The Newtons had a Shabbat routine. Every Saturday, Erik quizzed his two sons about Jewish ideas, customs and prayers.
“It made us feel more Jewish,” said Kaz Newton, 11.
That comforted Dad. But still he worried. He is a Jewish American, born and raised in the South Bay. His wife, Renna, is Japanese. He wants his sons to feel all the elements of their three-pronged heritage.
His sons’ Jewish identity made him the most anxious. Eventually, the Shabbat-style quiz show turned into a broad conversation about slowing the rapid rate of Jewish assimilation.
From there, the brainstorming father and sons came up with a board game that would “keep Jews Jewish.”
Two years later, they made the game. Given now sells for $29.99.
“It’s like Sunday school in a box,” said Riki Newton, 14.
Except with a lot more laughing and yelling, at least when the Newton family plays the game.
Given is designed for families or a combination of adults and children 6 to 15 years old.
Players begin the game in Petra, Jordan, and the goal is to make it to Jerusalem. Throughout the game, players have five-minute study sessions with the “Jewish Facts” book that comes with the game so they will be prepared when they have to answer trivia questions like “What is the prayer over the wine?” “What is the Yiddish word for pleasure and joy?”
Players score points when they answer a question correctly or when they land on a square on which they get to harvest crops native to Israel, like olives and figs.
The questions are only one piece of the game. As players accumulate points, they are expected to give them away to various charities (ranging from Hillel to Doctors Without Borders).
In an un-Monopoly-like twist, players are encouraged to donate time to charity, a move that means a player must go back two or four spaces, since theoretically they’re too busy volunteering to move ahead.
“Everything in the game is encouraging you to do more tzedakah,” Erik said.
The game looks just as polished as any you’d find in a toy store — but it’s all homemade, a collaborative effort by Riki, Kaz, Erik and Renna.
The Newtons assemble the game’s boxes themselves. With rubber cement, they glue the game board (printed on shiny poster paper at Kinko’s) to cardboard. They print out the game’s cards and directions on their home computer. The game pieces are small squares of Jerusalem stone ordered wholesale from a San Jose granite and marble company. The boys then put gold stickers (of Jewish symbols) on the stones.
“A lot of loving care goes into every game,” Erik said.
The oil-on-canvas paintings featured on the box and board are originals by Katie Miranda, a Jewish graduate of San Francisco’s Academy of Art who now lives in the West Bank.
“People really respond to the quality — it gives them a sense of depth and culture and authenticity,” Erik said.
It takes between one and two hours to completely assemble one copy of Given. By the end of the year, the Newtons expect to have made about 160 games. Next year, they expect to assemble about 500 games.
They haven’t turned a profit yet, but when they do — in the spirit of the game — it will all go to tzedakah.
To purchase a copy of Given or for more information, visit www.givengame.org, or call Erik Newton at (408) 655-8561.