Jenga guest book: setup, pens and a free sign
Free printable sign and prompt cards
Two pages: an 8 by 10 inch sign with crop marks, and twelve prompt cards to cut out. Free to print and share.
A Jenga guest book is a set of wooden stacking blocks that guests sign one at a time, and afterwards you play the game and read each message as its block comes out of the tower. You need one block per guest or couple, a few fine-tip permanent markers and a sign that tells people what to write.
How many blocks you need
A standard Jenga set has 54 wooden blocks, stacked 18 levels high with three blocks to a level, according to Wikipedia. Each block is 1.5 by 2.5 by 7.5 cm, about 0.6 by 1 by 3 inches.
If couples and families share a block, one set covers around 100 guests. For a bigger party, buy a second set and keep it in the same box afterwards. Blocks nobody signs can go back in the tower blank, and the game still works.
Giant outdoor sets have bigger blocks with more room to write, but they need a table or a patch of lawn of their own.
Pens that work on bare wood
Fine-tip permanent markers in black or a dark color are the safe choice. Ballpoint pens barely show on bare wood, and gel ink can smear before it dries. On painted or stained blocks, use paint markers in white or gold.
Test one marker on a spare block before the day. Some inks spread along the grain of the wood, and a fine tip spreads less. Put out more pens than you think you need, in a cup, because they wander off.
Ask guests to lay their block flat for a minute before it goes on the pile. Fresh ink can rub off on the next block.
Where guests write
Each block has two wide faces, two narrow sides and two small ends. The wide faces hold a short line and a name. The narrow sides fit a name and not much more.
Ask for one short line written along the length of the block. When you play later and pull a block, the message on its wide face is what you read, so that is where the good stuff should go.
What to write: prompts that help
Most guests freeze in front of a blank block. A small card with a question gets them going, and it gives you messages you will actually use. These work well:
- A date night idea
- Advice for the first year
- A place we should visit
- A song for our next road trip
- A recipe we should try
- Your favorite memory of us
- A wish for the next year
- A tradition we should start
- A movie for a rainy Sunday
- A book we should read together
- Where will we be in ten years?
- What should we never stop doing?
All twelve are on the free prompt cards in the download box above. Print them, cut them out and put them in a bowl next to the blocks, so each guest picks one. For a birthday or a graduation, swap in wishes and advice, like the ideas in our birthday guest book guide.
Setting up the table
Put the blocks in a tray or a shallow box, with the markers, the prompt cards and the sign behind them. A second box for signed blocks keeps the finished ones apart, or a friend can build the tower as the signed blocks come in, which draws people over.
The sign only needs to say what to do. A few lines to copy:
- “Sign a block! Write a wish, a date idea or a memory, and we will read it every time we play.”
- “Our guest book is a game. Grab a block and a pen and leave us a note.”
- “Please sign a block and add it to the tower. We will play on our anniversary and read every one.”
The free sign in the download box says “Sign a block” with a line for your names, and it fits a standard 8 by 10 inch frame. For wording for other kinds of guest books, see our guide to guest book sign wording.
After the party
Play on your anniversary, and read each message out loud as the block comes out. The tower falls sooner or later, and then you have read a good share of the blocks.
Between games, keep the blocks in their box or in a display case with a clear lid. A photo of the full tower is worth taking on the day, since you will rarely see it whole again.
Guests who could not come can’t sign a block, but they can leave a message on a digital wedding guest book through a link or a QR code. For more things guests can sign, our list of wedding guest book ideas has 14 of them.
Quick answers
Do I have to use the Jenga brand? No. Jenga is a brand: Wikipedia names Pokonobe Associates as its owner and Hasbro as the company that sells it in most countries. Any set of wooden stacking blocks works the same way, and our sign only says “block”.
Can you still play with signed blocks? Yes, as long as the writing is ink. Stickers or thick paint on the faces can make the tower uneven.
Should couples sign one block or two? One block with both names is the usual way, and it keeps a single set enough for a bigger crowd.