After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, you can play this traditional Hanukkah game with your family. All members of the household, from toddlers to senior citizens, can play this simple and fun game together. Playing dreidel is the perfect fun way to celebrate the holiday, create family memories, and strengthen your children’s Jewish identities.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 20-40 minutes
Here's How:
- All players get an equal amount of pennies, chocolate coins (gelt), candies, raisins, or tokens.
- All players put one token in the pot in the center.
- The dreidel is a four sided spinning top with a different Hebrew letter on each side. Players take turns spinning the dreidel.
- The player acts according to the letter which is facing up when the dreidel stops spinning.
- The image with the Hebrew letters on the top right of this page is the game key; it shows which Hebrew letter symbolizes which move in the game. Nun means the player does nothing. Gimel means the player takes all the tokens from the pot. Hay means the player takes half of the tokens from the pot. Shin (or Pay in Israel) means the player puts one token into the pot.
- The winner is the one with the most tokens.