The cuchumbo robado is a gift exchange with stealing, the same game known in the United States as white elephant or Yankee Swap.
Unlike the classic cuchumbo, nobody draws who buys for whom: the gifts are anonymous and everyone ends up with the one they managed to keep.
How to play, step by step
Setup: one gift each, turns drawn at random
Each player brings one wrapped gift within the agreed limit, with no name on it. All the gifts go on a table. The turn order is drawn with numbered slips: whoever draws 1 goes first.
Open or steal
On their turn, each player has two options: take a wrapped gift from the table and open it in front of everyone, or take an opened gift from someone else. A player who loses their gift chooses again, from the table or by stealing another.
Limits on stealing
Without limits, the game never ends. The usual rules: a gift can be stolen at most three times and then it's locked, and you can't immediately take back a gift that was just stolen from you. Say them out loud before you start.
The last turn
The first player chose without knowing what was in the other boxes. That's why many versions give them one extra turn at the end to swap for any gift that isn't locked. After that, everyone keeps what they have.
So everyone enjoys it
Keep the limit low and even, so losing a gift is funny rather than annoying. If kids or newcomers are playing, walk through one example turn before you start.
And if someone in the group hates having things taken from them, the classic cuchumbo is the better choice.
Prefer a cuchumbo with drawn names?
If you'd rather play the classic cuchumbo, where everyone buys for one person drawn at random, Cuchumbo runs the draw online. It's free, needs no account, and each participant sees only their own result.
