开黑

What does 开黑 mean?

开黑 means playing ranked or casual matches as a coordinated premade group (a “black shop” 黑店) instead of solo-queuing with strangers. 开 is “to start,” so 开黑 is “let's fire up the squad.” It implies voice chat, inside jokes, and usually better coordination — and, opponents complain, better smurfing and stomping. The classic phrase is “上号开黑” (“log on and squad up”). A full five-person premade is 五黑 (five-stack); 三黑 is a trio. The term contrasts with 单排 (solo queue), and for many players the friendships forged in late-night 开黑 sessions outlasted the games themselves.

Where does 开黑 come from?

黑店 (black shop) is an old Chinese term for a scam inn that robs travelers, and in early DOTA (2008–2010) it was borrowed for premade teams of strangers who stomped pubs together — “enter the black shop and get robbed of a win.” As League of Legends and later 王者荣耀 brought MOBAs mainstream, 开黑 broadened from a shady-sounding label into the default word for any gaming session with friends. By the mid-2010s, “开黑吗?” (“wanna squad up?”) was how a whole generation of Chinese gamers made plans.

How to use 开黑

• 周末别睡了，上号开黑！
  Zhōumò bié shuì le, shàng hào kāi hēi!
  Stop sleeping in this weekend — log on and queue up with the squad!
• 我们五黑车队，缺个辅助，来吗？
  Wǒmen wǔ hēi chēduì, quē ge fǔzhù, lái ma?
  Our five-stack is short a support — you in?