CHANUKAH - For the whole family

THE DREIDEL

(TRADITIONAL)

The game is played with peanuts, walnuts or Chanukah gelt (that is, chocolate coins). We place one unit into the middle which will serve as the bank. After this, we begin the spinning which will decide our fate.

If the dreidel…

Lands on the NUN (נ, nichts, that is, nothing), than we don’t take any nor give any to the bank.
Lands on the GIMEL (ג, ganz, that is, whole), than we take everything from the bank.
Lands on the HEI (ה, halb, that is, half), than we take half of the bank’s contents.
Lands on the SHIN (ש, scheien, that is, to put), we give one of our units to the bank.

VARIATIONS OF THE DREIDEL GAME

DREIDEL NUMBER GAME

The letters on the dreidel are worth as much as their Hebrew numerical value:

Nun = 50
Gimel = 3
Hei = 5
Shin = 300

Each player spins the dreidel and when it stops, they gets as many points as the letter that’s on the top of the dreidel. Whichever player first reaches 1000 points or any other goal, wins the game.

LONGEST SPIN

Each player spins their dreidel at the same exact time. Whoever’s dreidel spins the longest, wins.

VARIATION:

Each player is given a pre-agreed number of opportunities to spin the dreidel. The spins are measured with a stopwatch and then added up. The player with the longest added spin time wins.

THE HIDDEN DREIDEL

One of the players leaves the room. The others hide the dreidel and then summon the player who needs to find it. While he searches, the others sing Chanukah songs and when the player who is searching gets closer to the hidden dreidel, the singing gets louder, when the person gets farther away from it, the singing becomes fainter.

VARIATION:

If you feel like the singing is beyond your capabilities, feel free to play the game with a mix-tape and changes in volume.

OTHER CHANUKAH GAMES

MATTITYAHU VS. ANTIOCHUS

The game leader gives all kinds of commands to the participants who are in line. For example: Get on your knees, stand on one leg, jump ...

Every command is preceded by either a “Matityahu says!” or an "Antiochus says!". The orders of Matityahu must be obeyed, while the orders of Antiochus must not be obeyed. Whoever makes a mistake will fall out of the game.

CHANUKAH GELT SCAVENGER-HUNT

Chanukah gelt is usually a chocolate coin that is given as a gift to children on Chanukah. These Chanukah coins or real, low-value coins, are hidden in various places around the apartment. We can also look for a small bottle of oil, or a little menorah. In the end, everyone can keep what they found.

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