I used to think this too, but I changed my mind when a few years ago my sister wanted to play and I told her why it was a bad game because it's just based on luck, but I played anyway. She ended up getting something like 20 gimmels in a row and I got like 20 peys in a row, even after switching dreidels multiple times, and even switching where I was sitting, it was honestly one of the strangest moments of my life, it was as if god was completely rigging it against me. I think the lesson was that dreidel isn't about luck, it's about mazal.
Yep, my s.o. wanted to play skip-bo, which is also a game so simple that it's just luck of the draw, and I lost 7 games straight after lamenting the randomness of it before we even started, which isn't as impressive of a streak as 20 but still, I understand that feeling.
I actually had the exact opposite conclusion from the analysis: Dreidel is a great kids' game of chance, because it's easy to come back from a few bad rolls and it's almost impossible to lose.
It also seems to be a great game for randomly redistributing chocolate coins among children while giving them something to do that's not "run around screaming" for a while. The game went on all day long? Great, that kept them out of your hair and amused them.
I used to think this too, but I changed my mind when a few years ago my sister wanted to play and I told her why it was a bad game because it's just based on luck, but I played anyway. She ended up getting something like 20 gimmels in a row and I got like 20 peys in a row, even after switching dreidels multiple times, and even switching where I was sitting, it was honestly one of the strangest moments of my life, it was as if god was completely rigging it against me. I think the lesson was that dreidel isn't about luck, it's about mazal.
Yep, my s.o. wanted to play skip-bo, which is also a game so simple that it's just luck of the draw, and I lost 7 games straight after lamenting the randomness of it before we even started, which isn't as impressive of a streak as 20 but still, I understand that feeling.
Odd, as an Israeli Jew Iโve never heard of this game.
Fun fact for our fellow gentiles, the letter on the dreidel are different in Israel vs the rest of the world. In the US for example:
ื - ื ืก - miracle
ื - ืืืื - great
ื - ืืื - was
ืฉ - ืฉื - there
In Israel the final letter is replaced with:
ืค - ืคื - here
Meaning that the miracle has happened in Israel.
Mathematically proving why a Jewish game is bad, is the most Jewish game there is!
Counterpoint: a game that's mostly about passing time and good conversation is the most Jewish game there is.
Two gentiles bump into each other on the street.
The first says: How was the party last night?
The other replies: Great!
Lol
Not as boring when the chocolate coins become shots of schnapps.
Thanks for the sequel! Looking forward to next year's article when you get around to writing PRISM as a compiler target.
> Dreidel is a bad game.
Mathematically proven now. A gut feel I've had since childhood.
But then again, spinning the thing is sufficiently fun, who needs the antes.
I actually had the exact opposite conclusion from the analysis: Dreidel is a great kids' game of chance, because it's easy to come back from a few bad rolls and it's almost impossible to lose.
It also seems to be a great game for randomly redistributing chocolate coins among children while giving them something to do that's not "run around screaming" for a while. The game went on all day long? Great, that kept them out of your hair and amused them.