Free Nigerian games to play online
PylotGames is home to the games we grew up playing in Naija: Whot, Ludo, draughts and pool. They are free, they run in your phone browser, and you can play the computer or your people.
Whot
The shape card game: hold on, pick two, pick three, suspension, general market and the all-powerful Whot. Five modes, including Last Card Rush, Strict Whot, Points Match and Knockout, for two to four players.
Checkers
Draughts on a painted board with bottle-cap pieces. Choose Naija Draughts, with flying kings and backward jumps, or Classic Checkers, the English rules. Always two players.
Pool
8-ball on a full-size table with real physics: aim, set your power and put spin on the white. Solids or stripes, then sink the black. Two players.
Ludo
The race game with two dice. Nigerian rules with no safe squares, or standard rules with safe starred squares. Classic or Sprint, for two to four players.
Play the computer or your people
Every game on PylotGames can be played two ways. Play the computer to start straight away: no waiting, no sign-up, and three levels of computer player from easy to hard. In Whot and Ludo you can sit down with up to three computers at once.
Play online to face real people. Create a free account, then tap Quick match to sit with whoever has been waiting longest, open a table and wait in the live lobby, or open a private table for your friends.
Play with friends using a room code
Private tables are how you play with your own people, wherever they are. Open the game, tap Play online, then Private table. You get a four-letter code on a yellow danfo number plate. Send it on WhatsApp, your friends type it in and tap Join, and the host starts the game. Empty seats can be filled with a computer player, so three friends can still play four-handed Whot or Ludo.
Every private game you finish counts towards a friends scoreboard, so the head-to-head record is there for everyone to see.
Naija rules, the way we play them
These are not foreign games with a Nigerian name stuck on. Whot has hold on, pick two, pick three, suspension and general market, and you call the shape you need when you drop a Whot. Ludo is played with two dice, and under Nigerian rules there is no safe square anywhere on the board. Draughts gives you flying kings and men that jump backwards, like the boards under the mango tree. Even the table codes come on a yellow danfo number plate.
Ratings and leaderboards
Sign in and every game has its own rating. Games at public tables (Quick match, or a table listed in the lobby) between signed-in players move your rating, so win them to climb the leaderboards for Whot, Checkers, Pool and Ludo. Games with a computer at the table, guest games and private code games never count, so the leaderboards stay about people playing people.
Made for phones and low data
PylotGames is built mobile-first: big buttons, one-thumb controls and screens that fit small phones. There is nothing to download from a store. Open the site in Chrome, Safari or any modern browser and play. You can also add it to your home screen, and once it has loaded, games against the computer keep working even when you have no signal.
Questions about PylotGames
Are the games on PylotGames free?
Yes. Whot, Checkers, Pool and Ludo are all free to play in your browser.
Do I need to download an app?
No. PylotGames runs in your browser on Android, iPhone and computers. You can add it to your home screen if you want it to open like an app.
Do I need an account?
Not to play the computer: just pick a name as a guest. To play other people online you need a free account.
How do I play with my friends?
Open a private table in any game and share the four-letter table code. Your friends type the code in and join your table.
Can I play without internet?
Games against the computer keep working offline after your first visit. Online games need a connection.