Whot!

Whot

Whot cards (Nigerian version)
Origin	England
Alternative names	Whot!
Publisher	W H Storey & Co Waddingtons Winning Moves
Type	Shedding
Players	2+<refname=instructionsStorey>Whot instruction sheet, published by W.H. Storey Co. Ltd., Croydon.</ref>
Skills	Hand management
Cards	54 name=instructionsStorey/>
Playing time	Varies
Chance	High
Related games
Crazy Eights • Uno  • Switch  • Mau-Mau

Whot is a fast pace strategic card game played with an non-standard deck in five suits: circles, crosses, triangles, stars and squares. It is a shedding game similar to Crazy Eights, Uno or Mau-Mau and was one of the first commercial games based on this family.

The game has been adapted into different formats, the most popular of which in Africa is the Nigerian Whot Game, which has been described as Nigeria's national card game.^[1][2][3]

The game was invented by William Henry Storey^[4] a game designer and printer from Southend-on-Sea, England. Storey trademarked Whot in 1935,^[5] and it was originally published by the company W.H. Storey & Co. Ltd. of Croydon.^[6]

The game was acquired by Waddingtons, a British card game manufacturer, and it was popular in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and printed until the 1990s. The name of the game is given an exclamation mark ("Whot!") on later packs. The game is currently distributed by Winning Moves.^[7]

A standard Whot deck contains 54 cards from 5 suits: circles, squares, triangles, stars and crosses. These are numbered between 1 and 14 although not all numbers are included for each suit. The remaining 5 cards are special cards called "Whot" cards and designated with the number 20.

Cards included in the deck

Suit	Card number
Circles	1	2	3	4	5		7	8		10	11	12	13	14
Triangles	1	2	3	4	5		7	8		10	11	12	13	14
Crosses	1	2	3		5		7			10	11		13	14
Squares	1	2	3		5		7			10	11		13	14
Stars	1	2	3	4	5		7	8
5 "Whot" cards numbered 20

To start, a dealer shuffles the deck and deals six cards to each player. The top card from the deck is placed face up to serve as the "call card" (a base on which other cards are played), and what remains of the deck is placed face down between the players as the draw pile.

In turn each player must either play a card onto the call card with the same symbol or number as the call card, play a "Whot" card, or draw the top card from the draw pile. Players do not have to play a card, but if they don't they must still take from draw pile. The special "Whot" card can be played onto any call card, and allows the player to choose which symbol is used for the next player's turn.

The game continues until a player plays their last card, and they are the winner of the round. Play may be extended over multiple rounds by scoring. Once a player has played their last card all other players score points from counting up the value of the cards remaining in their hands. Players may then be eliminated from the game once passing a certain cumulative score, or the winner may be the player with the lowest cumulative score over multiple rounds.^[8][9]

Under Nigerian rules^{[10] [11]}, how many cards each payer gets at the start is agreed between the players. It is usually three to six cards per player given from the mixed draw-pile called market in a way that no player can see the other's cards. The winner is the first player that doesn't hold any cards. The last is the player whose card values add up to the highest number (stars counting double).

Usually every player has 10 seconds to play a card. Other time lengths can be agreed between the players. If a player does not play a card within that time window, the player is demanded by the other players to pick a card from the market for waiting to long. Then it's the next players turn. The players do not use a timer or look at their watches every few seconds, but react when the waiting time feels to long. The time window prevents a player from not playing when the player will probably end up last or when another player is close to winning.

On your turn, you either play a card or you pick a card. When you pick a card, it is the next players turn. Whot! is normally played clockwise, (next player is on the left side), but the direction can change as part of a playing rule that the players agreed on. See "2-card" and "5-card" description below.

There are three cards that cannot be defended against:

• "14-card" (General market): All other players must pick one card each from the market (draw-pile) and the player that played the "14-card" can play again.

• "1-card" (Hold on - skips all other players): All other players are skipped and the player that played the "1-card" can play again.

• "8-card" (Skips the next player): The "8-card" is similar to the "1-card" if there are only two players (left).

The 2-card and 5-card have special functions in Nigerian Whot. The 2-card is called "Pick 2", and the 5-card is called "Pick 3".

• "2-card" (Pick 2) - Defended with a "2-card": The next player must pick two cards from the top of the market (draw-pile) unless the player plays a "2-card" as well.
• "5-card" (Pick 3) - Defended with a "5-card": The "5-card" is similar to the "2-card". The next player must pick three cards from the top of the market (draw-pile) unless the player plays a "5-card" as well.

If the "2-card" is defended, the third player has to pick four cards from the market unless the third player plays a "2-card" as well. This goes on until a player doesn't play, because the player doesn't have a "2-card" or doesn't want to play it. Then that player must pick two cards for every "2-cards" that was played. For example, if four "2-cards" were played in a row then the player that can't or doesn't want to play a "2-card" has to pick eight more cards from the top of the market (draw-pile). A "5-card" is similar to a "2-card" except that the player that can't or doesn't want to defend against a "5-card", by playing another "5-card", has to pick three cards from the market for every "5-card" that was played in a row.

Before the game starts the players can agree to allow the option of changing the playing direction e.g. from clockwise to anticlockwise when a "2- or 5-card" is played. This opens the possibility to attack the player on your other side if that player is close to winning. In this case it is said out loud: "Pick two and change direction" or "Pick three and change direction".

Another special card is the "Whot-card".

• "Whot-card" (Symbol-change) - Defended with a "Whot-card: You can change the card-symbol of the call-card that another player demanded by playing a "Whot-card" and demanding for a call-card-symbol that you want. For example, to change the call-card from circle to triangle.

A player must pick a card from the top of the market. If the player doesn't have the symbol demanded by the "Whot-card" player.

If you play your card X, you must say out loud (To inform the other players):

• 1-card: say: "Hold on"
• 2-card: say: "Pick two", (Optional: "Pick two and change direction")
• 5-card: say: "Pick three", (Optional: "Pick three and change direction")
• 8-card: say: "Skip or Suspend"
• 14-card: say: "General market"
• (Third-to-last card: say: Semi-last card - said only in some game variations)
• Second-to-last card: say: "Last card"
• Last card: say: "Check up"

There are consequences if you fail to say the correct response to your card. They are:

• If you fail to say "Last card" before the next player has played, you have to pick two more cards from the market (draw-pile).

• If you fail to say "Check up" in the moment you place your last card on the table and the next player continues playing, then you have to pick two more cards from the market and the game continues.

• Failing to say "Pick two", "Pick three", "Skip / Suspend" or "General market" does not have consequences but it contributes to the liveliness of the game if they are spoken out loud.

When all cards have shifted from the market (draw-pile) into the hands of the players and into the call-card pile, then all cards underneath the call-card are removed leaving only the call-card. The removed cards are shuffled (mixed). Now the shuffled pile is placed face down onto the table to be used as the new market. If there are many players, (four or more), it is advisable to mix two Whot-card decks into one and so doubling the amount of cards. Then the players will not run out of market-cards (draw-pile cards) too quickly.

Strategically, it is inadvisable to play a "2-card" if you think that all other players have "2-cards" as well and you can't defend yourself with another "2-card". If that were the case, you would have to pick two cards from the market for every "2-card" that was played in a row. Equally for the "5- (Pick three) card". This would be a disadvantage for you because you can only win if you are the first to get rid of all your cards. It is generally advisable to keep your "2- and 5-cards" to be able to defend. Especially if the other players hold a lot of cards and therefore probably have "2- and 5-cards" themselves. It is generally advisable to play your "2- and 5-cards" if the other players hold a small amount of cards, to prevent them from winning. If you pay attention to how many "2- and 5-cards" have been played you can estimate the risk of playing your own "2- or 5-card".

If a player has very few cards left, (one or two cards), then it's advisable to use a "Whot-card" and demand for a symbol that the player probably doesn't have, to prevent the player from winning. Otherwise demand for a symbol of which you have the most cards, so you can get rid of them. It is often helpful to demand a symbol of which you have "14-cards", "1-cards" or "8-cards", so you can play twice or more times in a row or skip the next player. A "Whot-card" can be played onto any other card that doesn't force you to pick cards from the market (draw-pile). So if your last card is a "Whot-card" it is easier for you to win.

It is advisable to play the cards with the highest values first. Because the smaller the added up values of your cards are, the more likely you will not be the last when the game ends.

It often happens that players with a lot of cards can get rid of them quickly and players that were close to winning end up with a lot of cards a few turns later. This is because the payer with a lot of cards normally has many attacking cards and gets more chances of playing them, while the player with few cards is less likely to be able to defend and is less likely to have a card that can be played onto the call-card.^[12][13][14]

In example one, "4-circle" is the call-card. The player can play either "11-circle", "8-circle", "4-star" or the "20-Whot-card" by laying it on "4-circle". If "8-circle" is played the player on the left side (in clockwise play) is skipped (left out) and it's the next players turn. If the "Whot-card" is played the player can choose the symbol that the next player must play.

In example two, "3-cross" is the call-card. The player can play "14-cross", (by laying it on "3-cross"), forcing all other players to pick one card each from the market (draw-pile) and skip their turns, but the "14-cross"-player can not follow up by either playing another 14-card or a cross-card and therefore has to pick a card from the market as well.

These are Nigerian versions of Whot that you can play online:

• Whot King^{[15][16][17][18][19]}

• Whot Africa^[20][21]

• Naija Whot^[22][23]

In later versions of the game, playing a "Whot" card also allows the player to choose to reverse the direction of play, or force the next player to miss a turn.

Players might also be allowed to play multiple cards in a single turn when completing a "straight" (a run of cards of the same shape).

The impact of star cards on scoring and gameplay can also be modified. Players double their entire score for each star card remaining in their hand at the end of play, but are also able to play star cards using either the number in the top left or the doubled number written in the star.

Other cards might also be assigned special features. In one variant these special features include:

Card number	Name	Function
1	Hold On	Every player other than the one who played the card loses a turn and the card player plays again
2	Pick Two	The next player draws two cards from the deck and loses their turn
3	Suspension	When played, the next player loses their turn
14	General Market	Every other player draws a card from the deck and loses a turn

In another variant these special features include:

Card number	Name	Function
1	Hold On	Every player other than the one who played the card loses a turn and the card player plays again
4	General Market	Every other player draws a card from the deck and loses a turn
7	Pick Two	The next player draws two cards from the deck and loses their turn
8	Suspension	When played, the next player loses their turn

Some variants of the game include:

Card number	Name	Function
5	Pick Three	The next player draws three cards from the deck and loses their turn

• Rules of Card Games - Whot!
• Video - Nigerian version of how to play WHOT
• Video - English version of how to play WHOT
• Whot! Card game adventure
• "Whot" from The World of Playing Cards

• Whot: Nigeria's Premier Card Game from The Rule of Card

• Naija Whot League: The Tournament from IGN Africa

• Game rules - Whot from GameRules.com

• Whot! rules from the 1930's; Gamecatalog scan from Storey and Co.

• Maliyo Games introduces Whot King from BusinessDay

• Whot King from Maliyo Games

• Whot King Gets App Store Feature from Games Industry Africa