How to play dreidle

The dreidel game is one of the most famous Hanukkah traditions. It was created as a way for Jews to study the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Christians call these the Old Testament. It was also a way to learn Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people. They had to do this in secret after Greek King Antiochus IV had outlawed all Jewish religious worship in 175 BC.

Today we play the dreidel game as a way to celebrate this history and have fun with friends and family!

What you’ll need:

• two or more players, ages three and up
• the dreidel: a four-sided spinning top made of wood, plastic, or the proverbial clay
• something to use as tokens for your game pieces (about 10-15); people traditionally use chocolate covered coins called gelt, but you could use nuts, marbles, marshmallows, you name it!

Before you begin:

On the four sides of the dreidel appear four letters from the Hebrew alphabet:

• Nun (נ)
• Gimmel (ג)
• Hey (ה)
• Shin (ש)

Together nun, gimmel, hay and shin translate to “a great miracle happened there.”

How to play:

1. Divide the game pieces equally between all the players.

2. Everyone takes a turn at spinning the dreidel, the one with the highest spin has the first turn. Note: nun is highest, then gimmel, hey, and shin. If there is a tie, those who tied get to spin again.

3. Everyone puts one game piece into the middle (the "pot").

4. Spin the dreidel once — depending on the side it lands on, you give or get game pieces from the pot.

• Shin: put one more token in the pot
• Nun: do nothing
• Gimmel: take all tokens from the pot
• Hay: take half of all tokens lying in the pot. In case of an odd number of tokens, round up.

5. Pass the dreidel on to the next player after your turn is finished in a clockwise direction.

6. Keep playing until someone wins by collecting all the tokens.

7. If you run out of tokens, you are either "out," or you may ask another player for a loan.

Don't have a dreidel? Make one out of paper!

Download and print out the PDF template.

Since you're playing dreidel, why not eat a dreidel! Make your own edible marshmallow dreidels to share with your friends!

Dreidel is a traditional game of chance, and one of the most well-known symbols of Hanukkah.[1] X Research source Go to source The dreidel is a four-sided top with a different Hebrew letter on each side. The game dates back at least to the time when the Greek King Antiochus IV (175 BCE)[2] X Research source ttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/11/history-of-hanukkah/ Go to source had outlawed Jewish worship. Jews who gathered to study the Torah would play dreidel to fool soldiers into thinking they were just gambling.[3] X Research source Go to source Now, it's usually played to see who can win the most gelt (chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil). With a dreidel and some tokens, you can take part in this holiday tradition, too. We'll show you how!

1. 1

   Get a dreidel. The dreidel you will get will depend on where you live. Outside of Israel, the four letters on the sides of the dreidel are Nun, Gimmel, Hay, and Shin, which stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There,"[4] X Research source Go to source referring to the miracle of the oil. In Israel, where the miracle happened, the dreidel has the letters Nun, Gimmel, Hay, and Pey, which means "A Great Miracle Happened Here."

2. 2

   Gather friends. You can play with as few as two, but the more the merrier!

   • Distribute tokens evenly among all of the players. The tokens can be any little thing: pennies, nuts, raisins, matchsticks, etc. A lot of people use gelt.

3. 3

   Ante up. Before each spin, players put one token in the middle of the circle to create "the pot."

   • Every time the pot is emptied, or there's only one token left, every player should put a token in the pot.

4. 4

   Take turns spinning the dreidel. When it's your turn, spin the dreidel once. The letter which comes up once it stops spinning determines whether you win, lose, or draw. According to the letter appearing, the player should perform the following action:[5] X Research source Go to source

   • Shin ("shtel" or "put in" in Yiddish) - Put one more token in the pot.
   • Nun ("nisht"or "nothing" (in Yiddish) - Do nothing.
   • Gimmel ("gantz"or "everything" in Yiddish) - Take all tokens from the pot.
   • Hay ("halb"or "half" in Yiddish) - Take half of all tokens lying in the pot. In case of an odd number of tokens, round up.
   • If you run out of tokens, you are either "out," or you may ask another player for a loan.

5. 5

   Pass the dreidel on to the next player.

6. 6

   Keep playing until someone wins by collecting all the tokens.

• Question

  If I get gimmel and take all the coins from the pot, do I have to put a token back in because the pot is empty?

  No, once all of the tokens in the pot are collected, the next person to play will then put in another token. In some versions of this game, all players will put in one of their tokens.

• Question

  Can I put in more than one token when the pot is empty?

  Yes, you can.

• Question

  How many tokens do I need to start with?

  Split the amount of tokens you have evenly among the players. Deal it like you would deal out a deck of cards.

• Dreidel
• A few dozen tokens: buttons, coins, or small candies
• You can also use a bunch of gelt (chocolate coins)

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Co-authors: 51

Updated: March 9, 2022

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Categories: Featured Articles | Jewish Holy Days

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