White elephant gift exchange
Shuffle the order, track the steals, keep the peace.
Add at least two names.
The rules
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift for the pile, and draws a number for the turn order.
- On your turn, open a gift from the pile or steal one that has already been opened.
- If your gift is stolen, you open a new gift or steal another. A turn ends when someone opens a new gift.
- A gift can be stolen 3 times; after that it is locked with whoever holds it.
- A gift stolen during a turn can’t be stolen again until the next turn — so nobody steals straight back.
- When every gift is open, player 1 may swap their gift for any gift that is not locked. Then the game is over.
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
How it works
- Type the players’ names, one per line, and shuffle the turn order — or print numbered slips for everyone to draw from a hat.
- Set your house rules: how many times a gift can be stolen before it is locked, no stealing straight back, and a final turn for player 1. Print the rules to read out before you begin.
- Start the game and press Open or Steal for each player, typing in each gift as it is unwrapped. The page counts every steal and locks a gift at the limit; Undo takes back the last move.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the white elephant rules?
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Player 1 opens a gift. Each player after that either opens a new gift from the pile or steals one already opened; whoever is robbed opens or steals in turn. A turn ends when a new gift is opened, and the game ends when the last one is.
- How many times can a gift be stolen?
- Most groups lock a gift after its third steal, and that is the setting here; you can choose one, two or no limit. A locked gift stays with whoever holds it, and the page marks it. With “no stealing straight back”, a gift taken during a turn can’t be taken again until the next turn.
- Are Yankee swap and Dirty Santa rules the same?
- Yes — Yankee swap, Dirty Santa and white elephant are names for the same open-or-steal game, with small differences in house rules. Many groups let player 1, who never had a choice, swap with any unlocked gift at the end: that is the final-turn option, and you can switch it off.
- Is there a dice version?
- Yes: choose the dice game. Everyone starts with a gift in front of them, rolls in turn, and swaps or passes gifts by the number rolled until the timer runs out. The rule for each number can be changed.
- Is anything sent to a server?
- No. The names, the order and the game are kept in your browser on this device, so a reload picks up where you were. Nobody needs an account.