Whether you know it or not, we are all players in a bizarre Christmas game called Whamageddon.

The game is simple, but almost impossible to win. To emerge victorious, what you need to do is not hear the 1984 Wham hit Last Christmas between December 1 until December 24.

The song could play on the radio while driving to the shops and, just like that, you’re out. Thousands of people were recently eliminated in an instant thanks to a DJ with nefarious intentions.

Whamageddon actually started almost 20 years ago among a group of friends in Denmark.

However, it has since become wildly popular thanks to social media, and there’s now even an official website and merchandise.

“I don’t think a game like this could exist without social media,” Thomas Mertz, the man behind the Whamageddon website told NBC News.

How to play Whamageddon

The rules are simple.

Starting December 1, you need to make it through to December 24 without hearing Last Christmas.

Remixes and covers are okay to listen to, the official rules states, you’re only eliminated if you hear the original.

As soon as you hear the song and recognise it, you are out and sent to “Whamhalla”. But there’s always next year to try again.

Now can you deliberately try and condemn you friends and family to Whamhalla, by sending them a link to the song or playing it for them?

The official Whamageddon website notes that this is a survival game, not Battle Royale and while no one has the power to stop people from trying to deliberately eliminate people, it’s suggested people “don’t be a d**k”.

Also, you don’t win anything, except perhaps bragging rights.

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DJ apologises for eliminating thousands

On December 2, just after Whamageddon kicked off, DJ Matt Facer did the unthinkable. While DJ’ing at a football game in the UK, Facer played Last Christmas during half-time.

Over 7000 people were at the stadium for the game, so potentially, all of them were eliminated, unless they managed to not hear the song. Following a backlash, Facer apologised to everyone playing the game.

“I gave it a spin, thinking it would be quite funny to wipe out 7,000 people who couldn’t avoid it, but clearly it isn’t funny,” he said according to the BBC.

He said he light-heartedly said on Twitter that it was “not a nice thing to do”, but the response he got was “quite tame” compared to what was said at the stadium after playing the song.

“So I officially apologise to everybody whose Christmas I’ve ruined.”

Facer promised to not play the song at another game.

There are also communities online where people share their experiences of being eliminated. Facer’s decision to play Last Christmas inspired a particularly bleak post.

“The days pretend to stretch into one another. I’m paranoid, anxious, sleep deprived,” the post began.

“I mute my phone before I open any links, put the T. V. on closed caption. I hear about the Whamageddon situation in the U.K. it’s not safe to watch sports anymore. What is happening? 7000 people put out in an instant. I must continue to fight, to carry on.”

Anyways, for those who have survived this far, best of luck for the rest of Whamageddon 2023!