How to play

A two-minute read. After this you go sabi the whole thing.

Every politician in the game is made up. The trouble they cause isn't.

1Beat the touts

Each constituency starts with a few waves of the politician's boys: area boys, park agberos, youth wing members and, later, police-for-hire with shields. Walk up to one and press J (or HIT on a phone). Press it again quickly to chain a combo.

When a crowd surrounds you, roll out of the way with Space (ROLL). You can't be hit mid-roll.

2Pick up the evidence

Knocked-out touts often drop evidence: glowing papers on the road. Walk over them to pick them up. The counter at the top right shows how many you have against how many you need, for example Evidence 3/5 to convict. When it turns green and says case ready, you have enough.

Pick-ups don't wait. They start blinking after about seven seconds and vanish soon after, so grab them between fights. You'll also find naira (money returned to the people) and pure water sachets, which heal you.

3Face the politician

Clear the waves and the politician arrives. His health bar shows at the top. Each one has a dirty trick, and a hint at the bottom of the screen tells you how to beat it when he walks in. Some call in more boys while you fight, and those drop evidence too, so keep collecting.

4Knock him down to convict

Bring his health to zero with enough evidence and he's convicted. The money he stole is returned to the people and you move on to the next, bigger politician.

Knock him down without enough evidence and he escapes on a plea bargain. He'll come back later in new party colours, tougher than before. So collect first, then finish him.

Controls

Reading the screen

Pick your fighter

New to the game? Start with Mama Iyabo. She can take the most punishment while you learn.

Between levels: the People's Stall

A tenth of everything you return goes into your kitty. Spend it at the stall between constituencies: bigger placards, boxing gloves, a riot shield, a whistle that stuns everyone when you're in trouble, a camera phone that turns up more evidence, and bail bonds for extra lives. What you buy lasts for the rest of the run.

The politicians and their tricks

Each constituency also has its own trouble on the road: danfos with no brakes, wheelbarrows on market day, harmattan wind, falling blocks, NEPA taking light. When a lane flashes red, get out of it.

Every day

The title screen has three daily missions. Finish them for kobo, keep a streak going for bonuses, and spend kobo in the wardrobe on new outfits for your fighter. Post your score at the end of a run to get on the weekly leaderboard, and pick your city to see how it ranks against others. The board ranks by convictions first; the naira returned only decides between players with the same number.

After the Godfather: a second term

Convict all ten and the run doesn't end. They all get re-elected in new party colours, and the ladder starts again: tougher touts, more evidence needed and bigger loot every time. Every conviction counts on the leaderboard, so it belongs to whoever gets furthest. A run can go up to four terms.

Re-election teaches them new tricks. Councillor Stipend stops paying his boys and starts buying votes: he flings naira across the road and the crowd pours off the pavement to grab it. Every note they pocket pads his health. Get to the money first, and remember the voters are civilians: you can't hit them or walk through them.

The others come back with tricks of their own:

• Chairman Ghost Worker runs a ghost payroll: every ghost you leave hidden pays his salary and heals him.
• Madam Contract splits her contracts: one that lands promotes two boys.
• Oga Security Vote pays with no receipts: the red notes in the cash rain are fake, and grabbing one gets you held.
• His Excellency Siren brings outriders: police okadas weave through the gap between the convoy lanes.
• Honourable Defector decamps with his boys: when he crosses carpet they change shirts too, and can't be hit for three seconds.
• Hon. Constituency Project cuts the ribbon on any borehole left standing for six seconds: it turns gold, takes four hits, and heals him while he hides behind it.
• Senator Budget Padder files a supplementary budget: three folders, one real. Grab a fake and he pads up more; watch for the gold stamp on the real one.
• The Zookeeper has a gorilla now. It swallows money as well as evidence, and coughs it all back up when you drop it.
• The Godfather anoints a successor from his puppets. Drop it within twelve seconds or it's sworn in as a boss of its own.

The people's stall restocks too. From the second term it sells a fourth tier of every upgrade, and from the third a fifth, priced for the bigger loot. If you maxed everything in the first term, that's where your kitty goes.

Quick answers

OYA, PLAY