Make a Dreidel

Make a Dreidel

Dreidel Song - Click To Play

Lyrics

I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay,
And when it's dry and ready, Then dreidel I shall play.

O dreidel, dreidel, dreidel. I made it out of clay,
And when it's dry and ready, Then dreidel I shall play.

It has a lovely body, With legs so short and thin,
And when my dreidel's tired, It drops and then I win.

O dreidel, dreidel, dreidel. I made it out of clay,
And when it's dry and ready, Then dreidel I shall play.

My dreidel's always playful, It loves to dance and spin,
A happy game of dreidel. Come play now, let's begin.

O dreidel, dreidel, dreidel. I made it out of clay,
And when it's dry and ready, Then dreidel I shall play.

A wooden Dreidel

First: Print the Dreidel Cutout.
(turn on your printer, right click with your mouse,
on the following diagram, then select 'print picture')

Second: Glue the pattern to some cardboard.
Bristol board is excellent, or find some cardboard from a cereal box.

Third: Cut out the pattern, and connect the corners.
Use glue or tape to hold the box together.

Fourth: Use a pencil for the spinner.

Fifth: You will need many small items to play the game, such as buttons, pennies,
or you can even make the gelt out of cardboard squares.

Sixth: That's it! When the glue is dried and you have at least 2 players,
you are ready to play the game!

Dreidel Game Rules

Give each player about 10 to 20 or more counters (pennies, buttons) to play the game.
At the start, each player puts a counter in the middle.
Take turns spinning the Dreidel.
The letter that shows when the dreidel has stopped spinning tells you what to do.

If the spin shows a nun which means nothing, then the player does nothing.

If the spin shows a gimel, then
the lucky player takes all the gelt in the middle.

If the result is hay, then the player may take half of the counters in the middle.
If there is an extra counter because the counters in the middle are odd,
then the player may take that one also.

If the result of the spin is a shin,
the player must put one of his counters into the middle.
One variation of this is to place two counters into the middle.

If there is only one counter, or if no counters in the middle,
then each player must add one counter.

The game ends when one player has won all of the gelt.

How to Make A QUICK Dreidel using coins.

If you are riding on a bus or train, or just waiting for an airplane flight, you can make a very quick simulated Dreidel in the following original way.

Collect coins, preferably pennies for the gelt, and two different silvery coins (a Quarter and a Nickel). To generate the Dreidel spin, there are only four choices. Throw the two silvery coins.

Heads Gimel, Take all coins
If they come up two heads, the result was gimel, and the player takes all coins in the middle.

Tails Hay, Take half the coins
If the throw was two tails, then the result is hay, and the player takes half the coins in the middle.

Head-Tail Nun; do nothing
If the throw is Quarter-head and Nickel-tail, the result is "nun", and nothing happens.

Tail-Head Shin: Lose two coins
But if the throw is Quarter-tail and Nickel-head then the result is "shin" and the player must put two of his counters in the middle.

It doesn't take long to get used to this system.