When I was a kid, I loved to play the card game UNO! What’s not to like? It’s quick, and clever, and actually forces you to think a little bit, all while having a fun game to play on a rainy day. If you have never played UNO before – there might be a few of you out there – or if you want to rediscover this game and get hooked all over again, you can play UNO on your Nokia mobile device.

Happily, this mobile version of the game is just like the one you will remember playing as a kid, only in this case, since you can play against computerized opponents, the game can actually move much, much faster than when you play it with a physical deck of UNO cards.

The premise of UNO is simple enough. The game requires that you discard all of the cards in your hand, as quickly as possible, before your opponents. To discard, you must match either by matching the number or color on your card to whatever card is on top of the discard pile.

If you can’t match a number or color based on the cards in your hand, you will draw an extra card from the deck. So, in the scenario above, I need a blue card to keep playing, or a card with the same symbol on it. In this case, the symbol happens to be a “reverse” which changes the direction of game play. I could play the red card that is shown above.

And, if it wasn’t obvious, matching up cards by number or color is just the beginning. There are numerous specialty cards that quickly alter the flow of the game, including reverses, blocks that result in skipping a turn, and wild cards, where you can then change the color of discard pile. I played a wild card in the game shown below. This can be a huge help when you only have a few cards left, and you can change the color of the discard selection to one that matches the remaining cards in your hand.

Within the game are options at the start for Quick Play, Tournament play, Multiplayer (where you share your device with other physical opponents nearby), as well as options for in-game assistance, and “challenges” which you can use if you think another player is bluffing. From Quick Play, you can select three levels of difficulty, the game mode, scoring options, force play and more. The basic game defaults so that the winner must score more than 250 points to win – this can usually be done with two winning hands.

I’ve just been enjoying the game on my Nokia E72 in the Standard mode, set to the Easy level, but I think it may be time to try a harder level!

Oh, and of course, this wouldn’t be UNO! if you didn’t have to call out the word “UNO” during the game. So, you can’t shout at your device to make this work – as tempting as that might be – but there is a button to push! Remember, when you have two cards left in your hand, click on the “Uno” button that is displayed next to your hand, or you can be penalized with an extra card by one of your opponents who beats you to the punch.

The game also includes some cute in-game sounds and music, which you can easily turn off if you find it bothersome or distracting while you play.

One more reason to pick up UNO for your Nokia mobile device: It is being offered right now for the promotional price of only $0.99 (USD) in Ovi Store.

For a quick diversion that will bring back fond childhood memories, give a UNO a try.