Leslie Scott (born December 18, 1955) is a British board game designer and author, best known as the inventor of the game

Jenga Jenga is a game of physical skill created by British board game designer and author Leslie Scott and marketed by Hasbro. Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. Each block removed is then placed on t ...

, which she launched at the London Toy Fair 1983.

Early life and education

Born in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, Scott was raised in East and West Africa, and educated in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career

Scott is the inventor of the game

, which she launched at the London Toy Fair 1983. She founded Oxford Games Ltd in 1991. She is a Senior Associate of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

and a founder trustee of The Smithsonian UK Charitable Trust.

Honours

She is the recipient of the 2010 Wonder Women of Toys Inventor/Designer Award, and the 2012 Tagie award for Excellence in Game Design.

Private life

Scott is married to the Oxford zoologist Professor Fritz Vollrath. They have two children, Frederica and Digby.

Works

Games

Ex Libris Ex Libris may refer to: *An Ex Libris (bookplate), a label affixed to a book to indicate ownership *Ex Libris (band), a Dutch metal band *Ex Libris (bookshop), a Swiss retail company * "Ex Libris" (''Charmed''), a 2000 episode of the television ser ...

, the game of first lines and last words
The Great Western Railway Game
* Anagrams, the game of juggling words * Tabula, the Roman game * Bookworm, the game of reading and remembering

Books

* About Jenga, the remarkable business of creating a game that became a household name
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Leslie 1955 births British inventors Women inventors Living people Board game designers Tanzanian emigrants to the United Kingdom British designers