Detty December from abroad: a virtual Lagos December for the diaspora

Every December, flights to Lagos fill up with Nigerians going home: the IJGBs, short for “I Just Got Back”. Weddings are timed for it, families plan around it, and your group chat fills with photos from parties you are not at. If you are staying in London, Houston, Toronto or anywhere else this year, that hurts a little.

Here is something that will not replace home, but will give you a Lagos night with your people: a virtual Detty December inside the game AJ Cities. It is free, it runs in your browser, and your friends in Lagos can join the same party as you. Just so nobody is confused: it is a virtual event in the game. There is no real venue, date or ticket.

What it is

AJ Cities is an open-world game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos. Its party mode is the live side: you make your own character and join other real players at a walled estate, with a gate guarded by police who want to be persuaded, a club called Prizm with a live set every night, a beach party, and an estate radio that plays the same song for everyone at the same moment.

What time is it in Lagos?

Lagos is on West Africa Time, one hour ahead of GMT, and Nigeria does not change its clocks. So in December:

That is the Lagos time world, which follows the real Lagos clock and sun. If the times do not suit you, pick the always night world instead: it is 10 pm there all the time, so the club is open and the set is playing whenever you log on, whether it is lunchtime in Houston or after work in London.

How to throw a December night with friends back home

1. Pick a world together. Everyone who picks the same world usually joins the same estate. Each holds up to 60 players, and when one is full a new one opens.
2. Send the link. Your cousin in Surulere and your friend in Peckham open the same page: ajcities.com. It runs on a phone or a computer, with nothing to download.
3. Sign in and dress up. Sign in with your email (18+ only), then change your hair, skin tone and clothes free at the salon and clothes shop by the gate.
4. Meet at the gate. Ask the police to let you in. Most nights about four in five guests who ask get in free. Tickets are optional and last 24 hours.
5. Head to Prizm. Every ticket opens the club's ground floor, and the bouncers sometimes wave guests in without one.

Things to do once you are in

• Catch the set at Prizm, then go up to the pool deck or the rooftop if someone in your group has a VIP ticket.
• Walk down past the bush to the beach party.
• Stand by any radio and hear the same song your friends hear, at the same moment.
• If someone has to take a real phone call, they can pause: they stay in the world as “away” for up to ten minutes.

What it is not

It is not a real trip, a real club or a real December event, and nothing in the game gets you into a party in Lagos. It is a game: a virtual Lagos night for adults, built by people who miss home in December too. If you want to see what life on the edge of Ajegunle is like in the story, read about the real Ajegunle behind the game, or start AJ's story, about a man deported from London back to a Lagos he barely knows.

Can I join a virtual Detty December from the UK or the US?

Yes. AJ Cities runs in any modern browser, on a phone or a computer, from anywhere.

What time is it in Lagos compared with London in December?

Lagos is one hour ahead of London in December: 9 pm in Lagos is 8 pm in London.

Can my friends in Nigeria join the same party?

Usually, yes. Pick the same world and you join the same estate, unless it is full (60 players), when a new one opens.