Mattel UNO Roboto review

I mentioned the other day that we received a collection of games to try out from Mattel in honour of their Fun Times Campaign and the first one we played was Uno Roboto. I was actually a bit concerned we'd be disappointed. We all love and frequently play the traditional UNO game because it's such a simple game that players of all ages can play with equal odds of winnning. In this case, I was thinking "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and wondering what the little robot would actually bring to the game apart from unnecessary complications.

Well, the cute little fella soon won us over ! The first thing you have to do is record each player's name using the robot's in-built microphone. This had the Madhouse Mini-testers in hysterics because he repeats your name in a funny high-pitched voice - oh, that and ... ummm ... I might have made him repeat a few silly things like "Sophie Poo Bum" and "Juliette Fartface" ! (Naughty Mummy !)

The basic game is the same as regular UNO which is great because we all knew what to do and could start playing immediately. The robot sits quietly for a while then suddenly throws in a random instruction for someone - he might tell two players to swap cards or tell player A to give cards of a certain colour to player B - or sometimes he'll throw out a group challenge, such as "touch your nose" or "put your hands up" and the last player to do so has to pick up extra cards. You also get to record your very own house rule at the start of play.

It's all so random and unpredictable that it adds more excitement to the game and much hilarity ensued. So much so in fact that it was at times hard to hear what he was saying so it's a shame there isn't a volume control. The batteries are included though so I'll let them off !

I was expecting the robot to be an unnecessary gimmick for what is already a classic game but it is actually really good, taking traditional UNO to a whole new level. As with the regular game, it's suggested for players aged 7+ and 2-6 players can play at once.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £24.99

Disclosure : I received a selection of games from Mattel in order to write honest reviews.

Other reviews you may be interested in :

Mattel Fun Times campaign : Don't Get Bored, Get Board Games !

British Bulldog Board Game review

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