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Ushpizin Memory: Game Guide
Ushpizin Memory is a Sukkot memory game about the seven sukkah guests - each with a symbol and a sourced fact, across 3 difficulty levels.
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🎯 How to play
- Pick a level: Easy with 4 guests, Medium with all seven Ushpizin, or Hard - matching name to symbol.
- Tap a card to flip it, then tap a second card.
- If both cards belong to the same guest, you found a pair and they stay face up.
- Every pair you find shows a fact about that guest below the board, with its source.
- If the cards don't match, they flip back. Try to remember where each one is.
- Find every pair to finish. The game keeps your best time on each level.
Who are the Ushpizin
“Ushpizin” is Aramaic for guests. According to the Zohar, seven special guests come to the sukkah during Sukkot: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon and David. Many families invite them with a set text, and some hang a sign with their names in the sukkah.
The game turns this custom into a memory game. Instead of a list of seven names, each guest has a symbol tied to his story. While a child hunts for the pair, they also remember the link between the guest and the symbol.
The symbols and their stories
Each guest has one symbol, taken from a well-known verse or mishnah:
- Avraham - ⛺ the tent. Avraham sat at the door of his tent and ran to welcome guests (Genesis 18). A fitting start for a custom that is all about hospitality.
- Yitzchak - 🐏 the ram. At the binding, Avraham found a ram caught in a thicket and offered it instead of Yitzchak (Genesis 22:13).
- Yaakov - 🪜 the ladder. Yaakov dreamed of a ladder reaching the sky, with angels going up and down it (Genesis 28:12).
- Yosef - 🧥 the striped coat. Yaakov loved Yosef and made him a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3).
- Moshe - 📜 the Torah. Moshe received the Torah at Sinai and passed it on (Avot 1:1).
- Aharon - 🕊️ peace. Hillel said: “Be among the students of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace” (Avot 1:12).
- David - 🎶 song. King David played the lyre and was called “the sweet singer of Israel” (II Samuel 23:1).
Every pair you find shows the full fact and its source below the board.
How to play
It works like a classic memory game. The cards start face down, each with a small sukkah on its back. Each turn you flip two cards. If they belong to the same guest, they stay face up. If not, they flip back after a moment.
The game counts time and moves and keeps your best time on each level. Try to beat your record, or just play at your own pace.
Three difficulty levels
- Easy (4): four random guests and eight cards. Every card shows the symbol, the name and a short label. Good for young children.
- Medium (7): all seven Ushpizin, 14 cards. Every card still shows all the details.
- Hard - name & symbol: 14 cards, but the pairs aren’t identical. One card shows only the name, the other only the symbol and its label. To find a pair you need to know that the ladder belongs to Yaakov and the dove to Aharon.
Hard is the real test. Anyone who played Medium first has already seen every pair and now has to remember them.
Scoring: a win on Easy is worth 10 stars, Medium 15 and Hard 25. A new best time adds 10 more.
The order of the Ushpizin
There are two main customs for the order of the guests. In generational order, common among Ashkenazim, it is Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon and David. In the Arizal’s order, common among Sephardim and Chassidim, Yosef comes after Aharon. The game notes both below the board. In the game itself the order doesn’t matter, since the cards are shuffled.
Ideas for the festival
Play in the sukkah between courses. After each pair, someone tells the story behind the symbol: why a ladder? What happened at the binding?
Another idea: play Medium on the first day of the festival and come back to Hard a few days later to see what stuck.
More Sukkot games
Before inviting guests you need a sukkah. Build a Sukkah teaches step by step how to build a kosher one. For more memory play, try the Memory Game. And for all the Tishrei holidays there is the Tishrei word search.
🧠 Test Yourself
Answer all three questions correctly to earn 100 stars!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the seven Ushpizin?
Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon and David. According to the Zohar, these guests visit the sukkah during the festival, and it is customary to invite them.
What is each guest's symbol in the game?
Avraham - a tent (hospitality), Yitzchak - a ram (the binding), Yaakov - a ladder (his dream), Yosef - the striped coat, Moshe - the Torah, Aharon - a dove (loving and pursuing peace), and David - song (the sweet singer of Israel).
What's the difference between the levels?
Easy has 4 guests and every card shows a symbol and a name. Medium has all seven. On Hard you match a name card to a symbol card, and the name isn't written next to the symbol, so you have to know which belongs to whom.
In what order are the Ushpizin invited?
Customs differ. In generational order, common among Ashkenazim, Yosef comes after Yaakov. In the Arizal's order, common among Sephardim and Chassidim, Yosef comes after Aharon. The game notes both customs.