Inside Prizm: the virtual Lagos club in AJ Cities

At the far end of June 12 Street, behind a wall lit purple, is the only compound on the street that opens its gate to the public. It is called Prizm, and it is the club at the heart of the live party in AJ Cities, a free open-world browser game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos.

First, the plain truth: Prizm is a virtual club inside the game. It is not a real venue, it has no real address, and nothing you buy in the game gets you into a real club. It is a place you walk into as your own character, alongside other real players, from a phone or a computer.

The house at No. 1145

June 12 Street has houses numbered one to eight, and then, for reasons nobody in the estate can explain, No. 1145. The owner is the Warden, Chief Lazarus Ekanem, who spent thirty-one years as a warder at Kirikiri prison, just across the road, and named his club for the difference between a prism and a prison. He says 1145 is the minute he walked out of Kirikiri for the last time. Nobody believes him, and nobody argues.

The club is growing into the plot next door, No. 4, whose own gate stays locked under a sign telling you to enter at No. 1145. The only way into the grounds is through the club.

Who you will meet

• Natasha runs the floor on party nights. Look sharp, keep it classy, and no wahala (trouble) on her floor.
• The bouncers stand at both doors. They check tickets, and now and then they let someone in without one.
• The Warden keeps a back booth on the ground floor, where he plays the big man and takes ten percent for the table.
• Joe-Izzy, the artist, is on stage every night from 9 pm to 1 am Lagos time. His songs “Asset”, “High On Life” and “Worry (feat. Trevv)” are on the estate radio, so the whole street knows the words.
• Everyone else in party mode is a real player, like you.

The rooms

The ground floor

The main room, with the stage and the Warden’s booth. Inside the compound the music is loud; out on the street it drifts over the wall. This is where most guests spend the night, and every ticket opens it.

The pool deck

Open to VIP guests with the ₦16,000 ticket or higher.

The rooftop garden

Up top, with the watchtower lights of the prison across the road and the cranes of the ports beyond. A ₦20,000 VIP ticket or higher.

The artist’s lounge and backstage

For the very few: the top VIP tier, ₦60,000, opens everything, backstage included.

How to get in

There are two doors. The regular door opens onto the ground floor. The VIP entrance, the old guest-list gate, is for VIP tickets and leads to the rooms beyond. Here are all the ways through:

A ticket lasts 24 hours. A bouncer’s free pass is shorter: it covers a night out of about four hours. Tickets are bought at Sarge’s gatehouse window, and every price is on the tickets page. Paid money in the game buys tickets and shop items only; it cannot be withdrawn.

Getting to the door

1. Open ajcities.com, choose Party at the estate, and sign in with your email. You must be 18 or over.
2. Pick a world. For Prizm, always night is best: it is 10 pm there all the time, so Joe-Izzy is always on. In the Lagos time world, the set runs from 9 pm to 1 am Lagos time.
3. Change your look free at the Palmline Unisex Salon and Gatefold Clothing, by the main gate. Natasha likes a sharp outfit.
4. Ask the police at the gate. Most nights about four in five guests who ask are let in free.
5. Walk the length of June 12 Street to the purple lights, and try the door.

Tips for a good night at Prizm

• Arrive with your group. Pick the same world and you usually join the same estate; each holds up to 60 players, and a new one opens when it is full.
• Try the regular door first. It is the easier one to talk your way through, and every ticket opens it anyway.
• Split the VIP. If one of you has a VIP ticket, agree where to meet: the pool deck or the rooftop garden.
• Step out for air. The beach party is past the bush, south of the estate; tickets from ₦400 open it.
• Need a minute? Pause and you stay in the world as “away” for up to ten minutes.

Prizm in the story

In AJ’s story, the single-player side of the game, Prizm is more than a club. AJ, deported from London and broke on June 12 Street, dreams of throwing his own party there one day. The Warden wants something from him too. If you like a club with a past, read the Warden’s story.

Read more

Planning a whole evening? Our virtual Lagos night out takes you from the gate queue to the beach party, and Lagos clubs vs a virtual club is honest about what a game can and cannot give you.

Is Prizm a real club in Lagos?

No. Prizm is a virtual club inside the game AJ Cities. It has no real venue or address, and game tickets do not get you into any real club.

How do I get into Prizm for free?

Ask the bouncers at the door. They sometimes let a guest in without a ticket; roughly one ask in three works at the regular door.

What does a Prizm VIP ticket open?

VIP tickets, ₦10,000 to ₦60,000, use the VIP entrance and add the pool deck, the rooftop garden and, at the top tier, the artist’s lounge and backstage.

When is the live set?

Joe-Izzy plays every night from 9 pm to 1 am Lagos time. In the always night world, he is on whenever you arrive.