Uno - great family game (Uno)

Member Name: dove3066

Product:	Uno
Date:	27/03/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple to pick up, quick start

Disadvantages: None

I had never played or even heard of this game until a few years ago. My children attended a summer play scheme and came back raving about a card game they had played, then when we were on holiday we saw a set of Uno cards and bought them - we have never looked back!!

I can see why this is so popular all the world over, when we were skii this year we saw a german family playing it in the bar, it is very simple to pick up and children of all ages, once they recognise colours and numbers can play.

The idea of the game is simple. You are dealt seven cards, these cards will be made up of the four basic colours (red, blue, yellow and green), and the numbers 0 to 9. So for example you will have red 3 and yellow 5. There are alos a number of action cards spread amongst the deck. These are, miss a go, reverse the order that you play, pick up two cards, and then the two wild cards, one where you can select and change the colour and the other where you can change the colour and force the next player to pick up 4 cards.

Once you have dealt the cards you can start to play. Whoever is going first starts and lays a crad, the next player has to follow by laying a card of the same colour or the same numerical value. However, if they cannot do this and do not have a wild card they have to pick up a card from the pile of cards not dealt out. Play progresses like this until a player only has one card left, at this point they need to say "UNO" - if they forget a play progresses to the next player they have to pick up 3 cards from the pile.

The winner is the person who gets rid of all their cards.

The game can be played at any time and is great for whiling a bit of time away when waiting at the airport or on rainy days. You need to try and use your brain a bit to think of the best way to use your cards and this is why it is appealing to all ages.

There are now many variants of this game and special edition packs of the cards (we have both a Simpsons version and a harry Potter version), but I think the original version is still probably the best.

Summary: A good family game for all ages and abilities