Last Updated on January 7, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco
Uno is a card game that’s suitable for everyone. It’s a firm favorite in our family collection of card games. If you don’t have a pack of Uno cards yet, now is the time to get one. Uno can be played anytime, anywhere. The objective of the game is to get rid of all the cards in your hand first, but there are many hurdles along the way. The game is designed to help players sabotage other players from winning, which in most instances leads to much hilarity and friendly competition.
Most people don’t give much thought to the underlying benefits of the games they play, but recently I have been. In fact, I have given it a lot of thought recently. If you would like to learn about the benefits and advantages of playing Uno, keep reading.
It is one thing to say that playing Uno (and similar card games) is highly beneficial, but knowing if there is any truth to it is quite another. You might be wondering how one game can provide so many benefits. That’s precisely why I have decided to make a list of the many benefits and advantages of playing Uno.
Wonder how playing UNO is beneficial for you and your kids? Consider the following.
These are 16 benefits and advantages of playing UNO. UNO:
1. Provides hours of fun and entertainment.
Playing Uno will provide hours of fun and entertainment for the whole family. Whether you have just 30 minutes or 3 hours available, Uno will keep you thoroughly entertained.
2. Facilitates bonding.
Fun, laughter, and light-heartedness are ideal for bonding. Whether you are making new friends, spending time with old ones, or whiling away a few hours with family members, having a fun game like Uno to play takes the pressure off the situation and allows you to focus on the game instead.
3. Develops fine motor skills.
If you are playing Uno with kids, you are doing their fine motor skills a favor. Fine motor skills are what you need to reach for things, place things down on a specific point, look at something and be able to touch it. These movements need all the in-between muscles to be working and for you to be coordinated. Uno involves consistent movement of the arms and hands and requires hand-eye coordination too.
4. Teaches visual discrimination to kids.
Young kids often struggle to match numbers and colors. Playing Uno exposes children to repetitively matching colors and numbers. The more they are exposed to it, the easier it becomes.
5. Provides a fun way for kids to learn to count and do basic mathematics.
Kids need to practice counting, adding, and subtracting in order to develop basic mathematics skills. Uno is a game that requires counting throughout, which means that while playing, your kids are actually getting a good mathematics exercise in. When a player has to pick up cards, there is counting, when someone wins the game, everyone has to count their cards. There is plenty of opportunities to count with your kids when you play Uno.
6. Encourages appropriate, fun social interaction.
Some social gatherings call for appropriate entertainment. For instance, you aren’t going to crack open a bottle of tequila and drink raucously in front of your grandmother, are you? When it comes to finding appropriate entertainment, Uno is a great option.
Uno is a game aimed at the whole family. In fact, the creator of Uno, Merle Robbins, created the game in 1971, specifically for the enjoyment of his own family (and to win an argument with his son over the rules of Crazy Eights). Little did he know that it would become a game that’s played by millions of people around the world!
7. Enhances strategic thinking.
While there’s not much a player can do about the hand they get, they can manipulate the game by arranging their cards and using them strategically. Doing this over and over teaches people the value of strategy and can promote strategic thinking and planning – in both young and old.
8. Teaches kids how to identify numbers and colors.
As kids are still learning in their younger years, it is only exposure to the visual aspect of numbers and colors that can help them remember them. Because Uno is quite repetitive, you can use the placement of cards to help kids learn to identify these colors and numbers. When a card is played, you can ask, “what color is that?” or “what number is that?” which serves as a great learning opportunity.
9. Develops flexibility and adaptability, especially in kids.
People, both adults and kids, often struggle to be adaptable and flexible. Most of us like things to go our way and get into our comfort zones. Playing multiple games of Uno really shakes that up.
Anything can happen in a game of Uno and things are consistently changing. A Change Direction card can have you playing counter-clockwise for a few rounds, or a series of Pick Up cards could have your hand so big that it’s hard to keep a grip on it. The ability to be adaptable and flexible in this environment helps people to learn how to go with the flow when things don’t go as planned or expected.
10. Improves time management skills.
When playing Uno, players are given a certain amount of time to make their move. This makes players start to think about time and manage it better. It also helps people to learn to keep their cool and take calm, decisive action even when under pressure.
11. Develops a methodical approach for setting goals and achieving them.
When players start playing Uno, the aim of the game is to get rid of their hand of cards as quickly as possible. This takes goal setting and planning. Players will plot their gameplay and save certain cards for when they need them. Learning to do this in a game gets the brain thinking about goals and how to achieve them in a different light. Chances are that people who play games like Uno can be efficient at reaching their goals.
12. Teaches the art of winning and losing gracefully.
Games really do have an impact on how both adults and children experience and manage the feelings that come with both winning and losing. If you have a child who always throws a tantrum when he loses, expose him to Uno and teach him/her the importance of fair play and how to lose gracefully. Help him/her to manage his emotions when he wins too. This is a valuable life lesson, especially for kids, as it could end up impacting both personal and work relationships if he/she is seen as a “poor sport” or a “sore loser”.
13. Provides a better understanding of the unpredictability of life.
There’s no way of predicting what is going to happen next in a game of Uno, unless you know precisely which cards each player is holding. Of course, you don’t and that’s a great way of learning how to handle life’s unpredictability. You could have one card left and be certain that you are going to win, when suddenly the game has changed direction and you have to pick up a fresh hand of cards. Playing Uno teaches people to avoid assuming victory and to rather “play it by ear”.
14. Enhances memory.
Just like any other game, Uno comes with its set of rules. In order to play, the brain has to work at remembering the rules at each stage of the game. This is great for bolstering a better memory in both kids and adults (the elderly too).
15. Teaches the importance of rule-following.
People tend to bend the rules to suit them in life, but this isn’t a realistic way of viewing or approaching the world. When it comes to playing games like Uno with children, it is important to allow them to experience the rules and consequences along the way. This way, they learn that there are rules to follow in life and there are no shortcuts to winning.
16. Gets the family away from digital devices and promotes real interaction.
Spending quality time with family and friends often results in watching a favorite television program. Unfortunately, this robs people of true quality time, as conversation comes to a halt and everyone proceeds to enter a trance of staring at the television, being entertained by something else completely. Playing Uno provides the family with a reason to turn off the tv, laugh, talk, and have fun together. And that is what quality time is truly all about.
Grab a Pack of UNO Cards and Get Ready to Play
It is undeniable that the benefits and advantages of playing Uno are great for both children and adults. If you want to expand your mind, develop and grow as a person, and have fun with the family (or friends) while doing so, grab a pack of Uno cards and get ready to battle it out for the win.
This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who enjoy sharing their knowledge about their favorite games with others!
JC Franco
JC Franco serves as a New York-based editor for Gamesver. His interest for board games centers around chess, a pursuit he began in elementary school at the age of 9. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Mercyhurst University, JC brings a blend of business acumen and creative insight to his role. Beyond his editorial endeavors, he is a certified USPTA professional, imparting his knowledge in tennis to enthusiasts across the New York City Metropolitan area.