Uno: South Park vs Mount Gravatt

I loved playing Uno when I was a kid, and later as a teenager. We never owned a pack of Uno cards -so there was a mysterious and exciting something about getting the chance to play. It was one of the meagre bonuses of it raining while we were on holiday.

Thus, the mere passing mention of Uno immediately musters up for me the sound of rain on canvas, the strange smell that seems to emmenate from said canvas when it gets wet, the stink of teenage boys' feet when they take off wet shoes, of squeezing into someone (usually the Brooke's) annex and fielding the rounds of shouting, abuse and swearing that seemed to be part and parcel of the game when you mix wet weather stircrazy, sibling rivalry and 14 year old male hormones. Somewhere in amongst this I was meekly 'thankful' for being allowed to be there for what was passed off as 'fun'.

My most vivid memory of playing Uno was with a group of boys we regularly went on holidays with. Scott was the younger of two brothers and a few years younger than me. He really got into his Uno, as did all the other boys. I was always begrudgingly there because someone's Mum said to include me (gee thanks!) Anyway, this particular day there was the usual fast cards, slights of hand, winning, losing and accusations of cheating etc. In a fluster Scott denounced everyone as cheats and stood up to storm out of the annex ... and in doing so a raft of cards fell from his shirt and shorts. He was really just miffed that everyone was cheating more effectively than he was.

I probably should point out at this point in time that I never cheated ... a) because I believed honestly that it was dishonest, b) I was crap at pulling it off and c) I was terrified I would be found out. So it was all above board for me.

So why the mention of Uno. As I type, Phil and Amy are downstairs still discussing the ins and outs of the epic game that we had to postpone to go to bed. Obviously Phil's considerable gains towards losing at the end of the session have saved him from sleeping in Dylan's pirate tent with the guinea pigs in the garage. We even offered him a matching pirate pillow from Dylan's bed.

Tonight the four of us decided to sit down and have a friendly game of Uno. One would think when those playing are all over (or almost) over the age of 30 there would be a little bit of sensibility on offer .... alas! Short of the sibling rivarly and subsequent arguing and the cheating ... it was just as cut throat and hillarious as it always was. It was also a high class game with portguese custard tarts and Rutherglen Tokay on offer ... a small step up from Smiths BBQ chips and Kmart soft drink. And the standard deck has been replaced by a smaller South Park deck - that comes with all the standard accompanying voices and quips from those conversant enough with South Park to spin them off. Oh and we're playing with our friends and partners as opposed to skanky holidays friends ... and I an (almost) female ally. We've got it sussed for next time how to effectively gang up on the guys!

It was pouring rain outside as we played (in this strange nothing like Summer weather we are currently experiencing) but thankfully, tucked neatly around our dining room table, we didn't have to suffer the smell of wet, dank canvas! Nor suffer through poor sportsman - or womanship. Though there were plenty of threats being bantered around. The oft heard phrase 'A quick game is a good game' rang out just like in the good old days - ... as it turns out a good game doesn't necessarily have to be a quick game ... and we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow night.