A virtual Lagos night out: club, beach party and VIP from your phone

Lagos, the one in Nigeria and not the beach town in Portugal, has a reputation after dark. In the busy season its nightlife barely stops: Al Jazeera described clubs that, at the peak of December, run around the clock. It also has a reputation for traffic, where a thirty-minute drive between parties can take two hours. If you would like the night without the drive, the flight or the bill, here is a virtual Lagos night out you can take from your phone.

It happens inside AJ Cities, a free open-world browser game set on the edge of Ajegunle, in its live party mode. So nobody is confused: this is a virtual night out inside the game. There is no real venue, no real date and no real ticket, and nothing in the game gets you into a real club in Lagos.

Before you go out: pick your night

Party mode has three worlds, and everyone in the same world sees the same time:

• Always night. It is 10 pm there all the time. The street is lit, the club is open and the set is on whenever you log in. This is the one for a night out.
• Lagos time. The sky follows the real Lagos sun, hour by hour. Turn up at 9 pm Lagos time for the start of the set.
• Always day. For the football pitch and the street in the sun, if you want an afternoon instead.

Open ajcities.com, choose Party at the estate and sign in with your email. You must be 18 or over. There is nothing to download: it runs in the browser on a phone or a computer.

The times below follow the Lagos time world. In always night, it stays 10 pm all evening, so take the stops in any order.

9 pm: the queue at the gate

Most nights out start with a queue. Here it is outside the main gate of Abraham Adesyan Estate, where the guests wait on benches and the gate police decide who gets in. While you wait, dress for it: the Palmline Unisex Salon and Gatefold Clothing, next to the gate, change your hair, skin tone and clothes for free.

Then walk up and ask. Most nights about four in five guests who ask are let in free. If they turn you down, ask again, or buy a ticket. Tickets are optional and last 24 hours.

9.30 pm: June 12 Street

Inside the wall is June 12 Street, the estate’s one main street, where everybody meets. At night it is lit and busy, and the music from the club drifts over the wall at the far end. Everyone you pass in party mode is a real player, so stop and say hello. Chat with the people around you as you walk.

The estate radio plays the same song at the same moment for every player. If you and your friends stand by different radios, you are still hearing the same track.

10 pm: Prizm, the club

At No. 1145, lit purple, is Prizm, the only compound on the street that opens to the public. The artist Joe-Izzy plays every night from 9 pm to 1 am Lagos time; in the always night world, he is on stage whenever you arrive.

Getting in works like this:

• Any ticket, from ₦250, opens the ground floor through the regular door.
• No ticket? The bouncers sometimes wave a guest in anyway. Try your luck.
• Prizm VIP tickets use the VIP entrance and open more rooms upstairs.

Midnight: the VIP floors

If your group wants the full night, VIP is where it goes. The tiers, all optional and all lasting 24 hours:

From the rooftop garden you can see the lights of Kirikiri prison across the road and the port cranes beyond them. It is not the Lagos skyline from a postcard. It is the edge of Ajegunle, which is the point.

1 am: the beach party

When the set ends, go south. A footpath leads out of the estate to the bush, with its street football pitch and an unfinished building, and past the trees is the beach. The beach party is the estate’s open-air night out; tickets from ₦400 open it, or ask the police. Beach parties are part of Lagos nightlife, and this night ends at one too.

The cost of the whole night

Most of the night costs nothing. Every price is on the tickets page.

Tips for the night

• Go as a group. Pick the same world and you usually join the same estate. Each holds up to 60 players; when it fills, a new one opens.
• Phone calls happen. If you pause, you stay in the world as “away” for up to ten minutes.
• Learn the controls first. On a phone you move with your left thumb and drag on the right to look around. The controls guide has the rest.
• Want a real December plan? Our five-night virtual itinerary spreads the estate over a week.

AJ Cities is for adults only. The story side deals with crime and a club owner with a past; if you want it, start with AJ’s story.

Is this a real night out in Lagos?

No. It is a virtual night out inside the game AJ Cities. There is no real venue, date or ticket.

Can I do it on my phone?

Yes. AJ Cities is built for phones first and runs in the browser, with nothing to install.

How much does a virtual Lagos night out cost?

It can cost nothing: most guests who ask the police get in free, and the Prizm bouncers sometimes let people in. Optional tickets run from ₦250 to ₦60,000 for VIP.

Which Lagos is this?

Lagos in Nigeria. The game is set on the edge of Ajegunle, near Apapa and Kirikiri.