We played UNO last night. By "played" I mean attempted and by "UNO" I mean a game approximately similar to UNO but adapted (by the minute) to match the learning curve (or lack of) of a five, three and one year old who where all deliriously happy to sabotage each other (and themselves) at every opportunity...or even without one. Like I said, rules by the minute.
We started with a five card hand to shorten the game to a bit less than the entire evening. We did OK with matching numbers and colors but the strategy gets abstract fast after that. Take hiding your cards for example. To Zach that meant methodically splaying the cards out face up under the coffee table while he sat on the floor beside it. The idea was that he could easily assess the best card to play next at a glance and no one else could see the dastardly deed he was planning of course because his cards were "under" the table. Ana on the other hand opted for an entirely different strategy. Remember when the really cool people would roll a pack of cigarettes up in their shirt sleeve? Well replace the cigarettes with a stack of UNO cards and the sleeve with the belly of your shirt and you have a fool proof method for confidential card play, with the possible exception of when they roll out of your shirt face up on the table. No matter, just pack them back away quickly (ten or twenty seconds) and you've resecured your advantage.
Now lets address some real card play. We'll start with the Wild Draw Four, because it's the most fun (decimating family members with one of these gems is the pinnacle of fun right?). In a regular deck there are four of these babies. In our game there are five. Four of them function as normal(ish) and the fifth one wanders around the table growling like a (nearly) harmless monster and randomly drawing (not necessarily four) cards from the deck or any unwary players hand only to randomly distribute them across the table, or floor (where they interfere with Zach's strategy). Concerning some other cards of consequence: for less than proficient readers (three years old) Draw Two's are challenging. For less than proficient attention spans Reverses are more so, especially if mom and dad where distracted by the fifth Wild Draw Four when the Reverse was played. In that case the confusion is settled by whoever played last before the Reverse...this causes more confusion. In the end, winning becomes somewhat of a sacrificial act of mercy and the end becomes a win for everybody.
OK, now I can't help comparing this to the Gospel (you knew this was coming). The Numero Uno has written the rules (which include an exceptional amount of grace) and created the most rewarding (and perhaps challenging) game in the world. Like colors and numbers (and poorly hidden cards), we help each other match chapter and verse to the last card played in our life. And we sometimes wait nervously for the the next color to be called when the Wild is played. Yet for all the variety in the game, the cards in the deck never change. We engage each other and play our hand for the joy of the fellowship it provides. And the greatest rewards come not by winning, though there's great joy and reward (and occasionally havoc) in trying, but just by choosing to stay in the game (Hebrews10:23-25) even when it's a bit confusing; and perhaps even surrendering the victory to someone in the family who never saw it coming. Oh yeah... and the first one to play everything they've got wins (2Timothy 4:5-8) ...UNO!!!
We started with a five card hand to shorten the game to a bit less than the entire evening. We did OK with matching numbers and colors but the strategy gets abstract fast after that. Take hiding your cards for example. To Zach that meant methodically splaying the cards out face up under the coffee table while he sat on the floor beside it. The idea was that he could easily assess the best card to play next at a glance and no one else could see the dastardly deed he was planning of course because his cards were "under" the table. Ana on the other hand opted for an entirely different strategy. Remember when the really cool people would roll a pack of cigarettes up in their shirt sleeve? Well replace the cigarettes with a stack of UNO cards and the sleeve with the belly of your shirt and you have a fool proof method for confidential card play, with the possible exception of when they roll out of your shirt face up on the table. No matter, just pack them back away quickly (ten or twenty seconds) and you've resecured your advantage.
Now lets address some real card play. We'll start with the Wild Draw Four, because it's the most fun (decimating family members with one of these gems is the pinnacle of fun right?). In a regular deck there are four of these babies. In our game there are five. Four of them function as normal(ish) and the fifth one wanders around the table growling like a (nearly) harmless monster and randomly drawing (not necessarily four) cards from the deck or any unwary players hand only to randomly distribute them across the table, or floor (where they interfere with Zach's strategy). Concerning some other cards of consequence: for less than proficient readers (three years old) Draw Two's are challenging. For less than proficient attention spans Reverses are more so, especially if mom and dad where distracted by the fifth Wild Draw Four when the Reverse was played. In that case the confusion is settled by whoever played last before the Reverse...this causes more confusion. In the end, winning becomes somewhat of a sacrificial act of mercy and the end becomes a win for everybody.
OK, now I can't help comparing this to the Gospel (you knew this was coming). The Numero Uno has written the rules (which include an exceptional amount of grace) and created the most rewarding (and perhaps challenging) game in the world. Like colors and numbers (and poorly hidden cards), we help each other match chapter and verse to the last card played in our life. And we sometimes wait nervously for the the next color to be called when the Wild is played. Yet for all the variety in the game, the cards in the deck never change. We engage each other and play our hand for the joy of the fellowship it provides. And the greatest rewards come not by winning, though there's great joy and reward (and occasionally havoc) in trying, but just by choosing to stay in the game (Hebrews10:23-25) even when it's a bit confusing; and perhaps even surrendering the victory to someone in the family who never saw it coming. Oh yeah... and the first one to play everything they've got wins (2Timothy 4:5-8) ...UNO!!!
