The left right game is the gift exchange where nobody has to choose: everyone holds a wrapped gift, someone reads a story, and the gifts travel round the circle at every LEFT and every RIGHT. The printed stories found online are fine, but they are the same for every party, and none of them knows how many people are sitting in your circle. This one does.
How to play
- Sit in a circle, each person holding one wrapped gift, ideally the one they brought.
- One person reads the story out loud, at an easy pace.
- At every LEFT, pass your gift to the left. At every RIGHT, pass it to the right.
- When the story ends, open the gift you are holding.
Why nobody gets their own gift back
Each LEFT moves every gift one seat one way and each RIGHT one seat the other way, so all that matters at the end is the difference between the two counts, taken round the circle. With 8 people, a difference of 8 or 16 would bring every gift home. The page counts the LEFTs and RIGHTs in the story it writes for you, and picks the guests’ lines and the last sentence so the difference never lands on a whole trip around. The stats under the story say exactly where each gift ends up, for example 2 places to the left of the person who brought it. It works when the number of people matches the number of gifts, so count the reader if they hold one too.
Two stories
| Story | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas | the night of a family gift exchange: snow, gingerbread men missing an arm, a carol nobody knows the words to | family Christmas, a Christmas party |
| Gift swap | an office gift swap after lunch: a gift taped shut, a gift that sloshes, a cake that is gone | the office, a birthday, a shower, any time of year |
Each comes short or long, and each name you type gets its own line in the story.
For a shower, the baby shower story and the bridal shower story put the guest of honor’s name in the story and pass prizes instead of the guests’ own gifts.
What it costs
Nothing. No account, no watermark, no email. For the rest of the exchange, the white elephant kit prints the numbers and the house rules, and more party printables are on the Christmas page.
Questions
How do you play the left right game?
Everyone sits in a circle holding one wrapped gift. One person reads the story out loud, and every time they say LEFT, everybody passes the gift in their hands to the person on their left; at every RIGHT, to the right. When the story ends, the gift in your hands is the one you open.
How does the page make sure nobody ends up with their own gift?
It counts. If the story says LEFT 11 times and RIGHT 17 times, every gift moves 6 places to the right in the end. With 8 people in the circle that is the same as 2 places to the left, so the gift you brought sits two seats away. The page picks the guests' lines and the ending so the moves never add up to a whole trip around the circle, whatever the number of people.
Does the reader hold a gift too?
If they do, count them in: put their name in the list or one more in the number of people. If the reader just reads, leave them out. The count only works when it matches the number of gifts going round.
How long does the story take to read?
The short story takes about two minutes read aloud and the long one about three. Every name adds a short line, so a big circle takes a little longer. The page shows the time for your story.
Can we play it at a work party or a shower?
Yes: the gift swap story has no Christmas in it, so it works for an office party, a birthday or a shower at any time of year. The Christmas story has a tree, cookies and a little snow.
Are the names uploaded?
No. The story is put together in your browser, and the file is made there too. Closing the tab erases it.