Rating:  -
This variant of the Classic Uno game is a tremendous amount of fun. In a Christmas that was jam packed with Christmas-list toys, the arrival of this game out of the blue knocked everything else for six.
My kids like the regular Uno game, but get frustrated when they have to pick up cards or if other players were doing better. However, the new Uno Spin mechanism changes all that! When the spin marker is seen on one of the regular Uno cards, the next player spins the wheel, and there are a number of forfeit/fortune outcomes - pick-ups, discards, hand swapping, and so on. This means that being made to pick up cards is no longer something to sulk over, as the game can change so quickly.
We played this a lot over Christmas, the kids enjoyed it so much they finally learned how to hold a hand of cards properly!
I totally recommend this great family game!
Rating:  -
My husband and I played this game with 2 of our children, aged 10 and 8, and really enjoyed it.
The idea is to get rid of your cards to win (getting points from everyone else's cards). Some cards tell you to spin the wheel for your turn, and there are varied outcomes. All players could be instructed to pass their hand on to the player to the left. Instead of just one card, you could now have a whole handful! The children loved the spinning part of the game, and its consequences.
We did find that in some cases the rules were not as clear as they could be, so had to add rules (ie. when you can and can't play a card in the same turn as picking up from the pile).
It took us about an hour and a half to play up to 250 points, where the recommendation was to play to 500 points. The box gave the indication that gameplay was from 30 mins upwards.
I think the rating of age 7+ is about right, and that the game is sturdy enough to withstand plenty of play.
A great family game.
Rating:  -
Opening up the Amazon package, the first thing you see is that the box is good quality, and that you can see what the spinner is like before you get started.
Opening up the game, yes, its the old favourite UNO, with the addition of a spinner to add a new random element. In that respect it has similarities to UNO Extreme, although the pictures on the spinner give you more than just a random amount of cards, so it adds more to the game.
For very young players, this adds an additional complexity to the game, although the game is suggested for ages 7+, and from that age, generally the game should make sense. Besides, if they have a problem getting to grips with the spinner as well as how to play UNO generally, you can always use the UNO Spin cards to play standard UNO (although it's not as portable since the box has to hold the spinner, which was one of the joys of UNO).
If you haven't played UNO before, then the premise is simple - get rid of all of your cards. You have to either follow suit or play cards of the same colour, although there are Wildcards that can be played on almost anything and penalty cards that force you to pick up cards. If you can't play a card then you have to pick up. The premise quickly becomes second nature, so it's a pretty easy game to learn, but there is an element of strategy to it.
The Spinner part of UNO Spin is the most advanced addition to the rules. The problem that I have with the spinner is precisely because it adds another random element, so if a group of adults is playing, then the best player is less likely to win. I don't think that this is really the target market of Spin, though, as I think the market is more older children and family games. In that situation the spinner works much better, as it provides an equaliser, so the parents or older children don't need to dumb down their play to give the youngest players a chance of winning. The variety of elements from the spinner will have more of an effect than the 'random number of cards' element of UNO Extreme, and in terms of whether kids will like using it, although I haven't played Extreme, I'm sure most kids would prefer the well-made spinner - it's just a more tactile, user-friendly item.
So, the game gets 3 stars overall. Mainly because many people will find that UNO is just as good and cheaper and more portable. For family games, though, it's arguably a useful addition. Don't buy it for an adult, but do consider it for a child of 7-10 or so, or for a family.
Rating: -
`UNO Spin' is Mattel's new and extended version of UNO, the classic card game played with a specially printed deck which was developed in 1971 by Merle Robbins.
UNO Spin contains 112 UNO Spin cards and 1 UNO Spin Wheel. The game is recommended for 7yrs+, 2-10 players, and 0-30 minutes of gameplay.
The object of UNO is to be the first player to score 500 points; points are scored by getting rid of all your cards before your opponents, and scoring points for the cards left in their hands. Each player is dealt 7 cards. The remainder of the deck is placed facedown to form a `draw pile', and 1 card is then turned over to begin a `discard pile'. Each player then takes turns to match the card on the discard pile, either by number, colour or symbol, with one in their hand - if they have a matching card they can place it on the discard pile, but if the player doesn't have a card to match the one on the discard pile, they have to take a card from the draw pile. Once a player has no cards left, the round is over, points are scored and play starts over again until someone eventually reaches 500 points.
In UNO Spin 20 of the 112 cards have a swirling pattern around the number indicating they are `Spin cards'. A `Spin card' can be played just as a regular card, but when it is played, the next player must spin the wheel and follow the action of the icon the spinner lands on in place of their turn. The wheel has 9 different icons ranging from allowing the player who spun the wheel to discard all but 2 of their cards, to trading hands with another player! This extra dimension can turn a potential game of serious strategy into one of hilarious and competitive fun.
Unfortunately, the packaging lets this game down, as the top half of the box is 'open' and covered in plastic so prospective purchasers can view before buying. This poses a problem once you have purchased the game and want to store it without losing all the cards! By keeping the plastic you can store the game in its original packaging, but it is quite fiddly to put away.
The UNO cards can be used without the wheel (by ignoring the swirling pattern on the 20 `spin card'). Also, you can obviously just play one round, and whoever is left with no cards wins, rather than playing for the full 500 points. Unfortunately, you cannot substitute a complete other UNO pack of cards to play with the wheel (e.g. High School Musical UNO cards), as they do not come with the `Spin cards', but I suppose you could remove and replace the 20 cards with the spin cards if you could be bothered!
My 6-yr-old daughter loves this game, and as the uncontrollable element of the wheel stops the game from relying completely on strategy, it's certainly suitable for younger players.
Rating: -
This game was fun for all ages and also is much better played in a group.
It isn't an engaging classic game like Cluedo, Scrabble etc., but provides ligth relief.
Good fun for an evening of friends and their kids.
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