Thinking of an indoor game to play at the weekend house party? Uno Attack comes to your rescue. This game by Mattel is suitable for almost all kinds of social gatherings, and can be played by everyone, irrespective of age. Plentifun provides the basic rules to play this fun game.
Merle Robbins, a barbershop owner, developed the original Uno game in 1971 out of his love for playing cards. The game was later commercialized by Mattel after purchasing its rights in 1992.
Originating from the traditional Uno game is the Uno Attack (also referred to as Uno Extreme in the UK and Canada). Both are basically shedding type card games, with some variations in the latter. The game consists of 112 cards and a battery-operated card launcher.
The 112 cards are split up into the following:
- 18 Blue cards – 1 to 9
- 18 Green cards – 1 to 9
- 18 Yellow cards – 1 to 9
- 18 Red cards – 1 to 9
- 8 Hit 2 cards – 2 in each color
- 8 Reverse cards – 2 in each color
- 8 Skip cards – 2 in each color
- 4 Discard All cards – 1 in each color
- 4 Trade Hands cards – 1 in each color
- 4 Wild cards
- 2 Wild All-Hit cards
- 2 Wild Hit-Fire cards
The Draw cards (Draw 2 and Draw 4) in the original Uno game are replaced by Wild All-Hit, Hit 2, and Wild Hit-Fire cards. Basically, the ‘Attack’ version of the game tries to reduce the manual work of drawing cards by introducing the launcher feature. The sections below discuss the game setup, rules to play, and some useful game strategies.
The bottom of the launcher has a battery slot which needs to be unscrewed by a Phillips screwdriver. It requires 3 alkaline batteries (3 C size). The launcher has a receptacle where the deck of cards needs to be placed for shooting. When the rules require the player to hit, the player presses the launcher button.
To decide a dealer, all players should pick a card, and the one with the highest card deals. Shuffle the packs well and deal 7 cards to each player. Place one card from the pile on top of the launcher to begin a discard pile. Insert the remaining cards of the deck into the launcher slot. The game is appropriate for a minimum of 2 players, to a maximum of 10 players. Take care that each player is positioned in such a way that he/she cannot see any other player’s cards; a circular arrangement is ideal.
Each player tries to get rid of all the cards in his/her hand. The first player to do so wins the game.
Once the cards are dealt and the launcher is set up, you are all set to play. The player to the left of the dealer starts the game by referring to the card on the discard pile; if the card is a number card, the player has to throw a card either corresponding the color or number of the card on the discard pile. All the succeeding players play by referring to the color or number of the last thrown card. If a player lacks such a card, he has to press the launcher button once and pass on the turn.
If the card on the discard pile is a word card, then following are the several possibilities:
- Reverse Card – The player to the right of the dealer, instead of the left, starts the game. Reverse cards should be of the same color as the last thrown card. For instance, if the last thrown card is 2 of yellow; the next player can throw a reverse card only if it’s yellow.
- Skip Card – The player to the left of the dealer is skipped and the player next to the skipped one starts.
- Wild Card – The player to the left of the dealer calls out a color and plays a card of the same color.
- Hit 2 Card – The player to the left of the dealer must hit the launcher button twice. Then play begins with the next player (second player to the dealer’s left).
- Trade Hands Card – It’s put back in the deck and another one is chosen.
- Discard All Card – The player to the left of the dealer begins to play with a card of the same color or another Discard All card. If the player doesn’t possess any of these, then he/she has to hit the launcher button.
- Wild All Hit Card – The player on the left of the dealer chooses a color, and all succeeding players press the launcher button once. If the launcher shoots a card, it adds up to the respective player’s hand. If the launcher doesn’t shoot any card, then the player’s turn ends, and the next player plays.
- Wild Hit-Fire Card – The player on the left of the dealer calls a color, the next player in the direction of play presses the launcher button until it shoots out cards and adds them to his/her hand while forfeiting his/her turn. Then play continues as normal, with the next player playing the specified color.
The game continues in a fluid manner as each player throws a card corresponding to the last card’s color or number. The turns and twists to the game are brought about by the special cards (word cards). Let’s see what the functions of each of these cards are.
- Reverse Card – When this card is introduced by a player, the direction of play gets reversed. So, instead of the player on the left, the one on the right plays.
- Skip Card – After a player throws a ‘skip’ card, the player next to him loses his/her turn, and is skipped. Even for skip cards, the color should be followed.
- Wild Card – Can be thrown on any card, irrespective of color or number. Once thrown by a player, he/she can call out any color as per choice, including the one currently in play. The next player should play a card according to the specified color.
- Hit 2 Card – Once thrown by a player, the next player must press the launcher button twice, after which his/her turn ends and the game continues in normal fashion.
- Trade Hands Card – The player who plays this card will exchange all cards with another player of his/her choice.
- Discard All Card – A player plays this card with the intention to discard all cards of a particular color. For example the last discarded card is a blue 5, then one can throw a blue ‘discard all’ card and get rid of all blue cards.
- Wild All-Hit Card – The player who plays this card chooses a color, and all succeeding players press the launcher button once. If the launcher shoots a card, it adds up to the respective player’s hand. If the launcher doesn’t shoot any card, then the player’s turn ends, and the next player plays.
- Wild Hit-Fire Card – Once thrown, the player calls a color. The next player in the direction of play presses the launcher button until it shoots out cards, and adds them to his/her hand while forfeiting his/her turn. Then play continues as normal, with the next player playing the specified color.
‘UNO’ means ‘ONE’ in Italian and Spanish. So, when a player throws his second-last card, and is only left with a single card, he has to yell UNO. If the player fails to do so, and is caught by another player, he/she has to press the launcher button twice. A player can catch another player only before the next player plays his turn.
There can be two main strategies when playing this game―offensive or defensive. When playing offensive, the player’s aim is to get rid of the cards as fast as possible, and win. In cases where the player is using this strategy, he would hold on to Wild, Discard All, Wild All-Hit, and Wild Hit-Fire cards. Such cards can be played at the end to gain advantage and finish off quickly.
On the other hand, when a player chooses to play a more defensive game, he/she would play all the special cards at the beginning or middle of the game, and would try to increase the card count of the opponents. For instance, throwing a Wild All-Hit card would allow the player to choose a color as well as increase the number of cards in the opponents’ hands. He would then clear off most of the cards belonging to the specified color which he has in surplus.
That’s it folks, you are all set to play this fantastic game. Rush to your nearest toy store and ask for the Uno Attack game. The game is great to bring life to small get-togethers, sleepovers, and even while camping.