There is no other card game that tears friend groups and families apart like Uno. The culprit being the ominous +4 card that also functions as a wild card in which the player who puts the card down not only gets to make the next player draw four cards but they also get to choose the color the rest of the group has to play (whoever drew the cards usually gets their turn skipped).
Along with the +4 there are also skip cards, reverses, and +2 in the four colors along with the normal number cards. But there is something so iconic about the action cards that makes Uno a game everyone returns to because it gives you the ability to hit your opponents with the worst blows imaginable, especially if they are close to winning the game.
While Uno has been on the market for a long time donning its red, yellow, blue, and green cards it also has paved a way for a new aesthetic including characters from pop culture. Whether its movies Star Wars with characters on the cards or even K-Pop groups like BTS, there is nothing more iconic than the action that comes with the card put down next on the pile. Some might say also with the rise of online classics like Uno, actions become even more potent.
The online version of Uno can still be played traditionally, but the reimagining of old action cards makes it more fun and even challenging to win a round. For example, +2 cards in the online game can stack or essentially add on until a person is unable to reproduce a +2 card. So at times people could get +4 or even +12 depending on the situation. While some have already implemented this rule in the physical game, it was seeing people playing the online version that made me consider implementing this rule in my own card games.The same can also go for +4’s
and those amount of cards increase even greater.
But one of the most interesting aspects of the online game that has nothing to do with the action cards but promotes the otherwise filler number cards is the “jump in” function. That is when a player has the exact same card that is placed on the deck. Say a player puts down a yellow 8, if one player has a yellow 8 they can “jump in” or automatically put their card down no matter the order. This can lead to some people in the game to be skipped that doesn’t involve a traditional action card.
So even in the climate where action cards are utilized to improve or hinder one’s game, the premise of action is still prevalent no matter how the game is played and the overall aesthetic of the cards. Uno regardless of any medium will encourage strategy and the importance of implementing action cards no matter what, even if their punishments are stacked or if new rules like the “jump in” function are utilized.
