Games on Shabbat
From Halachipedia
Muktzah
- According to Sephardim, some say games (not balls) aren't muktzeh. [1]
Bitul Torah
Building blocks
- Arranging blocks one next to another without attaching them is permissible. [3]
- Building Lego or Duplo isn't considered Boneh and is permissible. [4]
Board Games
- It is permitted to play monopoly on Shabbat. [5]
Puzzle
- Some poskim permit building puzzles on Shabbat, while others forbid. To avoid the issue of Borer (separating) one must be careful not to separate pieces that one doesn’t want from those that one wants. [6]
References
- ↑ Sh”t Or Letzion 2:26:8 writes that a ball is Muktzah for boys and girls above Bar and Bat mitzvah, however games, in general, isn’t muktzah but it’s better not to treat it as muktzah and not move it.
- ↑ Sh”t Or Letzion 2:45:5 permits games only for girls under Bat Mitzvah because for adults it’s an issue of muktzah, and for boys under Bar Mitzvah it’s an issue of getting them involved in something that will cause Bitul Torah.
- ↑ Shemirat Shabbat KeHilchata 23:16.
- ↑ Yabea Omer 7:39(4), Yalkut Yosef 314:1, Sh”t Or Letzion 2:45:5
- ↑ Sh”t Or Letzion 2:45:5 in the note permits
- ↑ Sh”t Or Letzion 2:45:6 writes that it’s not considered writing since it’s only for the purposes of a game (and it’s temporary). So too there’s no issue of Borer since one takes the pieces one wants and uses them immediately. So holds Sh”t Beer Moshe 6:26, and Rav Scheinberg quoted in Children in Halacha (pg 140), and Rav Moshe HaLevi in Menuchat Ahava (vol 3, 22:16). However, Shemirat Shabbat KeHilchata 16:23 forbids if the pieces fit tight together (interlock). Similarly, Shalmei Yehuda (pg 90) quoting Rav Elyashiv and Sefer Tiltulei Shabbat (pg 25; Rabbi Yisrael Bodner) write that it’s forbidden.
