About Jenga: The Remarkable Business of Creating a Game that Became a Household Name

by Leslie Scott

Millions have played the game Jenga, but few know the surprising story of the woman who created the game. From cattle ranches in Africa to the royal tennis courts in London, the story of Leslie Scott and Jenga weaves an adventurous tale of personal triumph and business success with keen insights into the secrets behind launching one of the best-known brands in the world. An English expatriate born and raised in Africa, Scott became a phenomenally successful woman in the male-dominated toy business through relentless curiosity and tenacious belief. Her unconventional path to success was driven by her unorthodox approach, her penchant for risk, and her passion for adventure. Along the way, she came to understand how certain ideas transform themselves into successful products. Through expert storytelling, Scott illuminates basic business concepts with unconventional linkages from explaining what African cattle and medieval heraldry can teach us about branding to discovering the keys to market differentiation by examining a coral reef. Scott entertains with style, grace, and free-flowing intellect. Enter a fascinating world of creative success, practical business lessons, and hilarious but true stories.

238 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book by the woman that created, marketed, and launched Jenga. It has elements of the movie Joy and much enlightening about not only game design (she designed many other games), running a small business internationally (including getting taken advantage of ... by Canadians), and life in Ghana where the game developed within her family living in one of the farther reaches of the British Empire, but real tennis, undergorund libraries at Oxford, and showy displays in would-be mating animals as part of the author's rich life and musings on her creation Jenga, a simple game that seems like it has been around forever, yet had no marketplace presence until into the 80s.