Chutzpah and Chochmah is a Jewish-themed hack of John Harper’s Lasers and Feelings, a sci-fi game in the vein of Star Trek. It’s a great game for when you want something simple and fun to pick up and play. Keep reading to find out how to play.

Playing the Game

What is this? A game? About what? Jews in trouble? Oy! Don’t we Jews have enough troubles that we don’t need to make up more?

What You Need

• 2 to 5 people to play the main characters
• 1 person to be the Game Master
• a bunch of six-sided dice (d6s)
• a way to keep track of character information
• a way to keep track of what happens during the game (optional)

Who You Are

In this game, you are members of a Jewish community. Your purpose is to help your community thrive. The person who normally handles the big decisions is out of commission for some reason, leaving you to handle problems yourselves.

What happens next? Play to find out!

The Player’s Job

Get your character involved in this craziness and make the best of it.

Create A Character

1. Choose or come up with a style, such as Gregarious, Nosy, Visionary, Rugged, Mystical, Clever, or Eloquent.
2. Choose or come up with a role, such as Troublemaker, Nurturer, Protector, Artist, Scholar, Mensch, or Doctor.
3. Combine your style and role to make a trait, such as Gregarious Troublemaker, Rugged Protector, or Mystical Scholar. You can add another word or two to flesh out the trait, such as Gregarious Troublemaker Reconstructionist Rabbi or Rugged Israeli Protector.
4. Choose or come up with a goal, such as Punch Nazis, Learn Hebrew, Marry A Nice Jewish Girl/Boy/Partner, Make Up For My Big Mistake, Keep Everyone Safe, or Get Miriam’s Secret Recipe
5. Choose or come up with a relationship you share with another character, such as BFFs, Old Flames, Business Partners, Frenemies, Bitter Rivals, Mentor and Protege, or Comrades-in-Arms
6. Give your character a name, such as Miriam, Jacob, Hannah, David, Rebecca, George or Bob

Create A Jewish Community

1. Pick or come up with a gathering place, such as Synagogue, Jewish Community Center, Campus Hillel, Chabad House, Church Basement, Kibbutz, Summer Camp
2. Pick or come up with 2 perks for this place, such as Security Cameras, Golem In The Attic, Helpful Neighbors, Protected From The Evil Eye, Oddly Useful Lost And Found, Built To Last, or Plenty Of Food
3. Pick or come up with a problem this place is always dealing with, such as Pest Problem, Spotty WiFi, Broken Thermostat, Plumbing Issues, Dangerous Neighborhood, Cramped Space, Not Wheelchair Accessible

Roll The Dice, Already

When you try something risky…

1. Narrate what you do and say what goes wrong if you mess up.
2. Roll 1d6, plus 1d6 for each trait, goal, and/or relationship that applies. You can get creative in how you interpret this. For example, if your goal is Seduce The Hot Stranger, you can apply that to a roll when you’re doing something to impress someone you desire.

If you’re doing something that takes…

• Chutzpah (bold or passionate action), you want to roll 4 or higher.
• Chochmah (subtle or sensible action), you want to roll 3 or lower.

If you roll and…

• No dice succeed Oy vey! You mess up, and something goes wrong.
• One die succeeds Not too shabby. You pull it off, but it costs you.
• Some dice succeed Mazel tov! You pull it off.

And… that’s it!

That’s all the rules you need to play. The rest is commentary.