Saturnalia
The Festival of Saturn
Win or Lose Everything in a Special Christmas Auction
About Saturnalia
Saturnalia, based on the ancient Roman festival, is a night of competition and indulgence. Originally held each December in honor of Saturn, god of time and agriculture, Saturnalia was the wildest holiday on the Roman calendar. Public life paused, schools closed, and gambling was legal. Togas were traded for colorful festival clothes, and homes were decorated with candles and figurines of Saturn himself. It was a time of role reversals, gift-giving, and rowdy banquets, all meant to upend the social order and make space for shared spectacle and shared release. Our modern take channels that same spirit into a raucous gift auction game. It’s a theatrical marketplace of bluffing, bidding, and unfair twists. Togas are optional but strongly encouraged. Think Yankee Swap (the game) meets Animal House (the movie).
Inspiration
Auctioneer Designate one person as the auctioneer (preferably someone with a flair for drama). The auctioneer announces and describes each gift, though its contents remain a mystery. Urge the auctioneer to use humorous or cryptic descriptions to build suspense. Bidding Rules Participants bid on gifts using their Saturnalia Bucks. Bidding starts low, and increments are determined by the group. Once a bid is won, the participant collects their gift but cannot open it until the end. Rule Twists Randomly introduce rule changes during the game. Examples include: » Switcheroo: The winner of the next auction must trade their unopened gift with someone else’s. » Double Down: All bids for the next round are doubled. » Mystery Box: Participants can bid on a “mystery prize” revealed after the auction. Endgame After all gifts have been claimed, allow participants to negotiate trades or open their gifts simultaneously for maximum drama. Optional Role Reversal Add a Saturnalia twist by assigning silly roles (e.g., “King of Saturnalia” or “Chief Gambler”) that grant temporary powers, like pausing the auction or forcing someone else to bid.
Adornments
Watch
Trading Places (1983)
A snobbish investor and a street hustler are forced by two callous millionaires to swap lives during the holidays. The result is a cascade of comic misfortunes and social satire as each man navigates the other’s world. A Christmas classic that neatly echoes Saturnalia’s spirit of upended order.
El Día de la Bestia (1995)
This Spanish cult film sets a darkly comic adventure on Christmas Eve in Madrid. A rogue priest, convinced the Antichrist will be born at dawn, teams up with a heavy-metal record clerk and a cheesy TV host to avert the apocalypse.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)
When the estranged stoner buddies accidentally incinerate a prized Christmas tree with a flying joint, they embark on a misadventure to find a replacement. The night unravels into wild escapades involving mobsters, a waffle-making robot, hallucinating toddlers, and even an encounter with Santa himself.