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.
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.
Paint or decorate your dreidels before putting the lights in, to avoid getting paint on the face of the LED lights.
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.
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.
Rules of the game
Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, such as 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".
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