White Elephant turn-order generator

What the generator does

Two things go wrong in a White Elephant that this fixes. The first is the order: drawing numbers from a bowl works, but someone always ends up with a torn slip or two people with a 7. The generator shuffles once and shows the list, so the host reads it out and the game starts. The second is memory. By the third steal of the evening nobody can agree whether the good speaker has been stolen twice or three times, and the argument takes longer than the turn. The tracker keeps the count for every gift and marks it frozen the moment it hits the limit.

Each turn you tap one of two buttons: open a new gift, or steal. On a steal you pick whose gift is taken, the tracker updates the holder and the count, and the person who lost the gift takes the next turn, which is the standard rule. If you enabled no steal-backs, their options will not include the gift they just lost.

Choosing a rule set

Three steals then frozen is the classic setting and the right default for groups of eight to twenty. For a small group of five or six, one steal keeps the game from cycling the same two gifts. Unlimited steals is chaos and takes forever, but some families like it. The final swap gives player one, who is otherwise stuck with whatever is left, a last chance at any unfrozen gift; most groups consider it fair and it makes the last turn dramatic. The rules page explains every variation and where each came from.

Before the game

Agree the budget and whether gag gifts are in or out; the gift ideas page is split by both. Have every gift wrapped and in a pile before you shuffle. Set a number of steals and say it out loud once, because the tracker will enforce it and someone will object.