A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc. considered expensive but without equivalent utility or value relative to its capital (acquisition) and/or operational (maintenance) costs.[1]
Each player brings a wrapped gift to contribute to the gift pool.
Players are randomly given an order in which they’ll take turns.
Everyone gets to see the wrapped gifts and the ones unwrapped as the game goes.
The first player picks a gift and opens/ claims it.
Each following player can choose to claim a new gift or steal an already opened one.
If a player’s gift is stolen, they can either pick a new gift or steal from another player, but will wait for their turn at the end of the round.
When all players have had a turn, the first player gets a final chance to swap their gift, and the game ends when no one wants to steal anymore.