Flappy Zuma: the game that lets you dodge showers and escape the taxpayer

We’ve seen (and developed some love) for a few Flappy Bird clones… but this one is just on another level. You see, it involves Jacob Zuma, some showerheads and exclamations of “eish!”

Released in the run up to South Africa’s national elections, Flappy Zuma stars a jerking caricature of the country’s president, and requires you to tap carefully to avoid sending him head-first into a shower. The little figure flaps his arms comically and rockets up and down in an 8-bit arcade wonderland, until you let him get too close to that open tap and he returns to earth with a not-so-graceful swan dive.

The best part? Every time he fails on his quest, you’re greeted with responses ranging from “Eish!” to “Yoh!” and “Game over : ( “.

The game, which is the creation of South African mobile development company Go Life Mobile Technologies, also pokes fun at Zuma’s past comments (including the infamous statement during his rape trial about having a shower to prevent contracting HIV) and current dilemmas. Particularly, it references the public protector’s Nkandla report, which suggests he used public funds for upgrades to his private residence. For example, when you complete a level successfully, you’ll be rewarded with a screen declaring “Victory! I did not use taxpayers’ money!”

Thankfully, the game won’t leave you in a rage (due to its mechanics, at least) as it’s easier to play than the original Flappy Bird. It also starts off with easier levels, before progressing to more advanced feats of finger-tapping. The game is free (and only available on iOS at the moment), but you can upgrade to the full version for R10.99 (US 1) if you’d like access to more levels.

So, how well is it doing in the ten days since it was released? Insights from App Annie can give you an idea — it’s currently number 12 in the South African App Store overall, and number 3 in the games category.

While it remains to be seen if the president will make a move against his flying counterpart, the app does state that “all characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.” Um… right.