W.E.G.E. #9: The Island of Misfit Toys
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Saturday, December 8, 2012
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Please be sure to read ALL parking, facility, & game instructions BEFORE the event & R.S.V.P by posting a "Will Attend" log... PLEEEEEEZE! This White Elephant event will again be held, in the auditorium, at my place of business, (Near Meyerland Plaza) at Braeswood & 610, in the S.W. corner, of the 610 loop, from 4pm-ish until 8pm-ish. Please email me, or post to this page as early as you can.
We're betting that lots of GPS units found their way under the Christmas Tree along with that stuffed iguana playing a guitar lamp your Aunt Martha sent you from her trip Mexico.
We're hoping to get as many NEW FACES as we can to come mix with us old timers. Maybe we can even answer a question or two to help you get started on the right track in this great sport/hobby/obsession.
Participation in the White Elephant game is NOT REQUIRED to attend this event, but the game will start promptly at 5:00, so get your gift registered when you arrive, or you're outta luck when the game starts.
IMPORTANT FACILITY INFORMATION:
The coordinates of this event are for the Visitor's Parking area of my place of business, Aramco Services Company. You will be required to obey all facility rules while you are a guest here.
If visitor parking is full, you can park in the main parking lot in regular parking. DO NOT park in any reserved parking areas.
Handicapped parking is located in the Main Parking lot across the street from Visitor Parking and directly in front of the building.
Enter through the Main Lobby. The front doors are easilly located by the flag poles out in front. The google satellite view will give you an idea of the parking and entry layout.
All items that you bring into the facility are subject to search and X-ray. You will also be required to pass through a metal detector as you enter the facility.
Absolutely NO PHOTOGRAPHY will be allowed anywhere at this facility with the exception of inside the auditorium where the event is to be held.
Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times outside the auditorium.
No smoking is allowed outside of designated smoking areas.
No alcohol or firearms are allowed inside the facility.
FOOD/SNACKS/DRINKS: I personally plan to head over to Fadi's Mediterranean Grill after the event, but I plan to bring some snacks and drinks to share.
This event was not held here last year and attendance was way down. Most years we get 100+ attendees and the event often draws geocachers from as far away as Austin, Beaumont, Waco, and Dallas, as well as out of state visitors, so I encourage everyone to bring something to snack on, or drink, and maybe a little extra to share.
THE FUN PART:
The White Elephant Gift Exchange aka W.E.G.E.
Because this part of the event involves "stealing" gifts from other players and that some of the gifts tend to be on the PG-13 side of the fence, I would like to try to exclude anyone under the age of 13 from the White Elephant Game portion of this event. Children ARE welcome to attend, but they don't really understand/appreciate the adult nature of this type of game and can get their feelings hurt easily. That said we have had several players in double digits and under 13 over the years who did fine. It's the parent's call.
To play:
Bring something (new/unused) worth between $5 and $10, or the most awful thing you got for Christmas/Chanukah.
For those that haven't heard of it, the White Elephant Gift Exchange (Also called Yankee Trading.) is a game where you trade with and steal gifts from other players.
Each player must bring a wrapped gift.(For teams, that's one gift per each person on the team that wants to play.)
Step 1: All wrapped presents are logged into the game.
Step 2: Numbers are drawn for each participant totaling the number of presents.
Step 3: The person that draws #1 picks a present, unwraps it and shows it to the group. (This person can exercise a special OPTION at the end of the game if they haven't locked a gift. See Rule #2.)
Step 4: The next person has the option of taking (stealing) that item or unwrapping another gift and the process repeats until the final present is unwrapped ending the game. (See also rule #2)
Step 5: If your gift is stolen, it's your turn again, you have the option of stealing any unlocked item EXCEPT the one that was just taken from you, OR unwrapping another gift.
Note: There can be several rounds of stealing between each number called in turn, or the next present being unwrapped. The more people in the game, the longer it will take. An average game with 20 people, or more, can last as long as 1.5 to 2 hours. Keep that in mind, because an unlocked item CAN'T leave the game.
The rules are simple:
RULE 1: After 2 steals on any item the gift is locked in the hands of the third owner. No one can take it away and that person is out of the game. (I.E. Unwrapper=1st owner, 1st steal=2nd owner, 2nd steal=3rd owner & locks the gift in the 3rd owner's hands. They are now out of the game. See rule #4 on how to get back in.)
RULE 2: If they have not locked a gift out of the game, the first person who started the game HAS THE OPTION OF STEALING ANY UNLOCKED (1 steal or less) ITEM after the last gift is unwrapped by exchanging their gift with the holder of any unlocked item. This optional exchange signals another round of stealing/exchanging that can possibly go on until every unlocked gift remaining is locked OR an exchange is made and the exchangee decides to keep the item they are left with. The game is now completely over. (IF the first person to unwrap a gift HAS locked their gift out of the game then the option falls to the last person to unrap a gift to either decide to keep their gift and end the game or start the last round of exchanges/steals.) Rule clarification on final exchanges: Ownership count only advances when taking an item and not on the item that is being left in its place. Last year there was exactly ONE gift left unlocked at the end of the game! DON'T get attached to any unlocked gift in your posession. Chances are that you won't end the game with it...
RULE 3: Team stealing strategies are fair play:
I. E. Cacher "A" gets an item stolen from them that they were the 1st owner/unwrapper of. They want it, but they can't steal it back. BUT they CAN steal an unlocked item from their team member. Their team member can now steal the original item back making them the 3rd owner of the item and locking the gift and themselves from the game. (All you guys, just plan on doing what your woman says.)
RULE 4: Trading of unwrapped, unlocked, items can be made between participants at will, but this DOESN'T COUNT towards the item's steal count. (I.E. A gift with no steals, or 1 steal, can change hands between several players, but the ownership count stays the same for the sake of the game. Likewise, a person with a locked gift can trade back into the game if another player with an unlocked item agrees to trade, or needs to leave.)
This game is a family tradition that I have participated in for many years. It's a total blast as those who attended the last 8 White Elephant Gift Exchanges can attest.
The fun of traditions is that in our family game, some of the same gifts have made an appearance in several White Elephant games, across many years. These items are true White Elephants that never got used and the real fun is in seeing who gets stuck with them until the next game.
Someone got stuck last year and that gift has been patiently waiting for this year's game. BEWARE!
Please add this event listing to your watch list to receive notice of updates…..
AFTER THE EVENT:
Following the event, the Snoogstress, the Snooglet and I will be heading over to Fadi's Mediterranean Grill and you are all invited to join us. (separate checks) ;) There is also an Outback, a Saltgrass, and several other restaurants in the area including Escalantes where my A.O'.M. events are held for those not in the mood for AWESOME Mediterranean Food.
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