Safford man stacks hundreds of Jenga pieces on top of each other in record attempt

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- A Safford man is hoping to get the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records for his record-breaking attempt at stacking hundreds of Jenga pieces on top of each other.

Tai Star recently broke the record in his hometown. His pursuit of a Guinness World Record began at the Safford-Graham County Library, one Jenga piece at a time, but his inspiration began years ago, when he started stacking thousands of coins on top of each other.

"With coins, just put them in a circle, but with the blocks, it was put them this way," said Star, in a video interview. "I had to find a way to weave them all together, so they would hold each other as they leaned out."

The method is known at the Leaning Tower of Lire, in which one would try and find the center of gravity for each block, as they stack them. With Jenga blocks, it's a little more challenging.

"The blocks themselves are just so not exact," said Star. "I mean, they say they're exact, but I weighed them, they range from about 20-to-14 grams, and when you're dealing with a tower like that, that's a big percentage difference."

For nearly an hour, Star would stack one piece at a time, taking breaks periodically to get an official count. Things were going good until he reached piece 360.

"About half way through, I could tell my stack was wobbly," said Star.

His project may be in pieces, but Star's world record attempt was complete at 353 pieces. shattering the old record of 208.

"I know I can do better, and when this record gets accepted, I do plan on breaking this again," said Star. He said he has submitted the attempt to the Guinness Book of World Records. and expects to hear back from them in a few weeks. In the meantime, Star is waiting for someone to try and break his record.