How to play (in a nutshell):
-Take turns rolling dice.
-Get a pair.
-Grab a present.
-Rinse and repeat.
-This game is based on a gifting game I used to play at family reunions called White Elephant. Everyone would bring a wrapped gift to be put in a pile in the middle of a large circle of chairs. Cake pans with 4 dice in them would be passed around the circle, and anyone that rolled a pair could go grab a present from the pile and stick it under their chair. They could even go steal stuff from other people! Whatever was under their chair at the end of the game, they got to go home with.
-Now it's been adjusted to be played on Gaia using the dice generator and so that everyone walks away with at least a few presents depending on the number of players, and it's proved a mostly successful and fun game in previous years. I've made a few tweaks each time to smooth the process.
Game will start once we get 4 participants (although, I'd like to have at least 5). Even if you come in too late, you can still join. Just read the rules and see how.
Don't get confused with all the words. It will make more sense once you get some hands-on experience. An example of the game is posted at the end of this post.
In order to participate:
-First: Everyone that wants to participate must send a Gaian item (game item, trash, anything!) worth at least 5 million gold to Your_Destiny_Awaits via trade or gift. All gifts will be put into a pile with the random gifts that YDA has prepared. I will let you know if the gift you send does not qualify for the 5m minimum. But you can send one as expensive as you want (no limit!). You can give more than one if you want, but each still has to be at least 5m. You can also group a few items together into one gift that adds up to over 5m, but they should make sense to go together (like a matching top and bottom).
-Second: You need to be on Gaia often enough to play this game. By no means do you have to be on every day, but it's more fun if we can get through everyone and have multiple rounds instead of having to wait for a particular few to log on. I'll be quoting/PMing people as needed, but check in the thread every now and then, even if you're just lurking.
-Third: You cannot say what is in the gift you send me. Only I and the original owner of each gift will know the contents of each gift until they are unwrapped. All items YDA puts forth will be decided beforehand, and they won't change, but I've got to keep it a surprise somehow, so you just have to trust me. heart (And you can't grab your own gift from the pile while playing unless you've added multiples and it's unavoidable.)
-Fourth: You can join while the game is running, but you'll still have to bring forth a gift!
How to play (Round 1):
-Everyone will take turns rolling dice. There is no set order, so when you show up it is your turn.
-Roll 4 6-sided dice and if you get a pair (2 matching numbers), you get to grab a gift from the pile and "put it under your chair" (which is me writing it under your name). Even if you get more than 2 matching numbers (like 2 pairs or 4 of a kind), you still only get one gift grab. If you don't get a pair, you "pass" the dice to the next person.
-To grab a gift, look over the list and post after your winning roll to say which one you want based on gift number.
-You cannot open a gift that is taken directly from the pile. Opening comes in later rounds with stealing.
-The next person to show up for their turn does the same thing, and if they get a pair they can grab a gift from the pile, too.
-In the first round, no one can steal. You can only grab presents from the pile.
-This goes until everyone has rolled the dice once, whether they grabbed a gift or not.
-If 24 hours go by since the last person rolled, and the remaining players haven't rolled yet, I'll PM them and they'll have another 24 hours to respond and roll. We won't wait longer than that, and they will forfeit their turn(s) until the next round.
-Keep an eye on what gifts were already grabbed in posts before you since I cannot be online 24/7 to update the front page with every turn. Keep your own tally if you'd like.
How to play (Round 2):
-Everyone gets another turn since it is a new round. The last person to roll in the previous round does not get an immediate new turn. They must wait until someone else rolls or at least 3 hours if no one pops in for their turn. You do not have to wait for me to say that it is the next round (just remember to see who has what in previous posts if I haven't updated yet). First person to show for this round rolls the 4 6-sided dice again.
Again, a pair means you get to grab a gift from the pile. You still cannot open any gifts you grab from the initial pile under the tree. Just state the gift number you want. But! If you roll 3 or more matching numbers, you can steal a gift from under someone else's chair! When you steal an item, that's when you can choose if you want to reveal what is hidden inside!
-To steal from someone, just post after your winning roll again and say the gift number and/or mention their name. i.e. "I want to take #1 from Your_Destiny_Awaits." If you want to open it too, say so! i.e. "And I want to open it!" Otherwise, it'll be left wrapped if you don't say. If a gift is open and you want to steal, simply post after your winning roll and say "I want to take [username]'s [insert item]."
-The dice is "passed" around like before, and everyone can steal from each other and open gifts or take from the pile and leave them closed based on the matching numbers that they roll.
-Each time a gift is stolen (whether still wrapped or opened), an [x] will be added to it. When it reaches three [x]s, it is (lol) soulbound to that final theif. wink So make sure to steal your stuff back if you really want it!
How to play (Round 3+):
-We will just keep going in turns until there are no more gifts in the middle and either all the gifts have been taken 3 times or after x period of time (most likely 1 or 2 weeks after we start). Whichever comes first.
-Remember that you can choose to open stolen gifts or leave them closed.
-The max you can have "under your chair" is 8. That's all that will fit. You'll have to hope someone steals a present from you if you want a different one.
-So that means you won't get to roll the dice if you have 8 presents under your chair. Once someone takes one from you, you can roll again on your next turn.
-If you magically get 8 gifts that have reached the max number of times they can be stolen, you are done in the game and those gifts are guaranteed to be yours when the event is over.
-Don't be afraid to ask questions! I know it's long and confusing, but I'll be there every step of the way to guide everyone through the game.
Here is a DEMONSTRATION of the game
Danse des Etoiles! 
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[soulbound], #36> 
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, #35> 
[x], & #40> 
, #11> 
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[x], #26> 
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, & #34> 
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[x], #19> 
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, #30> 
, & #37> 
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[x], #21> 
[x],
[x] & #32> 
