Whot!

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

This article is about the card game. For the American radio station with these call letters, see WHOT-FM.
Whot
OriginEngland
Alternative namesWhot!
Publisher
TypeShedding
Players2+[1]
SkillsHand management
Cards54[1]
Playing timeVaries
ChanceHigh
Related games
Crazy Eights • Uno

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

Origins

The game was invented by William Henry Storey a game designer and printer from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. Storey trademarked Whot in 1935,[3] and it was originally published by W.H. Storey & Co. Ltd. of Croydon.

Waddingtons acquired the game and it was popular in Britain in the 1950s and 60s 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.

Gameplay

Deck

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 the number 20.

Cards in the deck
SuitCards
Circles12345 78 1011121314
Triangles12345 78 1011121314
Crosses1235 7  1011 1314
Squares1235 7 1011 1314
Stars12345 78     
5 "Whot" cards numbered 20

Rules

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 (generally referred to as "market" in most parts of Nigeria).

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(commonly known as market). 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 (stars scoring double). 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.

Variations

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:

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
8, 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:

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:

5, Pick Three
the next player draws three cards from the deck and loses their turn

References
  1. Whot instruction sheet, published by W.H. Storey Co. Ltd., Croydon.
  2. "Card gaming culture in Nigeria: How today's popular games are a blend of old and new". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 5 December 2018.
  3. "UK Trademark UK00000559109". Intellectual Property Office. Retrieved 10 April 2023.



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