3 Bags to 3 partners (newbie friendly)

I will always take excess

I am able to take excess :)

Love excess here as well.

Excess welcome.

Excess welcome :-) same goes for nice FB's (no sloppy ones or sheets)

Excess is welcome for me, too!

Excess is welcome!

I’m happy to take excess too :)

Hi! Wanted to share some bag-playing basics! I received empty plastic shopping bags from one of my partners, so I’m hoping adding some info here might be helpful to anyone who is new to swapping bags.

Here’s the basic overview: They’re called “bags” but they’re often times envelopes. There are many types of bags, too. Postcard bags, stickers bags, ATC bags, wishlist bags, used postage stamp bags, playing card bags, etc. Each type is determined by what’s inside the envelope.

A bag will usually have at least 5 things: 1. Instructions on it 2. Someone’s address label indicating who the bag is for (that’s who it gets mailed to when it’s full/complete) 3. Someone’s address (or name/email) of who made the bag 4. Contents inside the envelope 5. An area designated for signing, so everyone who played it is noted.

How to “play” a bag: 1. When you receive a bag, follow the instructions on it. (Example: You have a sticker bag and it says to take 4 stickers out of the bag and add in 6.) Open the envelope, choose 4 stickers from inside for you to keep, then find 6 stickers to put inside the envelope. 2. Then sign your name to it, wherever the designated area is of players. (Usually it’s somewhere on the envelope; sometimes on a sheet of paper inside the envelope.) 3. In the instructions it will likely say how many need to sign before the bag is complete (Example: Signer #5 mail home). 3-a. If you are the last signer, you have completed the bag and you’re responsible for mailing it to the address indicated on the envelope. 3-b. If you are not the last signer, then you hang onto the bag and send it to someone else so they can play it (join a bag swap & send it to your assigned partner).

Two other bag-swapping terms to know: 1. A “homer” is a bag that only has 1 spot left for someone to sign. (Example: I just played a bag and signed my name in the #4 spot and there are only 5 spots, so now it’s a “homer” because it has to be sent home by the next person it’s shared with.) 2. A “passer” is a person who doesn’t wish to play a bag they’ve received. They either don’t want to play the bag or it’s something they don’t have (Example: If I receive a bookmark bag, I’m going to write my name on the envelope—not near the player signatures—and next to my name write “pass” so folks know I didn’t play the bag, I’ve passed on playing. That will also help future players to know not to send you the bag again in the future (so you don’t keep getting the same bag).

When swapping bags, it’s common practice to make sure you look at the bag before sending it to someone to make sure: 1. They haven’t already signed the bag themself. 2. Their address isn’t on the bag (to make sure it wasn’t made for them or by them). 3. Check their profile to see if they mention not playing certain kinds of bags (don’t wanna send someone a bunch of bags they can’t play—that’s no fun).

Thanks for all that info @bringitb !! I can also take excess!!