Purchase a Standard Game
Before you can get started with setting up your gift exchange, you will need to purchase a standard game.
- Log in to White Elephant Online and navigate to your dashboard
- On the right hand side, click on the "Purchase Standard Game" button
- Select your package and enter the number of games you would like to purchase (you can read more about our packages and pricing here)
- Select the state of your billing address
- Click checkout
- Enter your payment information and complete the checkout process; a receipt will automatically be sent to the email address associated with your account (if you don't receive a receipt you it likely got caught in your spam filters; just submit a request and we will take care of it)
When you complete the checkout process you will be returned to the Dashboard and any games you purchased will now be visible under "Your Games".
Setup a Standard Game
Now that you've purchased a game, you can specify the details of your gift exchange.
- From the Dashboard, click on your new game under "Your Games"
- On the Manage Event tab next to Game Settings, click on the Edit button
- Fill in the following details:
- Game name: you will want to make this something everyone in your group with recognize as it will show up in their invites, as well as on their Dashboards
- Gift Distribution Option
- Event Details
- Game Rules
- Click on "Save Game" button at the top right of the pop-up window
Gift Distribution Options
Select your method of Gift Distribution from the options below. To read more about these options, click here.
Collecting Addresses
Depending on the Gift Distribution option you selected during setup, you may choose to ask your players to add their address to a game for automatic sharing after the gift exchange has been completed. You can learn more about those options here.
Event Details
Here you will fill in the specifics of your event:
- Date
- Time
- Price limit for gifts
- Video conference link
- Any additional notes or details you'd like to share with event participants
Background
You have the option of changing the background image for your gift exchange. You can choose between several festive and seasonal options.
Game Rules
Here you will specify the rules for your gift exchange:
- Select your style of play: steal vs. swap. Stealing means that players choose whether to steal an already opened gift, or open a new one. Swapping means that players open a gift first, and then choose to either keep it or swap with another player's, already-opened, gift.
- Additional options:
- Play a bonus swapping round, where each player goes one more time choosing to either keep or swap their gift
- Allow player #1 to steal again at the end of the game
- Limit number of steals per round
- Limit number of times a given gift can be stolen per game
- Limit number of times a given person can be stolen from per game
- You can default back to the standard system house rules at any time by clicking the red "Reset" button
Game Admin
Here you have the option of giving participants Game Admin or Game Lead privileges.
- The Game Lead will be the one to run the game; if not specified, this defaults to the game's creator
- By default, the Game Lead will be playing in the game; if you'd like this person to lead the game, but not submit/receive a gift, you can uncheck this box
- The Game Admins can invite new players and can edit these game settings, such as the name, event details, and game rules. However, they cannot add, edit, or remove other admins.
Manage Participants
Here you have the option of submitting gifts on behalf of your participants and creating dummy players. You can read more about how to use these features here.