Wumpmas is an annual winter holiday game inspired by Secret Santa. The game lasts five days from December 20th to December 24th. Instructions on playing are as follows.

 

Wumpmas requires one Wumpmaster and several players who know each other very well. Somewhere between 8 and 20 people works the best. The Wumpmaster is responsible for managing the game and being the middle-man between players. The Wumpmaster is also responsible for answering questions that the players may have along the way, and so it is essential to have an Wumpmaster who understands the game fully. Long before the game begins, the Wumpmaster will randomly assign each player to another player. On December 1st, the Wumpmaster secretly informs each player of who their Wumpmas Person is (the person they were paired with by the Wumpmaster). It is absolutely critical that no player share who their Wumpmas Person is until December 24th. Each player will create five gifts for their Wumpmas Person, each one corresponding to a separate design challenge. Examples of design challenges include Photoshopping an image of your Wumpmas Person or recording a song for your Wumpmas Person. Each of the five days, starting December 20th and ending December 24th, features its own unique design challenge. When players are making their gifts, they should design their creation so that it will not reveal their identity. The goal of Wumpmas is to make gifts for your Wumpmas Person without them being able to figure out who got them. Every gift that is produced will be given to the Wumpmaster before the day that the gift corresponds to (although submitting gifts earlier is recommended). On the day that the gift corresponds to, the Wumpmaster will deliver everyone's gifts to their owners. Wumpmas ends on December 24th, also known as Wumpmas Day. The gift that is given on December 24th is the only gift where players are allowed to reveal their identities.

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Here are some tips on how to have a very merry Wumpmas!

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• Make sure you have a diligent Wumpmaster who knows their role.

• Make sure the Wumpmaster has every player's contact information!

• Every player should be on board with the rules and should be willing to participate for the entire five days. Each player deserves a present on every one of the five days.

• Every player must understand that they are not allowed to tell anyone who their Wumpmas Person is until December 24th. If any of the players have questions about the game, they must ask the Wumpmaster.

• When creating Wumpmas presents, being secretive is key! Do not include inside jokes that would make your Wumpmas Person realize that you are the one who made it. Instead, use jokes that anyone of the players could have made. Another strategy is to try to throw your Wumpmas Person off by including inside jokes that they may have with another player.​​

• If you are thinking about making your own Wumpmas, here are some tips for developing daily challenges:​​

  • If you have players who don't live near one another, make each daily design challenge a digital gift, such as an image, song, or video.

  • Day Five is the final day of Wumpmas, and should ideally have the biggest/best gift idea.

  • This is a game to be played with a group of friends. The gift ideas should be funny, silly, or truly brutal.

  • Only make your challenges as hard as the group will try. If a challenge is too difficult, many people will not receive a gift.

  • Be sure to keep in mind that Wumpmas is all about mystery. Make the challenges so that they do not give many opportunities to reveal who got who.