How to play

Where the game comes from

In school compounds across Nigeria, a circle of friends would sing “After round one, original Panadol Extra, otungbede ooh, gbede ooh” and on every “gbede ooh” all the hands came down at once. Each player had called a total before the drop; whoever's number matched the fingers on the ground won the round. Every street had its own version of the song and its own house rules. After Round 1 keeps the spirit (the song, the drop, the slap at the end) and adds fair, server-checked rules so you can play anyone, anywhere.

1. Pick your number

Every round starts with the number board. Tap the total you think all the hands will add up to. With two players the board runs from 0 to 10; with more players it grows by five for each hand at the table. Numbers are unique: once someone takes a number, it shows their face and nobody else can call it that round. Nobody is ever played for, so the table waits until everybody has picked.

2. Lay your fingers

Next, choose how many fingers you will show, from a closed fist (zero) to an open hand (five). Your choice stays hidden until every hand is in. Think about what the others can show: if the opponent called 7 and you lay 2, they need exactly 5 from themselves.

3. The no-repeat rule

You can never show the same count twice in a row. If you dropped three fingers last round, three is greyed out this round. It works for everybody, so watch what your opponents showed last time: it tells you one number they cannot play now. That single rule is where the mind game lives.

4. Gbede ooh: the drop

The table sings the call while you choose, and on the “gbede ooh” every hand slams down together. The fingers are added up. If the total matches your number, you win the round. If nobody's number comes up, everyone keeps their number and drops again straight away, on the next “gbede ooh”, until someone hits.

5. Winning a match

• One against one: the first player to reach the target score (for example, first to 5) wins.
• Group tables (elimination): whoever hits their number escapes the table and is safe. The last player left at the table loses.
• Group tables (fixed rounds): the best score after the agreed number of rounds wins.

6. The slap duel

Like the playground version, the loser gets slapped, but here it is a timing duel. A needle sweeps across a gauge; each side presses once. The closer you stop it to the centre of the green, the better: the winner's precision decides how hard the slap lands, and the loser's precision decides whether they dodge. Better hands sweep the needle more slowly. In casual rooms a slap can move a few Game Coins, capped every day so nobody loses much.

7. Pace

Each player picks a pace when they start: Relaxed (30 seconds to pick a number, 20 to lay a hand), Normal (20 and 12) or Quick (12 and 8). A table plays at the slowest pace of the people at it. If your time runs out you get a reminder first; only a player who stays away for a long while forfeits.

8. Story Mode: the Count of the Gods

Five gods come down to earth to hold a counting tournament, and every clan must send a champion. You pick a clan and face the gods' heralds, then the gods themselves, each harder than the last. The Oracle can whisper what your opponent cannot play. Win the final Council to save your clan.

9. Points, coins and fair play

• Round Points rank you on the leaderboard. They are earned only by playing and can never be bought.
• Game Coins buy hands, characters and outfits. They are earned by playing, from the daily chest and the daily hunt, or bought. They can't be cashed out.
• Every round is decided by the server, never by your phone, and computer players follow exactly the same rules as you.

Tips from the compound

• Call a number your opponent can't easily block: look at what they showed last round.
• Big numbers need big hands from everybody. Small numbers need fists. Middle numbers are the most common.
• In the slap duel, don't chase the needle: wait for it to come to you, then tap.