It’s a gift exchange, and there’s nothing adult about it… even kids can play. The name stems from the rules – where stealing and cheating are encouraged, yet everyone still ends up with everyone getting a gift!
Here’s how to play…
The wrapped gifts are put in the center of the room or on a table where everyone can get to easily to pick-up, shake, inspect and select.
Everyone picks a number (in our case, 1-12) and they are allowed to trade numbers – if they wish – before the game starts.
The first player gets to choose a gift and open the gift. They walk around the room and show it around, model it, read it or demo the gift they opened.
Each player (after the first player) has two choices. When it is your turn, you take a new unopened gift from the table or you take someone else’s opened gift that you already know what it is. When someone takes your gift (let’s say the “Christmas Poinsetta”) from you, you CANNOT immediately turn around and take the “Christmas Poinsetta” back from the same person who just took them from you.
You either select a new unopened gift or take a third party’s already opened gift. And, let’s say you ended up with a “Music CD”. Later someone takes your “Music CD” so NOW you can go back to the person who previously took your “Christmas Poinsetta” and take it back. When you take it back this is the second time you have had possession of the “Christmas Poinsetta”.
The game ends only when the last person decides to choose the unopened gift from the table, or the person who gets their gift stolen from them decides to choose the unopened gift from the table instead of “stealing” from another.