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A new WeChat mini program has become an online sensation in China.
Sheep a Sheep (羊了个羊 yáng le ge yáng) went from a complete unknown at the start of last week, to receiving billions of views and shares on Weibo and Douyin by the weekend.
The game’s success is partly because it’s deceptively easy to begin with:
一看游戏规则，本以为很简单，结果一玩才知道，第一关闭眼过，第二关没人过，堪称“新型毒品”
Looking at the rules, you would think the game is so easy. But as soon as you start playing you realise the first level is straight forward. But no one can get through the second level. It’s like a kind of new drug.
Sheep a Sheep is free to play but users must watch adverts to access higher levels or gain new lives. Equipment can be purchased in the game, or secured through watching more ads, to improve chances of success.
There are plenty of complaints from users.
没过的人多了，网友的讨论风向也发生了变化。大家的心情是经历由不屑-得意-不甘-上头-愠怒-吐槽的过程，可见这款游戏让人又爱又恨。
The online discussions have changed as more people have failed. People’s moods have gone from not wanting to play it - to feeling good about themselves - to not wanting to give it up - to becoming addicted - to being angry - and finally to ranting about it online. It’s clear that people both love and hate this game.
There’s even a new word for describing how people feel after they’ve played it:
羊萎患者 yáng wěi huàn zhě - a psychological victim of Sheep a Sheep
羊了个羊的游戏小程序也在微信朋友圈及各种社群刷屏，放眼望去，整个互联网皆是“羊萎患者” - Sheep a Sheep has become extremely popular on Wechat and all other social media platforms. The whole Internet has become a psychological victim of Sheep a Sheep.
So this week we explore online conversations about how this new game has taken over the Chinese Internet and then fell as quickly as it took off.
The Favourite Five
1. 上头 shàng tóu
become addicted
赌徒心理下，玩家极易上头 - It’s very easy to become addicted to the game. It’s like gambling.
Related: 入坑 rù kēng - to fall into a hole; to be really into something (but not yet addicted)
More: 上头 shàng tóu has two meanings: 1) originally from the gaming world in China, meaning obsessed with a game to a point of losing all sense of reality and reason but continuing to play; 2) also used to say you’ve had too much to drink - ‘it’s gone to my head’ or ‘feeling tipsy’. We first explored this phrase way back in February 2021!
2. 胜负欲 shèng fù yù
desire to win
人嘛，总有点胜负欲 - People always have a desire to win.
好胜心 hào shèng xīn - ambition to win
3. 茶饭不思 chá fàn bù sī
be so obsessed you forget to eat and drink
这究竟是款怎样的游戏，竟让人茶饭不思如此着迷 - What game is this that makes people become so obsessed they forget to eat and drink?
More: this idiom can also be delivered as an eight-character combo if you really want to impress - 茶饭不思，寝食难安 chá fàn bù sī, qǐn shí nán ān.
4. 抓耳挠腮 zhuā 'ěr náo sāi
scratch one's ears and cheeks (because you don’t know what to do); scratch one's head
有的网友则开始因为屡战屡败或抓耳挠腮，或陷入了沉思 - Some netizens became very frustrated as they continued to lose, while others fell deep into thought.
Note: this idiom first appeared in the short story Slapping the Table in Amazement Part II (二刻拍案惊奇 èr kè pāi'àn jīngqí) by Ming Dynasty writer Líng Méngchū 凌蒙初. Another recent word of the week also is found in this famous work.
5. 新瓶装旧酒 xīn píng zhuāng jiù jiǔ
new bottle same old wine
比起抄袭，运营社认为羊了个羊更像是“新瓶装旧酒” - Compared to plagiarism we believe it’s more a case of ‘the same old wine in a new bottle’.
More: this phrase originates not from Chinese history, but from the New Testament of the Bible. It was popularised in an essay by Lu Xun which we explore in more detail in The China Project’s Phrase of the Week.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
Here’s a collection of words which describe the emotional journey you might find yourself on as you play Sheep a Sheep.
谈资 tán zī
topic of conversation
不管为了谈资还是好奇，怎么也要试试看 - It doesn’t matter if they started to play out of curiosity, or because they wanted to have something to talk about. People just wanted to give it a go.
破防 pò fáng
burst into tears
广告收入问题，却让不少玩家真实破防了 - The ad revenue of Sheep a Sheep has upset a lot of players.
More: one of our top words of 2021.
发癫 fā diān
go completely mad, have a fit (as in epilepsy)
玩羊了个羊玩到精神萎靡发疯发癫一次次免费玩魔怔了的人 - Playing Sheep a Sheep until the player has lost all will to live and gone completely mad.
More: 魔怔 mó zheng - bewildered
More: 萎靡 wěi mí - malaise
诅咒 zǔ zhòu
cursed
顶流真是有诅咒的 - It’s a curse to be so famous.
操纵 cāo zòng
manipulate
究竟是谁在“操纵”它的走红 - Who is it that’s made the game so famous?
诟病 gòu bìng
criticise
尽管火了被人诟病，但不可否认的事实是，这个小游戏在短短几天内，还是赢麻了 - Even though it has also been heavily criticised after it gained popularity, it is undeniable that this game has done extremely well in such a short time.
Three Character Phrases
攀比心 pān bǐ xīn
competitiveness
《羊了个羊》还搞了全国地区排名、朋友圈排名等社交玩法，用胜负欲、攀比心等轮番刺激玩家 - Sheep a Sheep used social media tactics such as having a national leaderboard, and friend’s group leaderboard. It took advantage of people’s desire to win and their competitiveness to motivate players.
借东风 jiè dōng fēng
borrow eastern wind; make use of something to achieve a goal
