Announced by Mattel earlier this year, the new UNO Flex edition of the hugely successful card game adds a fun and exciting twist. The traditional rules remain the same but players have a host of exciting new abilities that are certain to keep even the most seasoned card shark on their toes!
Newly incorporated Flex cards allow participants to change the colour or ability of a card. Play one, and a Green 4 can become a Red 4 in a single motion. Activate the ‘flex’ ability on a Draw 4 card, and select which player you want to have fill their hand. Or, surprise your competition with a Flex Skip Card and pass over everyone at the table! With the Flex cards, this new edition offers a variety of different ways to approach a given situation in hopes of pulling off a win.
Clearly, this ain’t your parents’ UNO!
Here’s what Mattel has to say about the cards in UNO Flex:
Flex Cards: Flex Cards are like regular UNO cards, but players may choose to “flex” between two colours – a primary and a secondary – to switch up gameplay.
Action Cards: Action Cards help shift power and keep the excitement high during the game by offering a second, more powerful alternative to the indicated action. For example, the “flex” option on a Draw 4 card is for the card user to pick which player they want to Draw 4.
Power Cards: Power Cards, depending on their visible side, determine whether players can use the “flex” side of their cards.
“At the start of the game, all players are given a Power Card, green on one side and red on the other, that determines when they have the ability to use the “flex” side of a card.”
If the Power Card is on the green side, players can choose to use the “flex” side of their card – but once they do, the Power Card must be flipped to the red side. If your Power Card is on the red side, you can no longer choose to use the “flex” side of a card in play.
To flip your Power Card back to the green side, one of the following must happen: you play a Number Card with a “flip” symbol on it, anyone plays a Wild Flip card, or when every player’s Power Cards are on the red side at the same time.
While UNO Flex offers plenty of new twists and turns, it is not the first specialty version of the classic card game to be released over the years.
Developed in 1971 by Merle Robbins, UNO was originally inspired by Crazy Eights and features some similarity in the rules. Quite well-received by the public once Robbins began selling copies of the game out of his Ohio-based barber shop, UNO has been offered in several different editions released under Mattel after they acquired parent company International Games back in 1992.
In the more than 50 years since its inception, Mattel has given the world UNO Extreme (named UNO Attack in the United States), which blasts cards at players; UNO All Wild, featuring a deck made entirely of wild cards; and UNO Party, which is designed for larger groups to play. They’ve even released a waterproof version known as UNO H2O and a special Minimalista version developed in collaboration with designer Warleson Oliveira.
While these re-imagined games continue to keep things feeling fresh and new decade after decade, still delighting families around the world, they all remain true to Merle Robbins’ original vision.
Suitable for two to six players 7 years of age and older, UNO Flex is now available in-store and online for around $6.49 USD.
Will you be adding this latest addition to the ever-expanding UNO family to your game night rotation?
