Tres... Dos.... UNO! (Uno)

Member Name: mjw92

Product:	Uno
Date:	19/08/08 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple, effective gameplay

Disadvantages: None!

Uno has become a classic card game over the past few years, with it's simple effective gameplay combined with the great atmosphere it can create amongst a family and therefore is worthy of a review.

~~ What's in the box ~~

The design on the box has several variations, however some features remain throughout, such as a red background, UNO written in capitals and some of the cards used to play the game.

Inside the box there should be:
108 cards
instruction list (possibly)

it really is that simple, though it is still worth checking that the cards are the correct colours.

19 x (Blue, Red, Green, Yellow) 0 - 9
8 x Draw 2 cards
8 x Reverse Cards
8 x Skip Cards
4 x Wild Cards
4 x Wild +4 Cards

~~ Rules ~~

The objective of the game is to try to discard your hand before the other players can discard theirs.

At the start of each round every player is dealt 7 cards and then a card is placed in the middle as a starting point. The player to the left of the dealer then commences play, and has to either match the colour or number of the starting card. Play then continues clockwise with the next player having to do the same thing with the card just played.
BUT THAT WOULD JUST BE PLAIN.
So, there are special cards.
Skip cards make the next player lose their turn and play commences with the next player after the skipped player.
Reverse cards swap the direction of play from clockwise to anti-clockwise and vice versa.
Draw 2 cards force the next player to draw 2 cards and forefeit their turn and play moves on.

Finally, the two very special card types.

Wild cards allow you to choose the colour that must be played next. Wild cards can be played on top of any other card.

Wild +4 cards are the best / most annoying cards ever. Not only do you get to dictate the colour, but the next player is dealt an additional 4 cards and forefeits their turn. However, the drawback is you can't play a wild +4 card unless you can't play any other card.

When play gets to the later stages of a round and players can't play a card from their hand they have to draw a card, which they can immediately play afterwards if they are able to / choose to.
When a player plays their penultimate card they have to declare "uno" or they can be challenged by another player and are then forced to draw another 2 cards.

When a player has removed all the cards from his / her hand then they receive a score accummulated by the other players remaining cards, and it is the first player to reach a set target.

~~ Scoring ~~

All remaining cards are given a value, and when all the values are added together this score is added to the player who won the previous round.

For cards numbered 0 - 9 it is simply their face value that is added.
Draw 2, Reverse and Skip cards all add 20 points.
Wild and Wild +4 both add 50 points.

A suitable target for an average game is between 400 and 500, however this can be changed for game length. (i.e. if you want a shorter game you may only want to play to 250)

~~ Alternate variation ~~

Another way (and in my opinion a much better game) is when a player wins, everyone adds together their own remaining score and if a player goes over the set target they are eliminated.

This variation makes the game change dramatically tactically and a little bit more intense, though it is up to you which style suits your family best.

~~ Price ~~

The game is very good value for money, with the average game retailing at about £7.50. As always best to shop around and get best deals.

~~ Opinion ~~

In my opinion, this game is brilliant. The drama and competition this creates within a family is amazing, and the phrase "anyone can win" can easily be applied, as a paticular example from a previous one of my games. At one stage my family all had either 2 or 3 cards, and I had 7, I came back to win that round and so the game is full of twists and turns.

Also, the sheer simplicity is what attracts me to it. Anyone can play this game, and so I would recommend it to anyone whose family is above 4 or 5 years old. I would also say that playing it as a group of 4 often works best, though between 2 and 10 players can play.

I would have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone.

~~ Miscellaneous Notes ~~

1. The rules I have given up there are based on my playing of the game and several different people play in different ways.

2. For a full list of every rule look at:

http://www.wonkavator.com/uno/unorules.html

3. For everyone out there who has a computer along with MSn messenger play online with a friend as it is in the msn games package.

Summary: Definitely recommended