In Whot, five cards carry an instruction. 1 is Hold On (play again), 2 is Pick Two (opponent draws two), 8 is Suspension (opponent is skipped), 14 is General Market (everyone else draws one) and the Whot 20 is the wildcard that lets you call the next shape. Every other number is a plain card you match by shape or number. On Naija Game Arena the 5 is a plain card; some households play it as Pick Three.
The one-table version
| Card | Name | What it does on Naija Game Arena | Common house-rule version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hold On | You immediately take another turn. | Same almost everywhere. |
| 2 | Pick Two | Your opponent draws two cards and loses their turn. Does not stack. | Opponent may “defend” with another 2, passing a Pick Four back. |
| 5 | Plain card | No instruction. Match it by shape or number like any other card. | Pick Three in many homes and in several apps. |
| 8 | Suspension | Your opponent is skipped, so you play again. | Some tables let the player who dropped it play again; others skip one or more opponents in turn order. |
| 14 | General Market | Your opponent draws one card and loses their turn. | Everyone except the player who dropped it draws one. Identical in a two-player game. |
| 20 | Whot | Play it on anything, then call Circle, Triangle, Cross, Square or Star. The opponent must answer with that shape or another Whot. | Same, but spoken: “I need...” “What?” “...Circle!” |
What is in a Whot deck
A standard Nigerian Whot deck has 54 cards: five shapes plus five Whot wildcards. The shapes are not equal, and that matters for strategy.
- Circles and Triangles are the shapes you will see most, so calling them after a Whot is the safest bet when you have no read on your opponent.
- Stars stop at 8, so a Star 8 is the only Suspension that can also be matched as a Star.
| Shape | Numbers | Cards |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 | 12 |
| Triangle | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 | 12 |
| Cross | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14 | 9 |
| Square | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14 | 9 |
| Star | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 | 7 |
| Whot | 20 | 5 |
1: Hold On
Hold On freezes everyone else and gives you the turn again. In a two-player match that is simply “play twice”. The classic use is to dump a card that changes shape, then follow with a card in the new shape before your opponent can react.
On Naija Game Arena, if the very first card turned over is a 1, it is treated as a plain card. Nobody gets a bonus turn before the game has started.
2: Pick Two
Pick Two is the card people argue about. Played on your opponent, they draw two cards from the market and lose their turn, so the turn comes straight back to you.
The house-rule version lets the victim “defend” by dropping their own 2 and sending a Pick Four back the other way, and chains of 2s can grow to eight or ten cards. Naija Game Arena does not stack Pick Two. The opponent draws exactly two, their turn ends, and play returns to you. Online, that keeps every penalty predictable and stops a single bad chain from deciding a staked match.
If the opening card is a 2, the first player draws two before anything else happens.
5: the card that is not special here
Many families, and several Whot apps, treat the 5 as Pick Three. Some rule sheets also call it a plain card. Naija Game Arena uses the plain-card version: a 5 matches by shape or number and does nothing else. If you learned Pick Three at home, this is the first thing to unlearn.
8: Suspension
Suspension skips the next player. In a two-player game that means you play again, so it feels like Hold On, but it is a different number for matching purposes and it scores 8 points instead of 1 if the market runs out. Keep one back for the end of the game: playing an 8 when you are down to two cards lets you drop your last card before your opponent gets another look.
An opening 8 skips the first player.
14: General Market
General Market sends everyone else to the market for one card. With two players it means your opponent draws one and loses their turn. It is the smaller cousin of Pick Two: one card instead of two, same skip.
An opening 14 makes the first player draw one.
20: Whot
The Whot card is the wildcard. Play it on any card, then choose the shape the game continues in. Around a table this is the “I need... What?... Circle!” ritual; online you tap the shape and the interface enforces it. Your opponent must answer with the called shape or another Whot.
Two warnings. A Whot scores 20 points if the market runs out, the highest single card in the deck, so holding one too long can lose you a close game. And if the first card turned over is a Whot, the opening shape is chosen for you at random on Naija Game Arena, in the open, before anyone has played.
Scoring when the market runs out
If the draw pile empties before anyone has played their last card, the hands are scored and the lower total wins.
- Plain cards and instruction cards score their printed number (a Pick Two is 2 points, a General Market is 14).
- Star cards count double (a Star 7 is 14 points).
- Whot cards count 20.
- Equal totals are a draw and the stake is returned.
Three rules that are not about the card at all
- You cannot play the card you just drew. Drawing one card ends your turn on Naija Game Arena, even if the card would have matched.
- You can finish with an instruction card. Emptying your hand ends the match immediately; the instruction has no further effect.
- There is no “Last Card” call online. The interface tracks hand sizes, so there is nothing to shout and no penalty for forgetting.
Frequently asked questions
What does the 20 card mean in Whot?
It is the Whot wildcard. Play it on any card and call the shape the game continues in. It scores 20 points if the market runs out.
What does 14 do in Whot?
General Market: every other player draws one card. In a two-player match your opponent draws one and loses their turn.
Is 5 Pick Three in Whot?
Only in some house rules. On Naija Game Arena the 5 is a plain card with no instruction.
Can you stack Pick Two cards?
In many homes, yes. On Naija Game Arena, no: the opponent draws two and the turn returns to you.
Why is there no 6 or 9 in Whot?
The original Waddingtons deck and the Nigerian deck both skip 6 and 9. Nobody has a confirmed reason; the common explanation is that 6 and 9 look alike upside down.
How many cards do you start with in Whot?
Five each on Naija Game Arena. Offline games often deal six, and some deal as many as eight.
Know what every card does?
Pick a stake, get matched with another player and put the table to the test.
Play Whot online