Free · no signup · works on the TV
Run your white elephant from one phone
Type the names, draw the numbers, and the game keeps score: whose turn it is, who just got robbed, which gifts are frozen, and who ends up with the heated blanket.
How it works
- Type everyone's name. Pick your house rules: how many times a gift can be stolen before it freezes, whether you can steal a gift straight back, and whether player #1 gets a last swap.
- Draw numbers. The order is shuffled fairly in your browser. Shuffle again if anyone protests.
- Play. On each turn, tap Open a new gift and type what came out of the paper, or tap a gift to steal it. Whoever was robbed goes next, automatically. Frozen gifts lock themselves.
- Done. See who got what and the most-stolen gift, and copy the results into the family group chat.
Everything for the gift exchange
White elephant rules
The classic game step by step, the house rules people argue about, and how to settle them before anyone opens anything.
Which number is best?
First, middle or last: what 200,000 simulated games say about the draw, and the fairest set of rules.
Number generator
Just need the order? Paste the names and get a fair random list to read out or screenshot.
White elephant dice game
Roll for a gift, then a timed round of swaps. Digital die, action table and timer included.
Left-right Christmas story
A new read-aloud story full of lefts and rights for passing gifts around the circle.
Gift ideas that get stolen
What makes a white elephant gift worth fighting over, with ideas at $15, $25 and $50.
Dirty Santa rules
The same game under its Southern name, and the rule differences you'll actually run into.
Yankee swap rules
The New England name for it, and the final-swap rule that tends to come with it.
Virtual white elephant
Running it over Zoom or Teams: three formats that work, and how to share the board on screen.
Questions
- How do you play white elephant?
- Everyone brings one wrapped gift. Draw numbers to set the order. Player 1 opens a gift from the pile. Each next player either opens a new gift or steals an opened one; whoever is stolen from goes again, opening or stealing. Most groups freeze a gift after its third steal and ban stealing a gift straight back. The game ends when every gift is open.
- Is this white elephant app free?
- Yes. There is no signup, no download and nothing to buy. The game is saved in your own browser, so you can refresh or put the phone down without losing it.
- Which number is best in white elephant?
- Last. In our simulation of 200,000 twelve-player games with a 3-steal limit, the last player ended with one of their three favourite gifts 44% of the time, versus 30% for player 1. If player 1 also gets a final swap, player 1 jumps to 69%.
- Can I show the game on a TV?
- Yes. Press Big screen during the game for large type, then cast or mirror the browser tab to your TV. Run it from one phone or laptop; everyone watches the same board.
- How long does a white elephant game take?
- With a 3-steal limit, a 12-person game averaged about 20 steals and 32 turns in our simulation. At roughly a minute a turn, that is about half an hour, plus however long your family spends deciding.