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White Elephant Rules Generator: A Rules Card and Turn Order

Choose the gift limit, how many times a gift can be stolen, whether steal-backs are allowed and whether the first player gets a final swap. You get a printable rules card and a shuffled number order for your players.

Free · no signup · runs in your browser — nothing you type leaves your device.

Your game

Sample choices are filled in. Change anything and the card updates.

Names (optional)

One per line to give each person a number. If you fill this in, the list sets the number of players.

Rules card

White Elephant Gift Exchange

    Number order

      Nothing leaves your browser. The card and the order exist only on this page.

      How the card is built

      The card has the same core rules every time: one wrapped gift per player, a number drawn by each player, Player 1 opens a gift, and later players open a wrapped gift or steal an opened one. Your choices change three lines. The steal cap says how many times one gift can change hands before it is frozen. The steal-back rule says whether a player who just lost a gift may take it straight back. The final swap rule says whether Player 1 gets one more move at the end. These are house rules, and nothing here is an official rule set.

      The number order is a shuffle of 1 to N, where N is the number of players. Print it and cut it into slips, or add names and each person is given a number. The same shuffle number always gives the same order, and Reshuffle picks a new one. Worked example: 12 players with a $25 limit means 12 gifts, and the pile is worth at most 12 × $25 = $300.

      For ideas on what to wrap and how to word the invitation, see the white elephant rules guide, and for a version where nobody steals, use the Secret Santa generator.

      Questions

      What are the basic white elephant gift exchange rules?
      Everyone brings one wrapped gift, within an agreed price limit, and draws a number. Player 1 opens a gift. Each later player either opens a wrapped gift or steals one that has already been opened. A stolen-from player takes a turn right away. The details differ from group to group, which is why this generator asks you to choose the steal limit, whether steal-backs are allowed and whether the first player gets a final swap.
      How many times can a gift be stolen?
      That is your call, and it is a rule groups need to settle. One house rule is two or three steals per gift, after which the gift is frozen with its holder. Unlimited steals make a livelier game but a longer one, and a gift can end up bouncing between the same people. Pick the cap before the first gift is opened so nobody feels the rule changed against them.
      Is white elephant the same as Yankee swap or Secret Santa?
      White elephant and Yankee swap are names for the same style of game, a gift swap where players can take opened gifts from each other, and the name used varies by region and family. Secret Santa is different: each person is assigned one recipient in advance and nobody steals. The Secret Santa generator on this site handles that one.
      What does the final swap do?
      Because Player 1 goes first and has no choice but to open a gift, some groups give Player 1 one extra move at the end: they may swap their gift with any other gift. If you turn it on, the rules card says it ends the game. It is optional and it is a house rule, not a requirement.
      How big should the gift limit be?
      Set it to what the whole group is comfortable spending and say it in the invitation. The limit is about fairness rather than a target, so a gift that costs less than the limit is fine. This tool multiplies players by your limit only to show the most the gift pile could be worth.
      Does anything I type leave my device?
      No. The rules card and the number order are made in your browser. Names, if you add them, are not sent or stored anywhere.

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