Steal or OpenWhite elephant rules
Everyone brings one wrapped gift. Draw numbers for the turn order. On your turn, open a gift from the pile or steal one that's already open; if yours is stolen, you open or steal again right away. Most groups freeze a gift after its third steal. The game ends when the last gift is opened, and player 1 gets one final swap.
Who's playing?
Type each name and press Add. You can fix names at any turn.
No players yet. You need at least 3.
House rules
Turn 1 of 8
Name
Open a gift or steal one.
Tap the gift to steal.
Turn order and names
That's a wrap
Who went home with what:
The game stays on this phone. Close the page and it picks up where you left off.
The rules, one at a time
- One gift each. Everyone brings one wrapped gift inside the price limit, usually $20 to $30, and adds it to the pile.
- Draw the order. Number slips in a hat, or the shuffle above. Player 1 goes first.
- Open or steal. On your turn, open any gift from the pile and show it off, or steal a gift someone already opened.
- Stolen from? Go again. The person who lost a gift picks right away: open a new gift or steal a different one. The turn passes on only when someone opens a new gift.
- Frozen gifts. A gift freezes after its third steal (or whatever limit you set). Whoever takes it then keeps it.
- No stealing straight back. You can't take back the gift that was just taken from you on the same turn.
- The last swap. Player 1 never got to steal, so when every gift is open they may swap once for any gift that isn't frozen.
The usual rulings when people argue
| The argument | The usual ruling |
|---|---|
| Can I steal the gift I brought? | Yes, if it's open and not frozen. Nobody needs to know it was yours. |
| Can I steal the same gift twice in one turn? | No: the no-steal-back rule stops a gift bouncing between two people. |
| Does the last swap count as a steal? | Yes, and a frozen gift can't be swapped for. |
| Can someone skip their turn? | No. Everyone ends the night with exactly one gift, so everyone opens or steals. |
Set these rules once in House rules above, and the phone enforces them: a frozen gift or a steal-back simply can't be picked.
Questions people ask next
How many times can a gift be stolen in white elephant?
Most groups allow three steals; the third person to take the gift keeps it. Shorter games freeze a gift after one or two steals.
Do you open your gift before or after someone steals it?
You open it on your turn, in front of everyone. Only opened gifts can be stolen, and they stay unwrapped for the rest of the game.
What happens to player 1?
Player 1 opens first and has nothing to steal, so at the end they get one swap for any gift that isn't frozen.
What if someone taps the wrong button on the host page?
Press Undo. Every tap can be stepped back, and names can be fixed at any turn.