Tikkun: A Universal Jewish
Educational Adventure Game - FREE FOR DOWNLOAD
Tikkun is an adventure game aimed to expose children between the ages of 6-10 to Jewish universal values drawn from the Jewish source and culture, while immersing them in a fantastic world, inspired and filled with Jewish motifs and symbols.
The game follows the adventures of a young child, designed by the player, on the way to school. Our player meets a white donkey struggling with heavy packages. The donkey, asks the player to help him and sends the player through a portal to a magical journey. Our player needs to solve riddles in different worlds, each nested in a setting inspired by Jewish history or sources. Each world represents a different set of values: Social justice, optimism, environmentalism, learning etc. Each world is filled with hidden motifs and symbols drawn from Jewish culture, from cultural heroes to legends and myth.
While the player feels as if he just plays a game, the teacher and the parent, can use the gameplay in-order to introduce the child to the rich heritage and culture of Judaism. The game is accompanied by a teacher/parent educational handbook, that helps teach groups and individual children about the game's content.
"We aimed to create a learning experience which is very subtle. The teacher can talk to the players about the symbols, values & history they were exposed to. So, the child might think he just played a game, but will understand that he learned a lot"
- Nimrod Dweck, Executive Producer.
Tikkun is an initiative of Ms. Selma Szkurnik, who envisioned an educational game that would enable an introductory exposition to Jewish culture and history. It was conceived and developed by the Ofakim Program at the Tel Aviv University. Ofakim program is aimed at promoting the teaching of Jewish philosophy in a humanistic and universal perspective. The educational staff that accompanied the game, was led by Mr. Jeremy Fogel, a PHD student in Jewish Philosophy, who headed the creative staff. The pedagogical oversight was provided by Prof. Ron Margolin, a member of Shalom Hartman institute, and head of the Ofakim program. Prof. Margolin is also the head of the Jewish-Israeli specialist committee in the Israeli ministry of education.
Tikkun was technically developed and produced by Rimon game studio. The studio is led by Mr. Nimrod Dweck, a teacher for digital narratives and trans-media at the Hebrew University, and former head of the game development program at the Open University, Israel.
"Our goal in Tikkun was to introduce children to universal values drawn from the Jewish sources and culture. We sought to create a digital platform which would both introduce the child to Jewish culture, while emphasizing educational contents critical to encouraging their development as responsible and ethical citizens of the world"
- Jeremy Fogel, Educational Content
Parent reviews:
"What have you done? My child is playing it for 4 hours straight and don't want to stop!"
- Tomer, father of 6 year old boy
“My daughter spent an hour customizing her avatar and now she just babbles about how she will help the donkey”
- Tal, mother of a 7 year old girl
