Hop Scotch Hop Scotch is a game about human tragedy, misery, World War II drama, and spinning around

until youre dizzy! To play, you need: Some place you can safely spin around A soft patch of grass to fall on Some spheres to represent the Sefirot Someone to stay level headed (the GM)

But wait... zounds... are we this drunk? Is that a goat-headed man over there sitting where the Kapo used to be? You rub your eyes and the specter remains. Hairy, twitching, sulfurstinking. He speaks to you: Do you know of the Sefirot? Of course you do! Theyre at the center of Kabbalah, esoteric Jewish mysticism. This guy stinks. Bad. But he offers you great power (boy he smells foul). A pool of blood sits to his right where your prison rack used to be. A chalky hopscotch board sits to his left. But wait, you recognize that. Its not a hopscotch board, its the Sefirot. The Tree of Life. Is this man- this thing- God or Satan? You dont know, but youre already considering the possibility that you might do anything he asks. He asks you this: Are you willing to play a childrens game for unlimited power? Hopscotch? Ha! How hard could that be? But wait. Youre pissy drunk. And that isnt a normal hopscotch board, its the Sefirot! A fall off of it must surely mean more than skinned knees?

The setting of Hop Scotch is the dark times of World War II. You, and the other players, play characters residing in the AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camp, on their last legs and at wits end. You are in ill spirits, and know that the end is near, but the bitter-sweet prison wine someone made up is getting you by for tonight. Youve seen the smoke stacks, youve heard horror stories about what awaits you from the guards, and you are living in abject filth. You know that theyre coming for you tomorrow. You are too weak to fight. You can barely feel your heart beating in your chest. Oh fuck the world, fuck the Nazis; woe is here in this dingy dank barrack, where rats sleep alongside men. But God love the Kapo, because hes brought us our hooch for the night! You and your pals drink up; the Kapo watches. You can feel yourself getting groggy as you slip under the spell of the strong alcohol. You recount stories from your past, some fact, some fiction, and revel in what could be your last chance for socializing here on the earth (note: do this, in character, while you generate your concepts). Shit sucks, but by now everything seems so far away. You nod off, and when you wake up, the barracks is empty, save for you and your closest drinking buddies. Where did everyone go?

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Playing Hop Scotch The Goat-Headed Man is here to grant you unlimited power, if youll only beat him at a simple game of hopscotch... using the Sefirot. Start off the game with one player (the aforementioned level headed one), playing the Goat-Headed Man. The Goat-Headed Man is the GM, and will play all the NPCs. As for the other players: you think about why you are there, sitting in Auschwitz-Birkenau. What was your life outside the camp? What does your character have, thats kept them standing for this long? What do they most desire? Think especially hard about that last question, since the Goat-Headed Man may just be in a position to grant it to you. But not so fast, you still have to play hopscotch! Go around in a circle, and have everyone tell their desires. This can be something as simple as I want to get out of this camp alive. But you can dream bigger than that. Maybe you want wealth and power. Maybe youd like to take on the whole German army by yourself. Set up 11 paper circles outside in your playing space. They should be spaced approximately 2-3 feet apart, and positioned in the order of the 11 Sefirot (seen in the diagram on the last page). The Goat-Headed Man will then Judge your desires.

STEP ONE: Goat-Headed Man: Judge each players desires by how difficult they seem and how much they stretch reality. Something like I want to get out of this camp alive, for example, is relatively grounded in reality and the situation. STEP TWO: Goat-Headed Man: Assign a number to each desire, based on how difficult you feel it is to achieve. For the I want to get out of this camp alive example, you might assign a number of 4. This number is how many times the player must spin in a full 360 degree circle, with their eyes closed, before attempting to jump on the Sefirot as you will designate in Step 3. The idea is that the higher the number, the more dizzy they will be, and thus the more off balance. Note: Set up the 11 Sefirot outside, in a space with plenty of soft grass to cushion your landing. Be sure to clear the area of debris and take proper safety precautions. Although this game is simulating drunkeness, DO NOT use real alcohol. Be safe. Im not responsible if you get fucked up playing hopscotch. STEP THREE: Goat-Headed Man: Designate the Sefirot that the players must jump to in order to achieve their goals. Do this by looking at this list of esoteric jargon, and making up something that sounds good:

Hod (glory/splendour) Yesod (foundation) Malkuth (Malchut) (kingdom)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaballah To use the I want to get out of this camp alive example once again, you might say that such a goal will require a jump from Malkuth (the starting point) to Yesod (the foundation of life experience, which gives you strength) to Tipereth (for Tipereth represents Mercy), and then finally to the supernatural Keter. Make this up based on what kind of goal the character is pursuing. Surely a judgmental goal, such as bringing swift justice to Adolf Hitler, would require a jump to Gevurah (representing Justice)? STEP FOUR: Goat-Headed Man: Set any additional obstacles for the players. You might, for example, require that someone stand on one leg on a certain Sefirot in order to represent part of their mystical journey. Be thematic! Most of all, be safe. STEP FIVE: Goat-Headed Man: After demonstrating the maneuvers YOURSELF, spin the players around and let them go at it! If they successfully navigate your challenge, frame a scene where their characters get what they want. :) If they fail at any part of your maneuver, frame a scene from their characters past that is sad, and reflects on their desperate situation. :( Base the framing of this scene on the parts the player failed. For example, if you had a challenge of: Jump from Malkuth, to Chesed, to Gevurah, then stand on one leg on Gevurah before jumping to Keter, and they fell at Gevurah, you might frame a scene from their

Keter (supernal crown, representing above-conscious will) Chochmah (The highest potential of thought) Binah (the understanding of the potential) Daat (intellect of knowledge) Chesed (sometimes referred to as Gedolah-greatness) (loving-kindness) Gevurah (sometimes referred to as Din-justice or Pachadfear) (severity/strength) Rachamim also known as Tiphereth (Mercy) Netzach (Necach) (victory/eternity)

characters past where they were judged unfairly or scornfully by a peer (for Gevurah is Justice). After 2 falls, a player is out. Once a player goes out, they haunt the get what they want scenes of other players, taking control of NPCs to oppressively infringe on their peers ultimate goals, telling them they arent real and reminding them of reality. STEP SIX: After youre tired of spinning around (or when the last player goes out), frame the last scene of the game. Goat-Headed Man, transform into the Kapo, and throw cold water on the characters to wake them up from their drunken slumber (you can also throw cold water on the players in real life, to add more fun to the experience). Kapo: inform the characters, as tactfully as you might wish, that they are headed to the gas chambers. The game is now over.

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