How to play Whot: the rules of Nigeria’s favourite card game

Ask anyone who grew up in Nigeria about Whot and you will get two things: a story about a cousin who cheated, and a firm opinion about what the 8 does. Whot is the card game of verandas, staff rooms, bus parks and long evenings when NEPA has taken the light. Pagat, the best-known reference site for card games, calls it Nigeria’s national card game.

This guide covers the rules most Nigerians play by, the ones you will see in the popular Naija Whot apps, and where house rules usually differ. If you are learning from a Nigerian friend, their house rules win. That is also part of the tradition.

Where Whot came from

Whot was not invented in Lagos. It was created in England by William Henry Storey, a printer and game designer from Southend-on-Sea, who trademarked it in 1935. The card maker Waddingtons later took it over, and it was popular in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Somewhere along the way it travelled to Nigeria, and Nigerians made it their own: the special cards, the shouting and the speed are very Naija.

The deck

A Nigerian Whot deck has 54 cards in five shapes, plus five wild cards:

There are no 6s or 9s, which saves a lot of arguments about which way up a card is. British packs dropped to four Whot cards around 1990, but Nigerian packs kept five.

Setting up

1. Shuffle and deal each player the same number of cards. In Nigeria the number is agreed before you start, usually somewhere between three and six. Six is the classic.
2. Put the rest face down in the middle. This pile is the market.
3. Turn the top card of the market face up to start the play pile. That face-up card is the call card.

How a turn works

On your turn you must play one card on top of the call card that matches it by shape or number. A circle 7 can go on any circle, or on any 7. Or you can play a Whot 20, which goes on anything.

If you cannot play, or do not want to, you go to market: draw one card and your turn ends. When the market runs out, shuffle the play pile, all except the card on top, to make a new one.

The first player to get rid of every card wins. That is the whole game. The special cards are what make it Whot.

The special cards

1: Hold On

Play a 1 and everybody else is held: you play again straight away. Many players save a 1 for the end, because Hold On followed by your last card is a very satisfying way to finish.

2: Pick Two

The next player must pick two cards from the market, unless they defend by playing a 2 of their own. A defended Pick Two passes along and grows: two 2s in a row means the next player picks four, and so on. This is where friendships are tested.

5: Pick Three

Works the same way as Pick Two, but three cards each time. Defend it with another 5.

8: Suspension

The next player misses their turn. Under the rules on Pagat, a star 8 suspends the next two players. With only two people at the table, Suspension and Hold On do the same thing.

14: General Market

Everyone except you must go to market and pick one card. In some homes the player of the 14 then plays again.

20: Whot

The wild card. Play it on anything, then call the shape you want next: “I need circle.” The next player must play that shape, or another Whot, or go to market.

Last card, semi last card

When you have two cards left, you say “semi last card”. When you have one left, you say “last card”. Forget, and the table will make you pick two from the market. Some players also shout “check up” when they play the final card. It is not strictly needed, but it is tradition, and it is very hard not to.

Winning and scoring

In a quick Nigerian game, the first person to empty their hand wins, and that is that. If you want to play longer, use scores. When someone goes out, everyone else counts the cards left in their hand:

• Circles, triangles, crosses and squares count their face value.
• Stars count double. Star cards print a small second number to remind you.
• Each Whot 20 counts 20.

Keep a running total. Under the English rules, a player who reaches 100 is out, and the last player left wins. Nigerian scoring varies: some tables say the highest total in a round loses, and that is the end of it.

House rules you will meet

Whot is played a little differently in nearly every house. Before the first deal, agree on:

• How many cards to deal. Three makes a fast, brutal game. Six is calmer.
• Whether Pick Two and Pick Three stack, and whether a Whot can defend them.
• What happens after General Market. Does the player go again?
• A time limit. Many Nigerian games give each player about ten seconds. Slow players get abuse.
• Older rules. Some older players remember a version where only the 1 and the 4 were special, with 4 making everyone else pick two.

A few tips from the veranda

• Hold your Whot card as long as you can. It is your get-out-of-jail card.
• Watch what shapes your opponents keep going to market for, and call those shapes when you play a Whot.
• Do not play your last 2 early if someone is down to one card. You may need it to defend.
• Count the 14s. There are only four in the deck.

Whot and AJ Cities

To be clear, there is no Whot table in AJ Cities. It is an open-world game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos, and the gambling in it happens elsewhere: in AJ’s story you work as a ball boy at the street football in the bush beside the estate, for ₦1,000 a break, and bet what you earn on Creek Rovers against Palm United with a bookie called Tunde Lines. The money is game money only. But if you know the sound of a Whot game under a veranda light, you will recognise the street. Start on the bench at Iloro House, free in your browser, and read about the other games Nigerians grew up on in our guide to traditional Nigerian games and to Naija Ludo rules.

How many cards are in a Whot deck?

A Nigerian Whot deck has 54 cards: circles and triangles (12 each), crosses and squares (9 each), stars (7) and five Whot cards numbered 20. British packs since about 1990 have four Whot cards, so 53.

What does 14 mean in Whot?

14 is General Market: every other player picks one card from the market. In some homes the player who dropped it then plays again.

What is Hold On in Whot?

Hold On is the 1. Everyone else is held and you play again immediately.

Who invented Whot?

William Henry Storey of Southend-on-Sea, England, who trademarked it in 1935. It became most popular in Nigeria, where it is often called the national card game.

Is there Whot in AJ Cities?

No. AJ Cities is an open-world game set in Lagos. The betting in it is on street football in the bush, with game money only.