A closeup of the Uno card box cover.

Uno Review

Ah, Uno, it’s the classic game that everyone knows, so what’s the point of a review, right? Well, if I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s that you can’t take anything for granted. So, with that in mind, today I’m here to provide you with my Uno review.

Uno is a great game that is easy to play and easy to teach. It plays fast, is cheap to get, and is a lot of fun for everyone. This is an easy recommendation that should be a staple of anyone’s board game collection.

Some Background About Uno Before The Review

A closeup of some Uno cards scattered on a table.
Now, who’s going to pick this up? Me. It was me who picked it up.

Uno was first created in 1971 by Merle Robbins. He began to realize how popular the game was, sold some copies, then sold the game to a company called International Games, Inc., which was eventually bought by Mattel.

Uno Overview

Let’s start with some quick facts about Uno.

Back-Of-The-Box Facts About Uno

Uno can play between 2 and 10 players, takes about 30 minutes to play, is rated for ages 7 and up, and is a very easy game to teach and play.

What Comes In The Box?

This can vary depending on what version you’re playing with, but, in general, Uno comes with 108 cards and some instructions.

Theme

Uno really doesn’t have a theme. You’re just playing cards with colors and numbers or wilds. The good news is that Uno doesn’t need a theme!

How To Play Uno

What makes Uno such an enduring game is that it’s so incredibly easy to play. Every player starts with 7 cards and, beginning with the starting player, has to play a card that matches the color or number of the topmost card in the discard pile.

If they can’t, they need to play a wild or draw a card. If the card they drew is able to be played, they can, but either way, their turn is over.

How To Win Uno

You win a round of Uno by running out of cards first. On your last card, you do have to say, “Uno” before the next player goes, but otherwise, once you play that last card you win.

Every other player has to tally up points according to what kind of cards they have, then you start a new round. By the way, all those points go to the player who won. The first player to get 500 points wins.

Variant Rules

There are other ways to play Uno, of course. You don’t have to do rounds or points at all. Instead, you can play in such a way that whoever wins one game is the winner, then you start a new game.

You can adjust the rules for what happens if you don’t say, “Uno” or you can let people match penalty cards such as draw two cards until someone can’t, in which case they take the buffed penalty. You can also play Uno in such a way that when someone can’t play a card to match the top card of the discard pile, they have to keep drawing until they find one that matches.

There are lots of ways to play Uno, and that’s part of what makes it so great.

Uno Review

Time for the review!

Art

There’s nothing special about the art of Uno, but what it does it does well. The colors are bright and every card is easy to understand.

Components

Card quality is fine and they will last you plenty of games. Plus, even if they don’t, you’re not paying much for a copy of Uno anyway, so you can easily get another one if your current copy starts to wear down.

Theme

Uno doesn’t have and doesn’t need a theme, so I’m not including this in my rating.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Uno is fast and fun. It’s great for kids, families, and adults. It works as a filler game but can also be the main game if you want.

Uno Review: My Rating

I rate all games on a scale of Don’t Buy, Wait For A Sale, or Buy.

In the case of Uno, this is an easy one: it’s a Buy. There’s a reason Uno has remained so popular over the years. I would argue it’s the most popular game in the world, but I could be wrong on that.

Uno is cheap to buy, easy to teach, easy to learn, and easy to play, and there are so many different ways you can play this game. For me, Uno stands above many other classic games such as Monopoly, Risk, Stratego, Skip-Bo, Phase 10, Checkers, and Chess because of these reasons. It’s just plain fun and appeals to a lot of people.

Rock on, Uno. Rock on.

Where To Buy Uno

You can buy Uno just about anywhere that sells board games. Also, there are a ton of versions of Uno, so you’ve got options there too.

Personally, I’d just head to Target to get a copy or get it on Amazon.

Did You Know?

(Each time you refresh the page you will get a new “Did You Know” fact!)

In the United Kingdom, Clue goes by another name: Cluedo. Also, Mr. Boddy goes by another name too: Samuel Black. The more you know!

Conclusion: Uno Review

So, there you have it, my Uno review. If you couldn’t tell by now, I love this game. I don’t play it all the time, but I always keep a copy or two for when I need them.

So, what do you think? Ready to give Uno a try or do you want to go in a different direction? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

And, as always, keep on gaming, you maniacs.

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