Who Stole Hanukkah?
It's up to you to solve the interactive
mystery!
Age Level: 8-Adult
Media: CD-ROM
About - Who Stole Hanukkah?
In this entertaining "whodunit," users
move through a series of
Hanukkah-related activities collecting
clues that lead to the missing
miraculous jar of oil. The claymation
figures captivate the audience while
presenting historical information,
rituals, songs, and blessings. The CD
offers five language options – English,
Hebrew, Russian, French and Spanish.
When Professor Croak's prize collector's
item - the Maccabees' miraculous jar of
oil -
is suddenly missing, you must team up
with Nerli the Detective to identify
which zany
animated character "did it". Who stole
the jug of Oil?
As you're solving the case, you'll: Play
dreidel with Crystal the Fortune Teller
Cook latkes with Latke Troll
Light candles with Mademoiselle Menorah
Play Hanukkah hangman with Bomba the
Elephant
Learn & Sing Hanukkah songs with Ora
Star and the Candle Sisters
Travel back to the Hanukkah story with
Groucho Cat and learn what really
happened over 2,000 years ago.
And much more...
Along the way you'll learn all about the
customs, history and sources of
Hanukkah. And each time you play, a
different one of the eight suspects is
the culprit!
Hours of educational fun and
entertainment for the whole family.
Reviews - Who Stole Hanukkah?
BRAD LAKRITZ (12/5/1997) wrote:
What do Mademoiselle Menorah, Crystal
the Fortune Teller, the Latke Troll,
Schlemiel the synagogue repairman and
Groucho Cat have in common? These
sophisticated, full-color, claymation
figures are all suspects in a daring
make-believe Jewish caper.
One of them has stolen the actual jar of
oil found by Judah Maccabee in the
Temple after its destruction at the
hands of the ancient Greeks.
Your job is to find out "Who Stole
Hanukkah?!"
This exciting new CD-ROM from Jerusalem
Multimedia Productions runs on Windows
and Macintosh formats and is out just in
time for Chanukah 5758.
Players who celebrate Chanukah this year
by clicking their way through this
whodunit will learn many tidbits of
Jewish history along the way.
The mystery begins as the world-famous
historian Professor Croak gazes at his
prized archeological possession, the
Temple oil jar, while sipping a cup of
tea. Suddenly, the lights go out, loud
noises blast the night air and when the
lights come back on, the jar is missing.
Finding yourself out on the street in
the dark winter night, you have only the
trenchcoated Nerly, a hot-shot
detective, to help you solve the crime
in time to celebrate the Festival of
Lights.
Nerly's namesake, ner, is Hebrew for
"candle" -- so the detective's hat
sports a distinctive flame.
Nerly guides you through the clues, and
she presents information about each
suspect. To discover the culprit, you
must visit each of the suspects and
examine the evidence linking them to the
crime.
The street scene is your guide -- or,
computer interface -- to the game. The
building facing you has eight windows,
which you can enter by clicking.
Entering the building, you find yourself
in a hallway with three doors. One of
the doors takes you to Nerly's room:
Here she offers hints and helps you
examine the evidence.
But you can't enter Nerly's room without
a secret password and a golden key. In
order to win these essentials, you'll
have to go elsewhere first -- clicking
your way into the other two rooms.
One of these rooms presents a dramatic
scene from the time of the Maccabees.
In a scene that American Jews might find
familiar because of its parallels with
assimilation issues, a Hellenist family
debates the virtues of Judaism versus
Greek culture. The father is on his way
to the bathhouse while the mother is
making the Sabbath meal. The son quotes
from the Torah, saying that Jews should
have one God and no other, while his
sister speaks up for trying out a few
new ones.
In this scene, correctly answering a
question about the Hellenistic period
will secure, for the player, the secret
password. Clicking again on the password
icon will activate more questions for
those who want to learn more about the
history of Chanukah or just test their
knowledge.
In the next "room," a Greek statue named
Narcisso is playing host to a popular
Greek game show. This tongue-in-cheek
satire of "The Gong Show" highlights
differences between the Greeks and the
Maccabees.
In other history rooms, we learn about
Jews celebrating Shabbat in hiding, and
the destruction of the Temple. Other
game activities include a Hebrew form of
hangman using words from the Chanukah
story, and a modern musical twist on the
songs we sing at Chanukah.
For players who don't know the answers
to the questions, help is just a click
away. Professor Croak's study offers
access to a rich set of resources on
Chanukah, including a how-to guide for
celebrating the holiday, as well as
quotations from many of the Jewish
sources that explain how and why we
celebrate the holiday today.
For example, we learn about the edict of
"publicizing the miracle" from the
Babylonian Talmud, and explore
arguments over lighting the
menorah from right to left or vice
versa, and whether to add or take away
one candle each night during the
holiday.
The CD operates in five languages --
English, Hebrew, Russian, French and
Spanish -- in order to make it useful to
the widest possible audience. This is a
rarity in multimedia CDs.
With "Who Stole Hanukkah?!", JeMM
Productions -- makers of "The
Interactive Haggadah" -- have produced a
creative and educational game. It will
provide hours of enjoyable Jewish
learning for kids of all ages. |
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