A Secret Santa gift idea: a video game that unmasks you in the final chapter

How a Secret Santa game works

1. Tell us who they are

   Our guide asks the right questions, about 10 minutes: what your giftee is like, their quirks and the group's inside jokes. It saves itself and you can finish another day. Photos if you like, for their pixel portrait.

2. We write and build their game

   We show you the script before building it. It's ready 7 days after we have their full story, or in 72 hours with the rush option.

3. Give it to them on exchange day

   They get a private link. It plays on a phone, a computer or the TV, with nothing to install.

Ideas for what their game could include

• The ending unmasks you

  The last chapter reveals who their Secret Santa is, with your message. A plot twist nobody sees coming.

• The group's inside jokes

  The whole group as characters, with the stories that come up at every Christmas party.

• A festive final boss

  Tangled fairy lights, the office party that never ends or the karaoke machine: the enemy everyone recognises.

• Something to play at the party

  With the Celebration edition, minigames to pass the controller while the other presents are opened.

When it makes sense (and when it doesn't)

The Adventure edition is 59 €. It fits a family Secret Santa with a €50–60 budget, a couples' exchange, or a group that decides on one big present. At the office, where limits are usually low, pool together: five colleagues split it at under €12 each.

How to give it

Bring it to the exchange as a printed card with the QR code, or put it straight on the TV: let them play in front of everyone and discover at the end who gave it.

Scenes their game could have

• 

  Work

  The printer that always jams, turned into the final boss. And the meeting that could have been an email, as a choice to laugh at.

• 

  The family meal

  Grandma's paella is a puzzle: rice, beans… and the crispy bottom has to be earned. After lunch, the family quiz.

See every scene →

Why it's different

Not a template with their name on it

Some “personalised” games swap the hero's name and little else. We write a story with chapters, and what really happens in their life becomes what you play. Three examples from the demo:

1. What we were told“At his niece's wedding in 1998, he took the waiter carrying the four-tier cake for a cha-cha-cha.”

   What you playA rhythm minigame: you dance with the waiter to the beat… and the cake ends up on the floor, just like that day.

2. What we were told“His little dog Biscuit eats whatever she shouldn't.”

   What you playA puzzle: Biscuit has the car key. You have to fill her bowl so she drops it.

3. What we were told“His old Mini hardly ever starts: every Sunday he pushes it down the road with his mate and the neighbours.”

   What you playA race against the clock pushing the Mini down the road, collecting cha-cha records on the way.

Every game is directed by a person in the studio: they write the humour for that person, play it all the way through and nothing ships without their OK. 16-bit pixel art and original music, composed for the studio.

Price

Choose their edition

You get it within 7 days of completing the guide (72 h with Rush).

Rush 72 h · +40 € Adds to any edition: you get it within 72 hours of completing the guide.

Give it as a group: a 179 € Special commission split between six friends is under 30 € each. One person pays and you split it however you like.

You start free: tell us their story with the guide (about 10 minutes) and pay at the end, once you've seen how it looks. Before building it we show you the script: if it doesn't convince you, we refund 100 %.

Your game will stay online for at least 5 years from delivery; if we ever had to take it down, we'll warn you well in advance and give you a way to keep it.

Changes

What changes include

Before building the game we show you the script: you can change anything there. Once the game is built, you get 1 round of changes with Adventure, 2 with Celebration and 3 with the Special commission.

Frequently asked questions

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