an aussie in austria

We’re all familiar with Uno – Uno is a worldwide phenomenon. But when I came to Austria I discovered a new and exciting variation – Fudln.

Ok, let’s be honest, I have a feeling that Fudln is confined to my small Austrian family. And quite possibly there are plenty of other families all over the world that play it and give it a different name. But our name is Fudln , and this is how it goes.

Uno rules stay basically as normal, with some additions/alterations:

• The Skip card not only skips the next player, but also allows the person placing the card to swap his or her hand with any other person – this is great when you’re stuck with 20 cards and suddenly you find yourself with 1 – not so good the other way around though!
• We allow Draw 2s and Draw 4s to build on each other. Which means that some unlucky bugger could wind up having to draw 16 cards in a row! But it’s ok, because as long as you have a Skip in your hand you can swap the cards at your next turn, hopefully!
• We score each hand – black wild cards are worth 40, other wild cards are worth 20, and the numbers are scored as they are. Whatever is left in your hand when the first player wins is added to your score. Lowest score wins, obviously. This makes it a lot more fun because everyone is trying to get rid of their wild cards, instead of holding on to them, so play is more action packed!

And of course, then there is the awesome Fudeln rule:

This is the really fun one. Anytime throughout the game, if you have the same card in your hand (must be same colour and number), you can jump in, say Fudeln, and slap your card down. Anyone in between gets skipped and the game resumes as normal.

Playing Uno the Fudeln-way makes for a lot more excitement. Because everyone has to pay constant attention for a chance to Fudeln, it means that everyone is actively involved, rather than just sitting around half-interested while they wait for their turn.

Of course, there is usually wine involved with my Austrian family, and food. Often we play it all together with 4-6 people after dinner or a special occasion like Christmas or Easter.

As they say – Uno – fast fun for everyone!