Guest Author - Lynn Little

UNO

Since it was first introduced, UNO has remained a favorite card game to many people. For those who like Crazy 8s, UNO is a card game that they must try. UNO is very much like Crazy Eights but with it's own twist.

UNO is for at least two players. It's best to play with at least three players since some of the cards allow you to skip a player or reverse play. While it's great with just two players since you can play immediately again, it might become too frustrating for your opponent to constantly be the target of these cards.

In UNO, players are dealt an opening hand consisting of seven cards. Cards are one of five colors: red, blue, yellow, green, or black. The black cards are either a wild card or a wild card draw four card. While cards can be played on any color. Once they are played, the player decides which color will be played next. Sometimes you can play on the discard pile even if you don't have the color. If you don't have a color to play, it skips your turn. If you have to play on a blue five, you could play a yellow five. This would then change the color to be played to yellow.

On each turn, players take turns laying down like colored cards. Play continues until someone reaches one card. When you are down to just one card, you must say "Uno." This alerts your opponents that you only have one card left. Failure to notify your fellow players will result in a penalty and you will have to draw four cards. After a player has played all of their cards, the remaining players count up their score by adding the value of the cards in their hand. The first player to go out receives a score value of all the cards left in the other players' hands. The first player to 500 points wins the game.

There are some special cards in Uno besides the wild cards. They are: skip, draw two, and reverse. Using these cards at the right time in the game will help to ensure victory. They can also be the most frustrating cards with just two players since the target for these cards will always be the same player. But playing just a two player game using these cards at the most advantageous time will surely lead to victory.

Uno is a fun card game for ages 5 and older. It is for two or more players and comes in a variety of licensed versions. The Uno game retails anywhere from $5 to $12.