One last thought

I have heard from other people who host Dirty Santa parties that some folks complain about the first player only having one choice. If the gift that the first player opens is a dud (meaning nobody else wants it), the first player is out of the game before the fun really gets started. But what folks dont seem to realize is that this can happen to any player who opens a wrapped gift and finds that it is a dud. That player is also out of the game as to possible further participation.

As a result of this pity for the first player, a whole bunch of special rules (swaps at the end of the game, extra gifts added to the pile at the start or end of the game) have been suggested. This gets too complicated, involved and has its own set of problems, misunderstandings, hard feelings and surprises.

The first person has the pick of the litter of all the gifts. No other player has this advantage. In all the times we have played Dirty Santa at our annual holiday party we have never had the first player feel cheated. Any player could select a dud gift whether they are the first or last player. This is the reason the gifts should be well thought out. They need to have broad appeal to most people and be something worth stealing.