the final round on Sunday, August 31 at 4:30 PM PT.

In the meantime, check out the list of past Omegathon lineups, and feel free to make your own and play along at home.

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WRUP: Getting every last star edition

by David Hinkle { Dec 7th 2007 at 12:00PM }

Yes, we're still knee-deep in Mario's latest outing, despite a strong desire to pick up the latest release chock full of block-stacking. We're so busy what with blogging a lot that we've only had enough time to gather about 30 stars, maybe a few more. All of you out there in Reader Land probably could put us to shame with your own star count.

As with every Friday, we're doomed to that question that must be asked: what are you playing? Are you going to be gathering up stars or will you be stacking blocks? Are you planning on playing something else?

Wii releases for the week of December 3rd

by David Hinkle { Dec 3rd 2007 at 10:00AM }

There isn't much in the way of games you've probably been looking forward to this week, but, then again, there probably isn't going to be anything you've been dying to get until NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams releases. So, if some movie tie-ins are your thing, then you're in luck. Or, if you're a fan of Atari games.

The Golden Compass
Alvin & The Chipmunks
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
Godzilla Unleashed
Jenga

Plan on picking any of these games up this week?

Jenga, thy name is genius

by Candace Savino { Nov 26th 2007 at 7:40PM }

Europe tends to be left out in the cold for many great releases, starved and forgotten about like the bastard children of rich CEOs and politicians. You can count your lucky stars, though, Europe, because things are looking up. The angels must truly be smiling at you, because a gem, nay, a diamond in the form of a Jenga DS cart is being released on European soil (descending from the heavens, if you will) only two weeks after its U.S. release.

If you know anyone at all in the U.S., you can probably attest that they have not stopped talking about Jenga for the DS. We can't imagine what it must have been like during those tortuous two weeks, while your friends across the pond were rubbing their Jenga exploits in your face. Now, however, you are finally granted the privilege of purchasing a game worthy of a Nobel Prize (forget Game of the Year).

We're actually outraged that this game is retailing for only $29.99. With gameplay as good as this, you're getting a lot of value for your money. And just look at those effects as the block is placed on top of the pile! What a steal, amirite?

Note: We apologize in advance for the heavy sarcasm, but we felt that a post consisting entirely of the word "What?" would have been a bit too short.

DS releases for the week of November 12th

by Alisha Karabinus { Nov 12th 2007 at 3:40PM }

Hmm, with all the games out this week, it seems like there should be something that really gets our hearts pumping. Maybe it's WordJong. After all, we liked it, but nah, that's not really an incomparable thrill ride. Cooking Mama 2? Just doesn't seem like it. We can cross off Baby Pals and all the Petz and Horsez games, too. It's right there, on the tip of the tongue ... what could it be?

Oh yeah: Contra 4. At last, dear friends, it's here!

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?
Baby Pals
Contra 4
Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders
Impossible Mission
Jenga
Monster Jam
Need for Speed ProStreet
Orcs & Elves
Petz: Catz 2
Petz: Dogz 2
Petz: Hamsterz Life 2
Petz: Horsez 2
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Strawberry Shortcake: The Four Seasons Cake
Super Fruit Fall
Ultimate Mortal Kombat
WordJong
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008

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Jenga to collapse on the DS

by David Hinkle { Oct 1st 2007 at 12:20PM }

With Jenga headed to the Wii, the DS seems like as good a candidate as any for the title. And, now we know the game is headed our way. The true question, though, is do you care? It still is just Jenga and we feel like some of the appeal of the game can only be stemmed from playing it right there with friends, pointing and laughing like a maniac when they make the stack fall.

As of right now, Atari will be bringing the game to Europe and the states this November.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Physics nerfed for Jenga

by JC Fletcher { Jul 19th 2007 at 1:00PM }

We suspected that the Wii controls would make Jenga significantly more difficult than the real thing, but that isn't the case, according to Siliconera's Spencer Yip. Instead, he found that it often required real effort to make the tower fall down. He tested this by smacking the tower with his virtual hand a few times, which caused shifting, but not collapse.

He was slightly down on the idea of an easier Jenga, but we could see ourselves making it fun for ... a few minutes. Imagine putting every piece on top of the tower so that it sticks out halfway, creating a tower that builds outward at a 45 degree angle. Can't do that with real Jenga! Seriously, though, the defining image of Jenga is of the tower toppling in a humiliating cacophony and spectacular dispersion of blocks. We don't know if it's going to feel like Jenga without constant failure.

Wii Warm Up: Tabletop style

by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 9th 2007 at 9:00AM }

With the news that Jenga is coming to the Wii, and with the Wii so perfect for certain other games (DS/Wii Pictionary, maybe?), we're curious what else you might possibly be interested in. One of the best parts about board games on XBLA, for example, is the lack of setup or cleanup (which is always nice), but how many games really translate well? Also, are such games better suited for download services or budget titles?

Spielberg enters booming Jenga genre

by Eric Caoili { Jul 8th 2007 at 11:15AM }

Which of these two recently-announced Steven Spielberg games would you want to play?

an action-puzzle simulator that "neatly blends the creativity of the building-blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday-morning cartoon," or
a game in which "you're an ex-secret agent, and the bond that you forge while on the run with [a] computer-controlled woman -- good, bad, indifferent -- determines the nature of her special abilities and the ways in which she'll assist you."

We hope you picked the former because that's the project Electronic Arts and the famed director plan to bring to the Wii! The other title -- the one which Newsweek's N'Gai Croal described as "yet another hit" from Spielberg -- is headed for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Expounding on the Wii action-puzzle sim, code-named PQRS, Spielberg explained, "It just seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas." We bet you can't wait for Christmas!

Atari confirms Jenga for Wii, DS

by John Bardinelli { Jul 6th 2007 at 4:30PM }

Atari today dribbled out screenshots along with a press release confirming the existence of a Jenga game for the Wii and DS to be released in November. The game doesn't appear to be much more than a stylized table-top Jenga with exotic backgrounds and textures, but according to Atari it features a "wealth of exciting new enhancements, power-ups and twists that are possible only in the videogame world". Bombs? Gravity-defying bricks? We'll have to wait and see. Jenga could be a lot more exciting with the right power-ups.

Gallery: Jenga (Wii, DS)

Jenga CONFIRMED

by JC Fletcher { Jul 6th 2007 at 1:55PM }

We recently reported that Atari would show a Jenga game at E3. We wondered if it was going to be just Jenga or some kind of expanded game based on the concept of Jenga. It's just Jenga.

What does the Wii bring to the table (so to speak) that the original game doesn't have? Well, the ability to play Jenga on top of a castle, or in front of a lighthouse, or in someone's living room-- and the ability to do so as an icon of a snowman.

Where Wii Jenga fails and real Jenga exceeds, however, is in the graphics. The original Jenga's wood texture looks absolutely lifelike, while the texture is quite blurry and unrealistic on the Wii.

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Rumor: Atari building Jenga game for Wii

by John Bardinelli { Jun 21st 2007 at 10:00AM }

A forum member at NeoGAF reports that Atari may be showing a previously unannounced game at this year's E3: Jenga for the Wii. We can all guess the central mechanics (pull the block out, cringe, repeat), but Jenga as a full-fledged video game? If the rumor is true, we'd love to see how Atari fleshes out the concept. Perhaps a Warcraft-esque RTS mode played with Jenga bricks?

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]