Dreidel

Click here to play the dreidel game.

(Requires Java Script)

It is an old custom to play games during Hanukkah. The most common game uses a dreidel. A dreidel is a top with a different Hebrew letter inscribed on each of its four sides. The four letters are nun, gimel, heh, and shin. They form an acronym - "Neis gadol hayah sham." This means, "A great miracle happened here."

Usually the stakes for the game are chocolate gold coins, called "gelt." But they could be just about anything - pennies, peanuts, raisins, or whatever. Each player puts one coin in the "pot." Then the players take turns spinning the dreidel. The letter that the dreidel stops on determines your score:

• Nun means you neither win nor lose.
• Gimel means you take the whole pot.
• Heh means you take half the pot.
• Shin means you must put a coin in the pot.

Other games include:

• Trying to knock other people's dreidels down!
• Trying to keep as many dreidels as possible spinning at one time.