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11.12.2024 20:00  What would it look like if you took the fast-paced arena shooter stylings of Doom Eternal and flipped the gory, grimdark aesthetics upside down? You might end up with something like Incolatus: Don't Stop, Girlypop!. It's a "Y2K girly-pop arena-style movement shooter where standing still is not an option," as game director Jane Fiona of Funny Fintan Softworks put it during the Day of the Devs showcase on Wednesday. "The faster you go, the more damage you deal and the more you heal." In Incolatus, a mining corp is trying to drain the world of love, its most precious resource. Trees are dying and fairies have been ejected into the world at large, and it's up to you to save their homes — so you might argue that it's even darker than Doom Eternal. Thanks, capitalism. Funny Fintan Softworks After you eliminate an enemy robot, you can grab the remaining love that it was running on to power up your weapons and deliver more damage. The love that you collect also plays a factor in the dress-up metagame. You can change the look of your character's arms to personalize things a bit. If you donate love to fairies you encounter, you'll get more customization options for your arms and guns. Five cool points to anyone who correctly guessed that movement is a critical aspect of Incolatus. The quicker you move, the more your guns expand with additional barrels and scopes. Funny Fintan has incorporated its own take on bunny hopping . It's called wavehopping, and you'll need to slam to the ground, double jump and dash — oddly enough, mimicking the form of a wave — to take advantage of it. Incolatus, which is coming to Steam "soon," immediately stands out thanks to its hyperpop vibe with bright pinks and greens, as well as the era-appropriate soundtrack. As it happens, the "don't stop moving" mantra has lodged that one S Club song firmly in my brain.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/incolatus-dont-stop-girlypop-may-be-the-y2k-fever-dream-arena-shooter-you-never-knew-you-needed-182348483.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 Since its announcement in March, it's sounded like Sleight of Hand should be a fantastic stealth-action game in a magical noir setting — and now it looks that way, too. Its latest trailer, revealed in the Day of the Devs 2024: Game Awards Edition stream, showcases witchy card-slinging gameplay on the gritty streets of Steeple City for the first time. In the stream, creator Joshua Boggs describes Sleight of Hand as, "If you took Metal Gear Solid and replaced the guns and tools with cards." This is followed by a shot of the protagonist, Lady Luck, trying to sneak past a guard, only to trigger a brass-backed exclamation point as she's spotted. The classic stealth references don't end there, either: Lady Luck is voiced by Debi Mae West, who played Meryl Silverburgh in Metal Gear Solid. . Lady Luck is a retired occult detective who takes on one last case in order to destroy her former coven, which has a stranglehold on Steeple City. The game combines third-person stealth action with card-based strategy, and in the new trailer, these mechanics appear to work in hardboiled harmony. Cards in Sleight of Hand allow Lady Luck to see through walls, deploy smoke bombs, blind enemies, teleport, sling hexes and crush all the bones in someone's body, to name a few abilities. Side note: On its face, Sleight of Hand's premise is eerily similar to Deconstructeam's The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, a fabulous 2023 game starring an exiled witch who enacts revenge on her former coven by reading and building tarot decks. The games are entirely different otherwise — Sleight of Hand is third-person stealth action and Cosmic Wheel is an isometric narrative affair — and I don't point this out because I think anything nefarious is going on. I just thought it was interesting. Clearly there was something in the zeitgeist that made card-wielding witchy women a hot concept at both studios, and it's fascinating to see how the same conceit can be interpreted in such vastly different ways. Sleight of Hand looks like a stylish new entry in the stealth-action genre, and its witchy noir universe seems to support a variety of approaches in each encounter. It's developed and published by New Zealand studio RiffRaff Games. RiffRaff was originally founded by Boggs in 2019 under the name MayDay, following the success of his spy-comic game, Framed. Tencent threw down an undisclosed amount to become a minority investor in the team in 2022, which is when it changed names to RiffRaff and hired up talent from around the globe. Sleight of Hand doesn't have a firm release date, but it's on track to hit Steam, Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass in 2025.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/sleight-of-hand-gameplay-trailer-showcases-occult-card-strategy-in-a-noir-world-182341033.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 The much-anticipated follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter has a new early access date. At Day of the Devs, Heart Machine announced that Hyper Light Breaker will enter Steam early access on January 14. The project is a co-op action game where you can play alone or with up to two allies to face down enemies and bosses in the colorful biomes of the Overgrowth. In classic roguelike fashion, players can try different builds, weapons and abilities on each run, and it should be interesting to see how those skills combine when multiple people are in battle. There is also, and this is very important, a hoverboard. Hyper Light Breaker was first announced back in 2022 as a spiritual successor to the team's original indie hit. Since then, there have been a couple of delays slowing the game's arrival in early access, but today's announcement seems like the real deal. The studio hasn't shared any additional details yet about a full release date or additional platform support, but we're excited to see this latest installment of the neon universe Heart Machine has created.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/hyper-light-breaker-will-begin-steam-early-access-on-january-14-180858877.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 "If Shakespeare lived today, what would he write about?" Philipp Stollenmayer asked the audience during this week's Day of the Devs 2024: Game Awards stream. According to Stollenmayer, Shakespeare would write about the invention of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the perspective of a rebellious strawberry and a disillusioned peanut. Also, it would be a musical. Oh, and it would take the form of an interactive scrapbook with kids as the main voice actors. Obviously. PBJ — The Musical is the latest mobile game from Stollenmayer's studio, Kamibox, and it offers an utterly unique approach to interactive play. PBJ is a side-scrolling narrative adventure built out of real-life paper collages, with images cut from vintage cookbooks and stitched together via stop-motion. The vibe is modern Monty Python mixed with Julia Child, plus a dash of theater nerdery for balance. In PBJ, players can push, pull and drag everything to transform the story, which involves adorable, food-based interpretations of Shakespeare quotes and lots of singing. On the musical side of things, Britain's Got Talent semi-finalist Lorraine Bowen writes and performs all the songs in PBJ, and everything seems to have her signature upbeat, oddball feel. There are also unlockable remixes in each of the 10 stages. Mixing mediums is kind of Stollenmayer's thing: He's a papercraft artist who turned to game design, and many of his projects blend the two disciplines in some way. Under Kamibox, he's made the mobile games Sometimes You Die, Bacon — The Game, Song of Bloom and two dozen other titles, and he's picked up an Apple Design Award, nominations at the Independent Games Festival and other accolades since founding the studio in 2012. PBJ is due out in early 2025, and it's heading to iPhone and iPad.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pbj--the-musical-is-a-coming-of-age-game-with-shakespearean-sandwiches-175413688.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 Blue Prince has been making the rounds at physical and virtual conventions like EGX, Gamescom and the PC Gaming Show, and it’s already high on the puzzle community’s figurative list of most anticipated titles for 2025. It was just featured in the Day of the Devs showcase before The Game Awards, one of its highest-profile debuts yet. So, if you’re getting excited about Blue Prince for the first time, hello and welcome to the club. There are snacks in the parlor — but in order to eat them, first you’ll have to build the parlor. In Blue Prince, you are the literal architect of your own future. It’s 1993 and you’ve inherited the expansive estate of Mount Holly from your uncle, but the bequest comes with a catch. There are 45 rooms in the manor, and you have to find the mysterious 46th room in order to collect your inheritance. If you don’t discover the impossible space, you lose everything. It’s not just a matter of exploring a mazelike mansion, either: The estate changes shape every day and the layout of its rooms is up to you. Dogubomb Every time you approach a door, you get to select what lies behind it from three options, which include areas like a den, dining room, kitchen, billiards room, patio, bedroom, cathedral, pool, and observatory, to name just a few. Connecting the doorways of these spaces in logical ways is crucial to progression, as it seems you’ll have to touch every available square on your blueprints to unlock the 46th room. Each area comes with its own riddle, item dump or unique function that resets at dawn. Entering a room costs one step and you’ll start each day with just 50 steps, so strategizing is key, especially considering all the backtracking you’ll likely do. The demo, which is live on Steam right now, gives you four days to explore Mount Holly and it’s a solid introduction to the game’s House of Leaves loop. The entryway has three doors, and you start by choosing one and manifesting the room beyond. Bedrooms grant you two steps every time you enter; the storage room offers keys, gems and coins; the cathedral costs one coin per entry; a meal is served in the dining hall only after reaching rank eight; the parlor has a three-box puzzle that changes every day; the observatory’s telescope triggers a specific event based on the constellation in view; the coat check can hold an item for a future run — and so on. Dogubomb You’ll find objects like a sledgehammer, keycard, magnifying glass, compass, metal detector and shovel in various places, and you can carry these around to help solve puzzles in adjoining spaces. The billiards room is one of my favorites because it has a straightforward but satisfying dartboard riddle, and I can feel in my bones that there are oodles of secrets and room types that I haven’t discovered. The environments of Blue Prince are dotted with symbols, paintings and statues that I’m sure will be relevant in later mysteries, and the game’s art style and execution welcomes close scrutiny. It inhabits a cel-shaded 3D world with hand-drawn touches and heavy blue shadows, where interactable objects can truly stand out. Each room is crisply rendered, even down to the fine details. Using the magnifying glass to zoom in on the signature at the bottom of a letter, for instance, doesn’t uncover jagged edges in the ink. Blue Prince is supremely compelling to look at and it has smooth, intuitive first-person controls — excellent traits for an exploration game. Dogubomb The puzzles come in a variety of difficulty levels and mechanical flavors, from deduction riddles and engineering logic to esoteric math problems, and that’s just what’s included in the four-day demo. Pieces of lore scattered around the estate lay the foundation for a broader family mystery, and much like the mechanics of the game itself, the narrative tension builds smoothly throughout the early stages. There’s more to uncover here than spare rooms and heirlooms. Blue Prince feels like a build-your-own escape room wrapped up in a strategy game and tied together with home-renovation sim twine. Even though it supports a broad mix of unrelated concepts, Blue Prince feels a lot like home. And it will be, once I find that 46th room. Blue Prince is due to hit Steam in spring 2025. It’s developed by Los Angeles film and game studio Dogubomb and published by Raw Fury.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/blue-prince-preview-build-your-own-escape-room-and-then-live-there-173816152.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 Nintendo has purchased the remaining shares of Monolith Soft, according to a report by Automaton. Up until recently, Monolith’s founders have held onto a four percent stake in the company, likely for symbolic reasons, but those days are done. Nintendo now owns the whole dang thing. Monolith is primarily known for the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise, but recent years have seen the developer assist with big-time Nintendo IPs. It has provided support on games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Additionally, the company helped out on recent Splatoon and Animal Crossing entries. Monolith Soft was originally founded in 1999 by Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashi and Yasuyuki Honne, along with a hefty investment from Bandai Namco. The company created the Xenosaga series, a spiritual successor to Square’s Xenogears that co-founder Takahashi originally wrote and directed. Monolith made a trio of Xenosaga games before Nintendo swooped in and bought 80 percent of company shares from Bandai Namco in 2007. Nintendo increased its stake to 96 percent in 2011 and now, well, it’s got the full hundo. We don’t exactly know when this final transaction took place. Monolith’s company brochure for 2024 still showed the founders owning four percent. This held as far as October 1, but changed by November 21, as spotted by VGC. We are also in the dark as to what Monolith has been working on, aside from helping Nintendo on key franchises, but Xenoblade Chronicles 3 sure was good. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-buys-remaining-four-percent-of-monolith-soft-as-a-little-treat-173510990.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00  There's something inherently compelling about one-button games since developers are giving themselves a tight constraint for their creativity. Sometimes, they take full advantage of that. One of my favorite games from this year, One Btn Bosses, gets it right thanks to tight controls and never seeming like it's unfair. Faraway is an upcoming game in a similar vein. This procedurally generated title from developer Steph Thirion and publisher Annapurna Interactive is coming to PC in 2025. Faraway has been a long time coming — Thirion announced it for iPhone all the way back in 2010. Since the initial unveiling, the solo developer has remade the game with a captivating new art style. You play as a shooting star and you use the gravitational force of the closest star to swing your way toward your destination. When you get there, you'll use the same mechanic to draw a constellation of random stars. If you create loops between them, you'll get a score multiplier. Along with the main procedurally generated levels, there's a mode that asks you to draw specific shapes. Another puzzle mode prompts you to get the highest possible score from a certain formation. During Wednesday's Day of the Devs showcase, Thirion said he took inspiration from Tetris to create a minimalist, replayable game with random elements and lots of depth. On the surface, Faraway has relaxing audio and visuals, but you'll need to keep your brain engaged if you want to get a great score.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/chill-puzzle-game-faraway-sees-you-drawing-star-constellations-with-one-button-172138741.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 Astro Bot has a new level coming, and it won’t cost a thing. Team Asobi said on Wednesday that Winter Wonder, a surprise bonus stage, will arrive on Thursday, December 12 at 9PM ET. The developer promises jingle bells, new bots and fun for all ages. Team Asobi describes the update as a show of gratitude to fans for their “lovely comments” and critical response to the Game of the Year nominee. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for showing your appreciation,” the developer wrote in the PlayStation Blog. “It truly means a lot to us.” Winter Wonder will only be available after you’ve completed the game. Team Asobi is tight-lipped about most details, but you can catch a zoomed-out glimpse in the above image. The developer says you can expect a fun-filled level, “shiny presents” and special bots to add to your crew. So, expect more winter delight and less “throw your controller” difficulty. Team Asobi, a PlayStation Studios subsidiary, had quite the year. Astro Bot launched to rave reviews, making the robot mascot the closest thing Sony has had to a Mario-like tentpole franchise since Sackboy and Crash Bandicoot were in their respective primes. In our review, Engadget’s Jessica Conditt called the PS5 game “easily one of the best games that Sony has ever produced,” describing it as “Super Mario Bros. for a new generation of video game fanatics, at once an introduction to common mechanics and also a significant challenge for seasoned players.” Astro Bot picked up seven nominations at the Game Awards, including Game of the Year, Game Direction, Art Direction, Score and Music, Audio Design, Action / Adventure and Best Family Game. The Game Awards will be on December 12 at 7:30PM ET. To get the new level when it’s hot off the press, make sure you’ve beaten the game and have an active internet connection at 9PM ET tomorrow. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/astro-bot-is-getting-a-free-holiday-themed-bonus-level-171920527.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 The battle for AI supremacy is heating up. Almost exactly a week after OpenAI made its o1 model available to the public, Google today is offering a preview of its next-generation Gemini 2.0 model. In a blog post attributed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the company says 2.0 is its most capable model yet, with the algorithm offering native support for image and audio output. “It will enable us to build new AI agents that bring us closer to our vision of a universal assistant,” says Pichai. Google is doing something different with Gemini 2.0. Rather than starting today’s preview by first offering its most advanced version of the model, Gemini 2.0 Pro, the search giant is instead kicking things off with 2.0 Flash. As of today, the more efficient model is available to all Gemini users. If you want to try it yourself, you can enable Gemini 2.0 from the dropdown menu in the Gemini web client, with availability within the mobile app coming soon. Moving forward, Google says its main focus is adding 2.0’s smarts to Search , beginning with AI Overviews. According to the company, the new model will allow the feature to tackle more complex and involved questions, including ones involving multi-step math and coding problems. At the same time, following a broad expansion in October, Google plans to make AI Overviews available in more languages and countries. Looking forward, Gemini 2.0 is already powering enhancements to some of Google’s more moonshot AI applications, including Project Astra, the multi-modal AI agent the company previewed at I/O 2024. Thanks to the new model, Google says the latest version of Astra can converse in multiple languages and even switch between them on the fly. It can also “remember” things for longer, offers improved latency, and can access tools like Google Lens and Maps. As you might expect, Gemini 2.0 Flash offers significantly better performance than its predecessor. For instance, it earned a 63 percent score on HiddenMath, a benchmark that tests the ability of AI models to complete competition-level math problems. By contrast, Gemini 1.5 Flash earned a score of 47.2 percent on that same test. But the more interesting thing here is that the experimental version of Gemini 2.0 even beats Gemini 1.5 Pro in many areas; in fact, according to data Google shared, the only domains where it lags behind are in long-context understanding and automatic speech translation. It’s for that reason that Google is keeping the older model around, at least for a little while longer. Alongside today's announcement of Gemini 2.0, the company also debuted Deep Research, a new tool that uses Gemini 1.5 Pro's long-context capabilities to write comprehensive reports on complicated subjects. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-20-is-googles-most-capable-ai-model-yet-and-available-to-preview-today-170329180.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 The Pokémon Company and stop-motion studio Aardman just announced that they are working on a “special project” together. We don’t have too many details about the project, except that it will allow Aardman to bring “their unique style of storytelling to the Pokémon universe in brand-new adventures.” That sounds like a TV show or movie, right? We also know that this mystery project will be released to the public in 2027, so that’s something to look forward to. The companies said that more information will be shared in the near future. “Aardman are masters of their craft, and we have been blown away by their talent and creativity. What we have been working on together ensures our global Pokémon fans are in for a treat,” said Taito Okiura, VP of Marketing and Media at The Pokémon Company. Okiura isn’t kidding. Aardman has been in the animation game since 1972 and is most famous for stuff like the Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run franchises. The company is a claymation and stop-motion animation powerhouse. Remember that classic music video for Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”? That’s Aardman, as is the video for Nina Simone’s “My Baby Just Cares for Me.” This partnership tells me one thing. The Pokémon Company is still interested in stop-motion animation, after the success of Pokémon Concierge on Netflix. Season two of that show is currently in production and will likely drop well before 2027. At least it’ll tide us over until we get our eyeballs on whatever Aardman is cooking up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/the-pokemon-company-is-teaming-up-with-wallace-and-gromit-studio-aardman-on-a-mystery-project-162122458.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 Your phone is a gateway to an increasingly large swathe of gaming options. However, using a touchscreen to control a game, especially one that requires precise inputs, isn't for everyone. So a dedicated physical controller may be a more optimal solution. One of the best mobile game controllers is the Backbone One, which is back on sale. The second-gen USB-C PlayStation Edition has dropped down to $69, while the black model is a dollar more. As such, you can save $31, but to see the lower price on Amazon, you'll need to add the controller to your cart. Backbone added iPhone support to the USB-C model around the time of the iPhone 15 announcement. That was the first iPhone lineup with a USB-C connector after Apple shifted away from the Lightning port. Along with native App Store and Play Store titles — such as those included with Apple Arcade and Netflix subscriptions — the Backbone One is compatible with cloud gaming services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna and GeForce Now. It also works with remote play apps for PC, PlayStation and Xbox. The Backbone One doesn't require a dedicated power supply as it runs on your phone's battery. Since it hooks into the USB-C port, there's minimal latency. Passthrough charging and a 3.5mm jack for your headset are available too. Backbone designed the device with help from the team behind the Xbox 360 controller. The company says the One features responsive triggers, tactile buttons and clickable thumbsticks. It was also created with ergonomics in mind. The controller comes with a trial of the Backbone+ subscription. One of the main perks is that you can use it to play games on any compatible device with a USB-C port, such as an iPad, Mac or PC. Other features include screen recording and game recommendations. However, you don't need to be a member to use the Backbone One as a games controller. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-backbone-one-mobile-controller-is-back-on-sale-for-69-160035667.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 When Google debuted Gemini 1.5 Pro in February, the company touted the model’s ability to reason through what it called “long context windows.” It said, for example, the algorithm could provide details about a 402-page Apollo 11 mission transcript. Now, Google is giving people a practical way to take advantage of those capabilities with a tool called Deep Research. Starting today, Gemini Advanced users can use Deep Research to create comprehensive but easy-to-read reports on complex topics. Aarush Selvan, a senior product manager on the Gemini team, gave Engadget a preview of the tool. At first glance, it looks to work like any other AI chatbot. All interactions start with a prompt. In the demo I saw, Selvan asked Gemini to help him find scholarship programs for students who want to enter public service after school. But things diverge from there. Before answering a query, Gemini first produces a multi-step research plan for the user to approve. For example, say you want Gemini to provide you with a report on heat pumps. In the planning stage, you could tell the AI agent to prioritize information on government rebates and subsidies or omit those details altogether. Once you give Gemini the go-ahead, it will then scour the open web for information related to your query. This process can take a few minutes. In user testing, Selvan said Google found most people were happy to wait for Gemini to do its thing since the reports the agent produces through Deep Research are so detailed. In the example of the scholarship question, the tool produced a multi-page report complete with charts. Throughout, there were citations with links to all of the sources Gemini used. I didn’t get a chance to read over the reports in detail, but they appeared to be more accurate than some of Google’s less helpful and flattering AI Overviews. According to Selvan, Deep Research uses some of the same signals Google Search does to determine authority. That said, sourcing is definitely “a product of the query.” The more complicated a question you ask of the agent, the more likely it is to produce a useful answer since its research is bound to lead it to more authoritative sources. You can export a report to Google Docs once you're happy with Gemini's work. If you want to try Deep Research for yourself, you’ll need to sign up for Google’s One AI Premium Plan, which includes access to Gemini Advanced. The plan costs $20 per month following a one-month free trial. It's also only available in English at the moment. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-gemini-deep-research-tool-is-here-to-answer-your-most-complicated-questions-154354424.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 I am a huge fan of Anker so I typically end up buying something every time the brand's products go on sale. Well, my wallet is currently grumbling at me because it's that time again: A slew of Anker products are discounted on Amazon. This sale includes Anker's 3-in-1 5,000mAh USB-C portable charger in black, down to $20 from $40. The new all-time low price comes courtesy of a 38 percent discount, followed up with a $5 coupon. Anker makes up a good chunk of our best power bank and portable charger list for 2024. This particular portable charger is worth calling out because, among other things, its compact and has a 22.5W output as a battery or 30W output when plugged into the wall. It also has a foldable AC plug, a USB-C port and an integrated USB-C cable. If you're looking for a longer charge then check out Anker's 10,000mAh version of the 3-in-1 power bank. It's also down to a record-low price at $30 from $45 in every color — a 33 percent discount. It's comes with a USB-C cable, but provides 30W of output whether it's plugged in or used as a battery. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-anker-power-banks-drops-to-only-20-153018011.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 It’s easy to assume that the best tech gifts are the most expensive things. But there are plenty of options out there for the techie in your life that don’t require you to empty your wallet. If you’re struggling to come up with a gift for a coworker, family member or friend who's an early adopter or a tech obsessive, we’ve gathered some of our favorite things that are both small and affordable. The best part: All of these gift ideas come in at $50 or less. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/the-best-stocking-stuffer-gifts-under-50-130049792.html?src=rss

11.12.2024 20:00 Whether or not you’ve heard of a white elephant gift exchange before, there’s a good chance you have the wrong idea of what it is, how it actually works and where the idea came from. According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. It was a far more devious punishment than simply having them executed. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin.This story is almost certainly untrue, but it has led to a modern holiday staple: the white elephant gift exchange. Picking the right white elephant gift means walking a fine line: the goal isn’t to just buy something terrible and force someone to take it home with them. Rather, it should be just useful or amusing enough that it won’t immediately get tossed into the trash. The recipient also shouldn’t be able to just throw it in a junk drawer and forget about it. So here are a few suggestions that will not only get you a few chuckles, but will also make the recipient feel burdened. White elephant FAQs What is white elephant? A white elephant gift exchange is a party game typically played around the holidays in which people exchange funny, impractical gifts. How does white elephant work? A group of people each bring one wrapped gift to the white elephant gift exchange, and each gift is typically of a similar value. All gifts are then placed together and the group decides the order in which they will each claim a gift. The first person picks a white elephant gift from the pile, unwraps it and their turn ends. The following players can either decide to unwrap another gift and claim it as their own, or steal a gift from someone who has already taken a turn. The rules can vary from there, including the guidelines around how often a single item can be stolen — some say twice, max. The game ends when every person has a white elephant gift. Why is it called white elephant? The term “white elephant” is said to come from the legend of the King of Siam gifting white elephants to courtiers who upset him. While it seems like a lavish gift on its face, the belief is that the courtiers would be ruined by the animal’s upkeep costs. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-white-elephant-gifts-that-everyone-will-love-150516491.html?src=rss