Hanukkah
How to play dreidel: the letters, the pot and the rules that stop arguments
Each player starts with the same number of tokens and antes one into the pot. On your turn you spin. Nun means nothing, gimel takes the whole pot, hey takes half, and shin puts one token in. If the pot is empty, everyone antes again. In Israel the fourth letter is peh, for “here,” instead of shin for “there.”
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Dreidel is a gambling game played with a top and a pile of tokens, and it is also a children’s game played for chocolate. Both can be true if you say which one you are playing before anyone spins. The letters are the rules. Once the table can see them, you do not need a long explanation, and you do not need a new set of rules every year.
Hanukkah 2026 starts at sundown on Friday, Dec. 4. The candle order is on the dates page. The gifts around the eight nights are on the kids’ plan. This page is only the game, so you can teach it while the candles burn and then stop.
The letters
A dreidel has four faces. In the diaspora the letters are:
| Letter | What you do | The phrase |
|---|---|---|
| Nun (נ) | Nothing. The next person spins. | Nes |
| Gimel (ג) | Take the entire pot. | Gadol |
| Hey (ה) | Take half the pot. | Haya |
| Shin (ש) | Put one token into the pot. | Sham |
Together: nes gadol haya sham, “a great miracle happened there.” Chabad’s how-to-play page is the source for this reading of the turn. You do not need to treat the phrase as a second set of rules. It is why these four letters are on the top.
In Israel, shin is replaced by peh (פ), for po, “here”: nes gadol haya po, “a great miracle happened here.” If a relative brings a dreidel from Israel, show the peh and agree that peh plays like shin unless you would rather follow a local house rule. Do not discover the letter mid-game.
The pot
Give every player the same number of tokens. Ten or fifteen is a full game. Twenty is a long one. Tokens can be gelt, pennies, nuts, buttons or poker chips. Gelt will be eaten. If you want the gelt eaten during the game, use gelt and expect the count to change. If a child will be upset about losing chocolate, use buttons for the game and hand out gelt at the end to everyone, win or lose. The chocolate is a snack at the end, not a token someone can lose.
Everyone puts one token in the center. That is the ante. Then players take turns spinning on a flat surface. A plate or a bare table works. A thick tablecloth tips the top and causes re-spins, so fold the cloth back.
- Nun: turn passes.
- Gimel: the spinner takes everything in the pot, then everyone, including the winner, antes one again so the next spin has a pot.
- Hey: the spinner takes half. If the pot has an odd count, leave the extra token in. Say “round down” before you start.
- Shin or peh: the spinner adds one token from their own pile.
If a player cannot pay a shin, they are out, or they may borrow one token if you agreed to loans. Banning loans is cleaner with children. The game ends when one player has all the tokens, or at a time you set (“two more rounds,” “when the candles are out”). Ending on a clock is the right call with mixed ages. Ending when one child has everything is the right call only if the other children agreed to a short competitive game.
A spin that falls off the table, or lands cocked against a glass, is spun again. Do not score a letter you cannot read.
How to teach it in one minute
Point at each letter and say only the action: nothing, all, half, put one in. Spin once yourself. Then hand the top to the youngest player who wants it. Adults who explain the history for ten minutes before the first spin lose the table. The history fits after a round, or in a book, not as a toll to start.
Sit where the menorah is not in the elbow path. Dreidel is a small motion, and a sleeve plus a flame is not. The menorah guide covers the 12-inch clearance and the reason not to play a reaching game under the candles. Put the top at the other end of the table from the flames.
Fairness, gambling and younger kids
Dreidel is a game of chance with an ante. For children, keep the stakes at tokens you are willing to see one child hold for the rest of the night, or use the “everyone gets gelt at the end” rule. Do not let older kids talk younger kids into playing for money. Pennies are a teaching token. A wallet is not.
Do not change a letter’s meaning because someone is losing. You may end the game early. You may not decide that gimel means “share” after the spin. If you want a cooperative version, agree before the game that gimel splits the pot with the player who has the least. That is a house rule, and it is fine if it is announced. It is a cheat if it is invented after a spin.
More than about eight players makes the turns too slow. Split into two circles with two dreidels. One top and a long wait is how phones come out.
After the game
Pack the dreidel in the same box as the candles so you can find it on night two. A game that takes ten minutes to teach on Dec. 4 should take ten seconds to start on Dec. 5. The eight-nights gift plan is the rest of the week. Dreidel can be the activity on more than one night. It does not need a new prize every night.
The rest of the party, including where the menorah sits relative to the game, is the Hanukkah party checklist. If the table wants a longer game after the kids have had their round, switch to a board game with a clear end. Leaving dreidel going until someone is upset is the failure mode. Stop while it is still a game. A readable dreidel with instruction cards, for the adults' round, is on Hanukkah gifts for adults.
Chocolate on the floor is a pet problem. Pick up gelt wrappers before a dog does. The pet guide lists chocolate among the foods that are not a snack for animals. That does not change because the chocolate is shaped like a coin.
What you need in the middle of the table
A dreidel, a pile of tokens, and a way to sit still while the menorah burns. The game is the rules. The objects are cheap.
-
Natural wood dreidel 10-pack
One dreidel is enough, and a set is better because a single top disappears under the couch. Wood is easier to see across a table than a tiny plastic one.
- Look for:
- Letters you can read: nun, gimel, hey and shin, or peh if you want the Israel version and the listing says so.
- Best for:
- A kids’ table and any adult who wants the game to last more than one spin.
- Skip:
- a novelty top with letters too stylized to read. The letter is the whole rule.
-
Manischewitz milk chocolate gelt (mesh bags)
Gelt is the traditional token and the traditional problem: it gets eaten, so the pot shrinks for a reason that is not the game. Use it if you want a treat, and use buttons if you want a fair count.
- Look for:
- A mesh bag or a box with a piece count, milk or dark marked on the package if anyone avoids one of them.
- Best for:
- Kids who will play longer for chocolate.
- Skip:
- chocolate tokens for a long game, for pets in the room, and for anyone who should not have the candy. Buttons, nuts or pennies work.
-
The Story of Hanukkah
The game takes five minutes to teach and ten minutes to play. A picture book is the quieter next thing while candles are still burning and another round would turn competitive.
- Look for:
- A picture book with a reading age that matches the youngest player who has to sit nearby.
- Best for:
- Families with mixed ages.
- Skip:
- it if the children are old enough to want another round instead of a story. Ask them.
-
Ticket to Ride board game
Dreidel is a short game on purpose. A board game is the plan for the rest of the evening after the candles, not a replacement for the dreidel while you are teaching the letters.
- Look for:
- A game that plays in under an hour with the number of people you have.
- Best for:
- The hour after the spins get old.
- Skip:
- opening a two-hour game at the moment the menorah is lit. Play dreidel first.
A readable dreidel and an agreed token are the whole kit. Gelt is optional and edible, which is why buttons are the fairer game piece. A book or a board game is for after, not instead of, the first spins.
Questions people ask
What do the four letters mean?
They are nun, gimel, hey and shin. As an acronym they stand for nes gadol haya sham, “a great miracle happened there.” Nun does nothing, gimel takes the pot, hey takes half, and shin adds one token. Chabad’s dreidel page is the version this card follows.
What if the pot has an odd number and you spin hey?
House rule, so say it first: the player takes half, rounded down, and leaves the extra token in the pot. Rounding up empties the pot by surprise and starts a fight.
What is the letter in Israel?
Peh instead of shin. The phrase is nes gadol haya po, “a great miracle happened here.” A dreidel from Israel may show peh. Tell players before the first spin so nobody thinks the top is misprinted.
How many tokens does each player start with?
Equal piles. Ten to fifteen each is enough for a short game. Everyone antes one into the pot at the start and again whenever the pot is empty. The game ends when one player has the tokens, or when you said you would stop.
Can you play with two people?
Yes. The rules do not change. The pot swings faster with two, so a lower starting pile keeps it from ending on the second gimel. With a crowd, one dreidel is still correct. People spin in turn, they do not each need a top.
Sources
Numbers and rules on this page come from these pages, checked October 27, 2026. Sources can change; check them before a high-stakes meal.