Get to know each other · Deck the Halls · the holiday party pack
The Gift Exchange
One true gift story from someone in the room, hidden among the fakes. Find the real one.
- ~20 min
- 3–10 people
- One device, or phones
- In the Deck the Halls pack
- Ages 10+
What it feels like
Every gift has a story, and some of them are better than the gift. Tonight, one true one is hiding among the fakes. Here's how it works. In a private turn, answer one question about yourself truthfully, and invent believable answers to the same kind of question about others. Each round, one real answer hides among the fakes, and everyone else picks the true one. Find it and score two. Everyone your fake fools earns you a point. If under half the room finds the truth, its owner scores two. And write the real answer by accident, and that's two for you.
How to play
- Take a private turn each: answer one question about yourself truthfully, and invent believable answers to the same kind of question about others.
- Each round, one person's real answer is hidden among everyone's fakes.
- Everyone else picks the one they think is true — on phones, or point on three.
- Then the truth comes out, and so do the fakers.
Scoring: 2 points for finding the truth. Every person you fool with your fake is 1 point for you. If under half the room finds the truth, its owner scores 2. Write the real answer by accident and it's 2 for you.
You'll get prompts like
- “What's the worst gift you've ever been given?”
- “What's the best gift you've ever given someone?”
What you need
3 to 10 people and one phone, tablet or laptop to pass around — or everyone on their own phone in a room. Nothing to download, no accounts. The best lines can be sealed into your group's Almanac and come back in later games.
