White Elephant Turn Order & Steal Tracker
Random turn order plus a live steal tracker.
Run the whole gift exchange from one screen: paste everyone's names, generate a shuffled turn order, then tap +1 steal each time a gift changes hands. Once a gift hits your steal cap — configurable from 1 to 10, default 3 — the tracker marks it safe and disables further steals. The game state saves to your browser, so an accidental refresh mid-party loses nothing.
List. Paste participant names, one per line.
0 items
Click Generate turn order to see a result.
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How it works
- List. Paste participant names, one per line.
- Set. Set the max steals allowed per gift.
- Play. Click "Generate turn order", then use the +1 steal buttons to track steals live as you play.
- Resume. Reloading the page restores the turn order and all steal counts.
Frequently asked questions
How does the steal tracker work during the game?
Every row in the turn order has a +1 steal button. Tap it when that gift is stolen; the count updates live, and at your limit the row shows "MAX STEALS — safe now" and the button disables.
What happens if someone refreshes the page mid-game?
Nothing is lost. The turn order and every steal count are saved in your browser's local storage after each tap, and the page restores the full game board on reload.
Can I change the steal limit?
Yes — set max steals per gift anywhere from 1 to 10 before generating the order; the default is 3. The limit applies to every gift in that game.
Is the turn order actually fair?
Yes. Names are shuffled with your browser's Web Crypto API, so every ordering is equally likely — nobody gains an advantage from where they appear in the pasted list.
Does this work for Yankee swap or Dirty Santa rules?
Yes. Turn order plus steal tracking covers white elephant, Yankee swap, and Dirty Santa alike — just set the max-steals value your house rules use before generating.
Related randomizers
Further reading
- Breaking gift-giving decision paralysis with a filtered random draw
"Just think of something" is exactly why gift-giving stalls under a deadline. Here's how filtering a big idea list by recipient type and budget turns an overwhelming search into a five-minute decision — and how it slots into secret santa and white elephant exchanges.
- Tracking white elephant steals so nobody has to remember whose gift hit the limit
Someone always loses count mid-game, and the argument over whether a gift is "safe" derails the party. Here's how a live steal tracker settles it instantly, plus the common steal-limit house rules to agree on before you start.