White Elephant Exchange II
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Sunday, January 8, 2006
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R.S.V.P... PLEEEEEEZE! The event will be held at the Escalante’s Mexican Restaurant, (Near Meyerland Plaza) at Beechnut & 610, in the S.W. corner, of the 610 loop, from 1pm-5pm-ish. Please email me, or post to this page as early as you can.
Because this event involves "stealing" gifts from other players. I would like to exclude anyone under the age of 13 from the White Elephant Game portion of this event. Children ARE welcome, but they don't really understand/appreciate the adult nature of this type of game and can get their feelings hurt easily.
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 3:15, so get your gift registered, or you're outta luck.
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, White Elephant (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 that unlocked item. This optional exchange does not signal another round of stealing. The game is now completely over.
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 first White Elephant Exchange last year 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.
I got stuck last year and that gift has been patiently waiting for this year's game. BEWARE!
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