Uno, Cheating, and Laughter

Zach decided tonight that he wanted to play Uno with me. You know, the card game with the red, blue, green and yellow number cards, and the attack cards: Draw 4s, Skips, Reverses, and the rest. We've played in the past and he's the best person to play Uno with because he will play no-holds-barred style and try to bury you while having fun at the same time, and he usually wins the majority of the hands.

Tonight, however, was a little different than the other times we've played. I had a slight headache and didn't really feel like playing but I did anyway, and since Dolly wanted to play with us we had to sit at the kitchen table when Zach and I usually play on the sofa, facing one another. Sitting in the kitchen I was cold and my ass hurt sitting on the chair but I dealt with it to have some fun with the kids. Ty never joins in but we asked anyway and got the usual, "No thanks." So we began.

Dolly on my left, Zach on my right and I'm the official shuffler since neither of them does a good job at it. I shuffle then we take turns dealing the hands. Zach won the first hand, Dolly the second, me the third then Dolly won a few more and decided she was done playing. It was just Zach and me so Zach got down to business... or so he thought. That child couldn't win for losing tonight.

He loves to throw down the Draw 2s on me followed by a Skip, a Reverse, then maybe a Draw 4 until I have my hands full of cards and he's down to two. We both laugh the entire time because, to us, it's just a game and it's about having fun. Tonight I had all the great cards every time, even when he dealt. He got so rattled that he even tried to cheat. Did I ever mention that Zach loves to cheat, and that he'll admit that he does it? I didn't? Well, now you know. :)

After about 20+ hands of him losing, he decided that he wanted to shuffle so right in front of me he starts digging through the deck and pulling all the attack cards to put into his hand. I nixed that idea and made him put them randomly back in the deck. He had me shuffle then deal. He lost. Then he said he wanted me to deal to myself first instead of dealing to him first as I'm supposed to do. So I did. He lost. The funny part about that hand was that I ended up with a buttload of attack cards that would have been his had he let me deal properly. I explained that, he huffed loudly then laughed at his error in judgment.

Before I dealt the next hand he said that he just wanted to pick one card from the deck to have in his hand before I dealt. Cheating, yes. I let him. He chose a Draw 4. I dealt as I usually would until we both had seven cards. He couldn't wait to toss that Draw 4 at me. He did, I drew my four, he put down a Draw 2 in one color then a Draw 2 in another color then a Skip, a Reverse, a Wild and then a number. It was finally my turn. Since he'd made me draw all those cards he didn't realize that I'd be drawing many of the same cards he'd just played on me. I slammed him over and over again with attack cards. Guess what! He lost that hand too. Karma is a bitch, ain't it?

We decided to quit playing after that but I'm guessing he's calculating what he's going to do next time we play and I'll bet I get a run for my money then. For now, though, I hold the Uno bragging rights in the house. I know he'll get them back next time and it'll be as fun as it was tonight. In the meantime he'll tell all his friends how I beat the pants off him even though he tried to cheat every way he could think of. Cheater or not, though, I gotta love him. He's my Uno buddy and he makes me laugh out loud.

Until next time... peace to all.