Schrottwichteln: rules, variants and ideas for the evening
For anyone planning an evening of Schrottwichteln with family, friends, a club or colleagues: which game rules work, what counts as good junk and what is better left at home.
The short answer
In Schrottwichteln, everyone brings a wrapped item from home they want to get rid of. Nobody brings anything new. The gifts are handed out by dice or by numbers and can be swapped or stolen. Agree beforehand on what counts as junk, how long the swapping lasts and that nobody brings anything broken or embarrassing.
Checklist
Before: rules and gifts
Schrottwichteln thrives on chaos at the table. To keep it fun, the rules should be clear in advance.
- Say in the invitation that it's Schrottwichteln: one item from home, nicely wrapped, nothing new.
- Agree on what stays at home: nothing broken, nothing perishable and nothing that embarrasses anyone.
- Pick a game variant, dice or numbers, and write the rules down briefly so nobody argues mid-game.
- For the dice variant you need one or two dice and a timer on a phone for the swapping round.
- For the numbers variant, write the numbers from one to the number of guests on slips that are drawn before the game.
- Set up a shared album and print the QR code. At Schrottwichteln, everyone wants to capture the moment the ugliest gift is unwrapped.
On the evening: roll, swap, take photos
Two rounds work well: first hand out, then swap. That way everyone gets a gift, and it still stays exciting.
- Dice variant: take turns rolling. Whoever rolls a six takes a gift from the middle until none are left.
- Then comes the timed swapping round: whoever rolls a six now may take a gift from someone else. When the timer rings, everyone unwraps.
- Numbers variant: number one unwraps first. Everyone after that may steal an item that is already unwrapped or open a new gift. Whoever gets robbed picks again.
- Capture the unwrapping: everyone uploads their photos to the same album by QR code, short videos from Spotlight.
- If the slideshow is running on the TV, the whole room sees right away who just ended up with the porcelain cat.
After: pass it on and remember
Some of the junk moves on the very same evening. The photos stay.
- After the game, allow a free swap for anyone who can't do anything with their item.
- Whatever is left goes to a swap shelf, a flea market or next year's Schrottwichteln.
- Remind everyone the next day to upload their last photos, and hide anything that isn't meant for everyone.
- Use the photos to crown the finest piece of junk of the evening, or create a short recap with music from selected photos.
What EventDrop handles and what it doesn't
What EventDrop handles
- One shared album for the evening, reachable by link or QR code.
- Uploading from guests' own phones in the browser, with no app and no account.
- Slideshow on a TV on every plan; videos and live photo wall from Spotlight.
- Hiding individual photos and a recap you create yourself from selected photos.
What EventDrop doesn't handle
- No dice app and no game host: you run the rules at the table.
- No guest list: anyone with the link or QR code can upload, and a PIN can be passed on too.
- No protection against screenshots or photos being passed on.
- No offline guarantee: nothing uploads without a connection.
Frequently asked questions
What is Schrottwichteln?
A variant of Secret Santa where nobody gets anything new. Everyone brings something wrapped from home that they no longer need or never wanted. The fun is in handing out, swapping and unwrapping. In English it's closest to a white elephant gift exchange.
How is it different from regular Secret Santa?
In regular Secret Santa or Engerl-Bengerl, everyone secretly draws a name and gives a gift to exactly that person. In Schrottwichteln there is no pairing: the gifts sit in the middle and are handed out by dice or by number.
What can you bring to Schrottwichteln?
Anything that still works or at least gets a laugh: kitschy figurines, duplicate presents, curiosities from the basement. Leave at home anything broken, perishable or likely to embarrass someone in the room.
How long does Schrottwichteln take?
That depends on the group. Limit the swapping round with a timer, so the game ends while everyone is still having fun.
Does Schrottwichteln work at the office?
Yes, as long as everyone knows what they're getting into. At work, a more careful selection fits: funny yes, embarrassing no. Anyone who doesn't want to play can simply watch.
How do we get all the photos from the evening together?
Create an album and put the QR code on the table. Everyone scans it with their phone camera and uploads their photos, no app and no account. The next day, the whole evening is in one album.
Set up an album for your Schrottwichteln
One QR code on the table: everyone adds their photos of rolling, swapping and unwrapping to one album, no app needed.
Set up album