Spicy Uno

So, my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving Day was actually Thanksgiving Night.
We'd had a very enjoyable afternoon with a small gathering of family and friends, and I was ready to be joyfully contented with it. But then Elizabeth invited a few more of her friends over and they decided to play Spicy Uno. And she invited Brian and me to play, too.
I love that Elizabeth lets her old parents play with her and her friends!
I'm telling you, for the amount of laughter and raucousness which went into our play-time, I felt completely vindicated for the dessert I'd eaten. Totally worked it off, I'm sure.

OK. Now that I've piqued your interest, let me tell you how to play Spicy Uno.

Everyone begins with seven cards and play proceeds just like regular Uno.
BUT, there are a few additional rules.
*Anytime someone plays a "6," everyone has to slap the discard pile. Last person to put their hand down has to take two additional cards from the draw pile.
*If another person plays a card identical to one in your hand (same color AND face-value) you may play your card (quickly!) regardless of whether it is your turn, or not. But you have to play it before the next person takes their turn - or you sacrifice your move. (Play resumes just as if it had really been your turn. Yes, that means several people may get "skipped." Too bad!)
*Every time it is your turn, you must play a card.
If you don't have a play-able card in your hand, you have two options.
1) You may pick a card from the draw pile. However, if it isn't play-able you have to draw another. And keep drawing until you get a play-able card.
OR
2) You may ask for "help". When you ask for help, other players may offer you a card from their hand - face down - for you to accept, or not, without looking at it. The card they give you may be play-able, or not. (This is where you find out who's on your side, and who isn't. This is also where things get very interesting because you can team up to prevent others from winning!) If the card you accept is not play-able you must pick from the draw pile until you find a play-able card.
*AND, when a "Draw 2" card is played, the person to whom it was given may lay another "Draw 2" down, causing the next person to draw 4 cards. Unless, of course, they also have a "Draw 2" to lay down - which would cause the next player to draw 6 cards. And on it goes, until nobody has a "Draw 2" to play. (This is also a time when you may ask for "Help!" Another player might give you a "Draw 2" to get you out of a mess. But, keep in mind, just because you ask for help and everyone knows you want a "Draw 2" doesn't mean somebody will give you a "Draw 2". You could be accepting a fraudulent card and end up drawing 2 or 4 or 6 or however many cards the total has reached. It's a risk you take!) Additionally, within the line of "Draw 2" build up, you are allowed to up the ante by playing a "Draw 4". At this point additional "Draw 4" cards may be added, but you may not revert to "Draw 2". So, yes, if - for example - Draw 2 + Draw 2 + Draw 2 + Draw 4 + Draw 4 were played before anyone couldn't play another card, some unfortunate soul would be adding 14 cards to his/her hand!
*One more thing. If you get caught not saying "Uno" when you only have one card left to play, you must draw seven cards.

And there you have it. Complete guidelines for spicing up that old deck of Uno cards you may not have touched for a few years. So, grab your kids (Even if they're "older" - actually, this game works better with older kids!) and get ready for a fun time.

Let me know how they like it!