# Magical Light-up Dreidel ## Overview https://youtu.be/q_CCASmjkIM > Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay > And when it's dry and ready, I'll play with it all day > > **Samuel S. Grossman** (lyrics) and **Samuel E. Goldfarb (music)** Decorate your dreidels with magic lights this holiday season. These little wireless LED lights are one of the coolest things in Adafruit's catalog. When they get in proximity to a powered induction coil, the lights wirelessly power themselves up and glow!  No batteries, controllers, or wires are required. Put them into your dreidel and the dreidel will light up when it spins over the coil! This project is an easy and fun one to do with kids. There's no soldering or tricky electronics knowledge required: just a drill press and a little belief in the magical power of physics. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/283/medium800/gaming_dreiidel_spin_white.jpeg?1734994456) ## Parts Featured ### Small Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 5V [Small Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 5V](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5140) Adding LEDs to anything makes it 5x better -- it's a scientific fact! But when you have LEDs, you've got wires and power supplies and all that stuff is kinda annoying. What if you could have LEDs that light up without any wires or soldering or battery packs? Sounds magical! That's... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5140) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5140/guides) ![Video of a white woman holding ten bare LEDs in her hand. She slides her hand over an inductive charger, lighting up the ten small LEDs.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-videos/640x480/5140-05.jpg) I used the small coil shown above for my project. We also have a larger version that runs on a 24v power supply and can light up your whole table. Featured ### Large Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 24V [Large Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 24V](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5141) Adding LEDs to anything makes it 5x better -- its a scientific fact! But when you have LEDs, you've got wires and power supplies and all that stuff is kinda annoying. What if you could have LEDs that light up without any wires or soldering or battery packs? Sounds magical! That's what... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5141) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5141/guides) ![Video of a white woman holding ten bare LEDs in her hand. She slides her hand over an inductive charger, lighting up the ten small LEDs.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-videos/640x480/5141-06.jpg) If you'd like the no-soldering version of this project, this power supply and screw terminal combo will make it possible to power the smaller version of the coil using only a screwdriver. Use the 5v power supply for the smaller coil or the large 24v power supply for the big coil. If you're using the smaller coil and aren't afraid of a little soldering, you can power it with an old USB cable. I'll show you how to do this on the next page. Featured ### 5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed [5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276) This is an FCC/CE certified and UL listed power supply. Need a lot of 5V power? This switching supply gives a clean regulated 5V output at up to 2000mA. 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are "US 2-prong" style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/276/guides) ![Angled shot of power supply.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/276-06.jpg) Featured ### Adjustable Power Supply w/ 2.1mm / 5.5mm DC - 3V to 24V at 2 Amp [Adjustable Power Supply w/ 2.1mm / 5.5mm DC - 3V to 24V at 2 Amp](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5130) [Put your Snap! cassette on and sing along to "I got the power!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1BNcSBApOU) with this super useful power supply adapter where you can easily change the voltage with a snap of your fingers. On the front are a potentiometer knob and a LED... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5130) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5130/guides) ![Top view video of a Black hand turning the knob on the adjustable power supply.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-videos/640x480/5130-05.jpg) ### Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block [Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block](https://www.adafruit.com/product/368) If you need to connect a DC power wall wart to a board that doesn't have a DC jack - this adapter will come in very handy! There is a 2.1mm DC jack on one end, and a screw terminal block on the other. The terminals are labeled with positive/negative assuming a positive-tip configuration... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/368) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/368/guides) ![Angle shot Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/368-03.jpg) ### Additional Materials - [Wooden dreidels](https://a.co/d/4zs0NeN) - An old picture frame - Mirror glass spray paint (optional) - Clear packing tape - CA glue - Acrylic paint / decorations for the dreidels # Magical Light-up Dreidel ## How it Works From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction): Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force (emf) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1831, and James Clerk Maxwell mathematically described it as Faraday's law of induction. Lenz's law describes the direction of the induced field. Faraday's law was later generalized to become the Maxwell–Faraday equation, one of the four Maxwell equations in his theory of electromagnetism. Electromagnetic induction has found many applications, including electrical components such as inductors and transformers, and devices such as electric motors and generators. ### History In Faraday's first experimental demonstration (August 29, 1831), he wrapped two wires around opposite sides of an iron ring or "torus" (an arrangement similar to a modern toroidal transformer). Based on his understanding of electromagnets, he expected that, when current started to flow in one wire, a sort of wave would travel through the ring and cause some electrical effect on the opposite side. He plugged one wire into a galvanometer, and watched it as he connected the other wire to a battery. He saw a transient current, which he called a "wave of electricity", when he connected the wire to the battery and another when he disconnected it. This induction was due to the change in magnetic flux that occurred when the battery was connected and disconnected. Within two months, Faraday found several other manifestations of electromagnetic induction. For example, he saw transient currents when he quickly slid a bar magnet in and out of a coil of wires, and he generated a steady (DC) current by rotating a copper disk near the bar magnet with a sliding electrical lead ("Faraday's disk"). Faraday explained electromagnetic induction using a concept he called lines of force. However, scientists at the time widely rejected his theoretical ideas, mainly because they were not formulated mathematically.  [Read more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/288/medium800/gaming_faraday.jpg?1735326042 Michael Faraday (from Wikimedia Commons)) # Magical Light-up Dreidel ## Powering the Coil The small coil wants 5v, which is easy to get using any USB cable. I found an old USB mini cable in the bottom of the drawer and decided to upcycle it into my power supply for this project. Cut the small end off and expose the wires. [A good pair of wire strippers](https://www.adafruit.com/product/527) is really helpful here. Normal USB cables have 5 wires inside: look for a red and black wire as well as a few colored data wires. You can just ignore these for this project. Trim them to get them out of the way. Some USB cables are charge-only cables. If you have a charge-only cable, there will be just 2 wires in there: red and black. You're golden. Solder the red to the red wire on the coil and the black to the black wire. ![gaming_01_cut_usb.jpeg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/265/medium640/gaming_01_cut_usb.jpeg?1734734660) Plug in your USB cable to a normal wall socket and hold the coil over your LEDs. When the coil gets close enough, the LEDs light up like magic! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/264/medium800/gaming_coil_working.jpeg?1734734624) If you prefer a no-solder version of this project, use one of our 2.1mm screw terminals with a 5v power supply. Insert the red and black wires into the screw terminal and screw them down tightly. Then you can plug your coil into the wall with any 5v power supply with a 2.1mm jack. ![gaming_04_screwterminal.jpeg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/266/medium640/gaming_04_screwterminal.jpeg?1734735195) # Magical Light-up Dreidel ## Table Assembly To house the coil, I got an old picture frame from my local Goodwill. I removed the picture and painted the back of the glass with [silver mirror-effect spray paint.](https://a.co/d/7Uuyae3)  It turns out, this paint is slightly conductive! It must have real metal flakes in it. I attached the coil directly to the painted surface with clear packing tape, and it stopped working. The metal in the paint was enough to disrupt the coil's magic from doing it's thing.   ![gaming_pictureframe.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/267/medium640/gaming_pictureframe.jpg?1734735642) I removed the coil and put a layer of clear packing tape down on the back of the mirror, then re-added the coil with another layer of packing tape to secure it. This fixed the problem. ![gaming_back.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/268/medium640/gaming_back.jpg?1734735769) # Magical Light-up Dreidel ## Dreidel Assembly Decide where you'd like the LEDs to be placed on your dreidel. For my first prototype I put all the holes right in the center of the four sides and used a different colored LED on each side. This created a "blended" color effect when the dreidel was spun. For my second prototype I put the four holes at different heights on each side and added all white lights. This created a very interesting effect where all four lights created their own line of light when the dreidel was spun. Watch the video at the beginning of this guide to see the different effects. ![gaming_dreidel_mark.jpeg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/269/medium640/gaming_dreidel_mark.jpeg?1734736125) I used a vice to hold the dreidels in place and a drill press to drill the holes. I used a 3/8" drill bit, which was the perfect size for the small LEDs. The depth gauge helped me drill the holes to the perfect depth so the tops of the LEDs are flush with the sides of the dreidel. ![gaming_dreidel_drillpress.jpeg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/270/medium640/gaming_dreidel_drillpress.jpeg?1734736267) ![gaming_drill.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/273/medium640/gaming_drill.jpg?1734736660) Paint or decorate your dreidels before putting the lights in, to avoid getting paint on the face of the LED lights. ![gaming_paint.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/272/medium640/gaming_paint.jpg?1734736598) Once you're happy with the paint job, put a drop of CA glue (krazy glue) into the hole and slide the LED in with the light facing outwards. If you get too much glue in the hole and in squishes out, remember that CA glue makes a terrific wood finish! Smear it all over the dreidel and it will seal your paint and keep your dreidel looking brand-new for years.  ![gaming_dreidels_still.jpeg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/274/medium640/gaming_dreidels_still.jpeg?1734736915) Finish your dreidels by adding your Hebrew letters on each side. I used my Cricut vinyl cutter to cut iridescent stickers that catch the light and reflect beautifully. Here's a file you can upload to the Cricut Design Space, or for $0.99 you can find ready-to-cut files in the Cricut downloads. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/545/medium800/gaming_dreidel3.png?1737411351) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/134/286/medium800/gaming_dreidel_spin_color.jpeg?1734995138) ## Rules of the game ([from Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel)) Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, such as [chocolate gelt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_gelt "Chocolate gelt"), pennies, raisins, etc. - To start the game, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot". Every player also puts one piece into the pot when the pot is empty or there is only one game piece in the pot. - Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. Depending on which side is facing up when it stops spinning, the player whose turn it is gives or takes game pieces from the pot: - If נ‎ (_nun_) is facing up, the player does nothing. - If ג‎ (_gimel_) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot. - If ה‎ (_hei_) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. If there are an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes half the pot rounded up to the nearest whole number. If _hei_ is facing up and only one piece is in the pot, the player can either take the piece or not. - If ש‎ (_shin_) is facing up, the player adds one of their game pieces to the pot (sometimes accompanied by the chant "shin, shin, put one in"). In some game versions, the player adds three game pieces to the pot, one for each stem of the letter _shin_ (ש‎). - If the player is out of pieces, they are either "out" or may ask another player for a "loan". ## Guide Products ### Small Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 5V [Small Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 5V](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5140) Adding LEDs to anything makes it 5x better -- it's a scientific fact! But when you have LEDs, you've got wires and power supplies and all that stuff is kinda annoying. What if you could have LEDs that light up without any wires or soldering or battery packs? Sounds magical! That's... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5140) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5140/guides) ### Large Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 24V [Large Inductive Coil and 10 Wireless LED Kit - 24V](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5141) Adding LEDs to anything makes it 5x better -- its a scientific fact! But when you have LEDs, you've got wires and power supplies and all that stuff is kinda annoying. What if you could have LEDs that light up without any wires or soldering or battery packs? Sounds magical! That's what... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5141) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5141/guides) ### 5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed [5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276) This is an FCC/CE certified and UL listed power supply. Need a lot of 5V power? This switching supply gives a clean regulated 5V output at up to 2000mA. 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are "US 2-prong" style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/276/guides) ### Adjustable Power Supply w/ 2.1mm / 5.5mm DC - 3V to 24V at 2 Amp [Adjustable Power Supply w/ 2.1mm / 5.5mm DC - 3V to 24V at 2 Amp](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5130) [Put your Snap! cassette on and sing along to "I got the power!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1BNcSBApOU) with this super useful power supply adapter where you can easily change the voltage with a snap of your fingers. On the front are a potentiometer knob and a LED... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5130) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5130/guides) ### Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block [Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block](https://www.adafruit.com/product/368) If you need to connect a DC power wall wart to a board that doesn't have a DC jack - this adapter will come in very handy! There is a 2.1mm DC jack on one end, and a screw terminal block on the other. The terminals are labeled with positive/negative assuming a positive-tip configuration... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/368) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/368/guides) ## Related Guides - [CRICKIT Flippy Robot](https://learn.adafruit.com/crickit-flippy-robot.md) - [Network Connected RGB Matrix Clock](https://learn.adafruit.com/network-connected-metro-rgb-matrix-clock.md) - [Sound Reactive Paper Lanterns with LedFx](https://learn.adafruit.com/sound-reactive-paper-lanterns-with-led-fx.md) - [Hello World of Robotics with Crickit](https://learn.adafruit.com/hello-world-of-robotics-with-crickit.md) - [Bluetooth-Controlled Matrix LED Sign using Bluefruit Connect](https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-controlled-matrix-led-sign-using-bluefruit-connect.md) - [Arcade Coin-Op](https://learn.adafruit.com/arcade-coin-op.md) - [RGB Matrix Panels With Raspberry Pi 5](https://learn.adafruit.com/rgb-matrix-panels-with-raspberry-pi-5.md) - [Mystery Box: Remote Chess Board Puzzle Lock](https://learn.adafruit.com/mystery-box-remote-chess-board-puzzle-lock.md) - [Halloween Monsters with CRICKIT and Circuit Playground Express](https://learn.adafruit.com/halloween-monsters-with-crickit.md) - [NeoPIO: Drive lots of LEDs with Raspberry Pi Pico](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopio-drive-lots-of-leds-with-raspberry-pi-pico.md) - [Spinning Disc Step Sequencer](https://learn.adafruit.com/spinning-disc-step-sequencer.md) - [Party Parrot Zoetrope](https://learn.adafruit.com/party-parrot-zoetrope.md) - [Holiday Lights: Easy DIY Christmas Wreath & Garland with WLED](https://learn.adafruit.com/holiday-garland-decor-app-control-with-no-coding.md) - [Adafruit PCA9685 16-Channel Servo Driver](https://learn.adafruit.com/16-channel-pwm-servo-driver.md) - [CRICKIT Exhibit Demo Board](https://learn.adafruit.com/crickit-exhibit-demo-board.md)