In the weeks before Passover begins, the search for chametz can be all-consuming. Some people get intense with their spring cleaning–de-crumbing kitchen furniture with toothpicks, shaking out every book in the house for breadcrumbs.
While this might not sound like fun, there’s a game inspired by the practice that is. Chametz: The Search Is On is a bizarre takeoff of Clue for the Jewish set. As the board game starts, some culprit accidentally left a piece of Passover-unfriendly food in the house! Was it a cupcake, pretzel, cracker, or piece of pizza? Was it Chaim? Tzipporah? Professor Slivovitz? And where did they leave it?
The game play is almost exactly like Clue, but with an additional challenge of game cards with questions about Jewish practices and the Passover story. It’s recommended for ages seven and up, but we played with a 4-year-old and it worked perfectly. We played again with several adults, and it wasn’t any less fun…although there was a considerable amount of fighting over who got to be Professor Slivovitz.
