Nigerian games for the diaspora: games that feel like home

There is a particular kind of homesick that hits when you are in London, Houston or Toronto and somebody in the family group chat posts a video of Lagos rain, or a plate of suya, or your uncle losing at Whot and blaming the cards. You cannot fly home every time it hits. But you can play something that feels like home, and sometimes you can play it with the people who are actually there.

These are our picks of Nigerian games for the diaspora: games made in Nigeria or set there, that you can play from anywhere. They are picks, not a ranking.

The classics, on your phone

Whot

If one game says Nigeria, it is Whot. The irony is that it was invented in England: a printer from Southend-on-Sea, William Henry Storey, trademarked it in 1935, and it was a hit in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Nigeria then adopted it so completely that it is now often called the national card game, with its own house rules: Pick Two, Hold On, General Market. Our guide on how to play Whot has the Nigerian rules.

For a phone version made at home, try Whot King from the Lagos studio Maliyo Games. It is free on Android and iPhone with optional in-app purchases, and plays offline or online.

Ludo

Ludo is not Nigerian either (it is an English version, sold from the 1890s, of older cross-and-circle games such as India’s Pachisi), but naija ludo is a world of its own, with rules played in Nigeria and across Africa that differ from the box. Every family has its own. If you want to settle an old argument about whether you need a six to come out, read our naija ludo rules.

The new Lagos games, in your browser

The real news for the diaspora is the 2026 wave of Lagos-made browser games. A browser game needs no app store, which matters when your cousin in Surulere is on Android and you are on an iPhone in Peckham: you send one link, and you are both in.

Lagos Life

A browser life simulator that launched on 1 October 2026 and passed two million players in about a week, by its creator’s count. You get a job, pay rent, buy food and meet other players in a shared virtual Lagos. It is the closest thing to living a Lagos life from a flat in Manchester. The money is virtual and cannot be withdrawn.

Lagos Run

A quick browser game in which you drive a yellow danfo from Ojuelegba to Yaba, picking up passengers and dodging traffic. Ten minutes of it and you will remember exactly why you do not miss the traffic.

Surviving Nigeria: Lagos

A free multiplayer open-world browser game set in Lagos, with no sign-up: hustle, make money and climb the leaderboard against other players. More on it in our page of games like Surviving Nigeria.

AJ Cities

Our own game, so take this pick with that in mind. AJ Cities is a free open-world browser game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos, for adults (18+). It runs on a phone or a computer, wherever you are.

Its story will land differently if you live abroad. You play AJ, who was taken to London as a boy, grew up in south London, and is deported back to a Lagos he barely knows. In a Lagos police cell, the men call him “oyinbo”, foreigner, for his accent. If you have ever been teased at home for sounding foreign, you will know the feeling. Read AJ’s story before you play.

A few things in it are there to feel like home:

• The real Lagos sun. The sky follows the actual time in Lagos, so when it is evening in Lagos, it is evening on June 12 Street. Lagos is on West Africa Time, one hour ahead of GMT, and Nigeria does not change its clocks.
• Naira everywhere, and a light touch of Pidgin in the jokes.
• One radio for everybody. Every radio in the game plays the same song at the same moment for every player, including tracks by the real artist Joe-Izzy, who appears in the game with his permission.
• A live estate with your people. Party mode is a virtual estate party inside the game, with no real venue or ticket: sign in, make your own character, and meet friends from Lagos or anywhere else at the gate. Joe-Izzy plays Prizm every night from 9 pm Lagos time, which is 8 pm in London in winter.

Making it a family thing

1. Pick one game for the week, and post the link in the group chat.
2. Agree a time in Lagos time. Lagos is one hour ahead of London in winter and level with it in British summer time, five or six hours ahead of New York, and six or seven ahead of Houston, depending on the season.
3. Keep it light on data for the people at home. A browser game is a smaller ask than a big app. Our list of Nigerian games for low-data phones helps.
4. Talk while you play. A voice call beside the game is half the fun.

Why this matters

For a long time, Nigerians abroad who loved games had to find themselves in other people’s stories, if at all. Now Nigerian developers are building games about Lagos for everyone, and the people who get the jokes fastest are the ones who grew up with them, wherever they live now. That is worth a link in the family chat.

Can I play Nigerian games with family in Nigeria from abroad?

Yes. Browser games such as Lagos Life, Surviving Nigeria and AJ Cities work in any modern browser, so everyone opens the same link wherever they are.

Was Whot invented in Nigeria?

No. Whot was invented in England and trademarked in 1935 by William Henry Storey. Nigeria adopted it and it is now often called the national card game.

What time is it in Lagos compared with London?

Lagos is on West Africa Time, UTC+1, all year. That is one hour ahead of London in winter and the same time as London in British summer time.