Mattel cheapens family card game brand Uno with bizarre casino crossover
Have you ever dreamt of staying in a luxurious, UNO-themed hotel room? You liar. That’s the experience offered to one competition winner, though, at what Mattel is calling “the first-ever UNO Social Club”.
This event, themed around the popular family card game, takes place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, and it’s the maiden voyage of these so-called social clubs that will apparently be popping up all over the US of A in the near future.
An UNO event at a casino conjures amusing images of gamers dropping piles of cash or car keys in a high stakes match, perhaps a version of Casino Royale where Mads Mikkelson smoothly lays down a card and says, “Pick up 4, Mr Bond,” but the truth isn’t quite so dramatic.
To get to the bottom of what’s really going on here, we have to ask Mattel, just what is an UNO Social Club?
Well, according to the Palms Casino website, they “transform game nights into an elevated social experience where friends connect, compete and create memories in venues across the country.”
Yeah, no. I’m still clueless.
Maybe this comment from Mattel’s Vice President and Global Head of Games will help:
“We created UNO Social Clubs to reimagine what game night can be—bringing people together for real-world fun, connection, and a bit of friendly competition.”
Ah, right then…
A little bit of digging around on Mattel’s social media reveals that the company has transformed a suite at the casino/hotel into a primary-colored paradise, decking it out with UNO branding as far as the eye can see. We’ve got UNO-themed bedding, UNO cushions, and even an UNO bowling alley.
And of course, there’s an UNO-themed table, where it seems you can play every variant of UNO under the sun. I assume if you try to switch to a different card game, wrist shackles pop out and behaviour-correcting electric shocks are administered.
It was at this point that I realized why the marketing copy was so freaking vague. Because it’s a stupid idea. You’re a great family card game UNO. An excellent way to kill 10 minutes at a pub or on a campsite for groups of all ages. Can’t you be happy with that? What’s with all this frippery, these delusions of grandeur?
I’ll calm down. Here’s the facts. The Vega Social Club event involves a competition-winner and guest staying in the UNO suite from July 18 – 20. After this, the game is taking a tour of major US cities, popping up in bars in LA, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Austin throughout August. We can’t know exactly what those will look like, but based on the Vegas event, it seems like UNO-themed drinks will be involved.
Over on UNO’s Instagram, people seem to be going berserk over this announcement. One fan even wrote that her prayers had been answered.
Weigh in, readers, am I missing something here? Come to the Wargamer Discord and let me know. You can also find some of the best card games, not to mention the best board games, in our top-notch guides.
