I have played this game at least 50 times in my lifetime, I have never seen anyone play it with a game board. I have been playing the game with family for about 30 years. I have played it at many jobs with co-workers, with friends at pre-Christmas parties, book clubs, and at one wedding shower and one baby shower. Not sure why a game board is needed, in fact there's no reason for it. Someone sure capitalized on that game idea. I've watched quite a few videos online and haven't come across anyone using a board yet. may be if I type game board it would come up in the search engine though. Also, there are many variations of the game. I was advised by an Indian woman that I worked with that advised me the practice originated in Asia by the King of Siam(now Thailand) whereby the King would bestow a white (albino) elephant to members of the royal court, ie: attendants, companions and advisers who had displeased him. The gift would appear to be extravagant, however, the intent was that the upkeep costs would ruin the person financially as the gift could not be easily disposed of. I did research the info because it sounded so fascinating she was! Many people that play the game today still play it by purchasing gag or useless items. The origin of the "game" played is that no-one received any gift of value - just gag or totally useless items. Attendees of these types of exchanges sometimes hunt all year for the most ridiculous gift they can find. And trust me, people have fun fighting over some crazy stuff. Good fun. Now we have the more sanitized version of the game where there is a gift limit and the gifts are nice (hopefully). But there are Christmas ornament exchanges, funny saying coffee mug exchanges, book club exchanges, Good Will or thrift store exchanges, etc. you can make up your own version if you have a group of friends that are all into the same hobby, etc. They had a Star Wars one at my work, some people participated & some did not. Boy, did people fight over stuff. Fun to watch. Sorry for the long post but I find the history of this game just as fun as playing it. may give people some other ideas on how to play it. And it doesn't only have to be at the holidays to play it. Take care & happy holidays in 2020 - year of the coronavirus.
emmef7970 I enjoyed your research/history of White Elephant/Dirty Santa/Yankee Swap. My wife's family played Dirty Santa, and we had a blast, so my wife and I decided to play it at my family's Christmas party. My family is really competitive, and we aren't shy about voicing our thoughts and showing our emotions, especially when we were fighting over MoMo's, my grandmother, gift, a toilet plunger. Yes, the screaming and fighting over a $2 toilet plunger. But from this family fracas was born the idea of creating a game. My niece, nephew-in-law and their kids, many years after the great plunger melee of '96, decided to create a tangible game. Thus, the gameboard, rules, and game pieces were born. Even with the added elements to the game with rules and game pieces, it still didn't stop us from having the spirited donnybrook of 2019. There was a questionable stolen sticker on a burrito blanket that created quite a scene. All this to say we are thrilled that you played our version of White Elephant/Dirty Santa/Yankee Swap and enjoyed your history lesson. Play On! Uncle Chip of The SolidRoots Crew a Division of Spin Master
Well @marksquirp5388, you're right, it doesn't need to be purchased. But do you really want to risk missing out on Aunt Edna's crochet toilet paper cover or having to give up that foot fungus cream that Cousin Eddie wrapped in a box that was 3x's too big and filled with packing peanuts. I thought not, thus we created a game with a gameboard, rules, stickers, and cardboard disks to take that uncomfortable feeling away when you steel crazy Uncle Chip's poo-pourri and know it's yours to keep because it was marked with 3 stolen stickers thus making it your prize possession. I just don't like running the risk of depending on my sisters' memory to determine if my procurement of the singing fish is mine to keep. I will err on the side of science or in this case having the game in hand, to show the police that the snowman candy dish rightfully belongs to me because it has the official 3 stolen stickers on it. In all seriousness, hope you have a great upcoming Christmas, and may your desired Dirty Santa gift be yours. Game On! Uncle Chip of The SolidRoots Crew a Division of Spin Master
