PEDESTRIAN.TV has teamed up with Mattel to help you assert your dominance in the workplace through card games.
There’s nothing I love more than a little bit of competition. It gets my blood pumping. It sends subtle little jolts of electricity through my system that remind me I’m alive.
It’s a trait I like to bring into all aspects of my life. So when I noticed a fresh deck of UNO cards sitting on my coworker’s desk the other day, it sparked an idea: what if I challenged my manager to a humble game to win, say,…the arvo off?
Now, my manager, Matt, is a bit of a legend around this place. But he’s a busy man with emails to reply to and people to call, so he agreed because it was probably easier than sitting and thinking about it. Success.
So, we set up shop outside. The sun was shining; there wasn’t a cloud in the sky — it was the perfect day for a bit of UNO.
As Matt started shuffling the cards (which I initially failed at), something hit me: I haven’t played in UNO in 10+ years!!! Would I even remember how to play??? How many colours are there??? We got our co-worker Chris to ref the match to ensure there wasn’t any funny business. We kept things clean — no doubling up on the Draw 4 cards etc. Just a nice, friendly game of UNO.
Here I am, getting settled into our first game. I was clearly in the zone, people. The rules simply flooded back to me. Playing UNO is a muscle memory that we all have deeply locked within us. It’s a very primal instinct that never really leaves.
Then, I got whacked with this first bad boy.
A game-ending Draw Four You can see the chuckle growing on Matt’s face. “Rookie pffttt,” he was (probably) thinking.
Given that wiped me out, we decided to go for another game. A “best of three” situation. Matt, once again, came out of the gates with a strong move. I mean, look at that quiet confidence.
This was me realising I was about to lose again, laughing through the pain.
So we tried again, because I have a nice manager who cares about giving his team a fair go. My confidence was dirt at this point. Would I get demoted if I lost again??
Look at the furrow in my brow, I was concentrating!!
But alas, the third time was not the charm. I walked back into the office, head hung, tail between my legs. Embarrassed, humiliated, shamed. I was supposed to be a hero. A hero who fought (played) for their right (I think?) to have an afternoon off.
Conclusion: your boss is your boss for a reason. Because they’re not just better at the job than you, but they’re better at everything, including UNO. So don’t use it as leverage if you aren’t a complete card shark.
BUT. Do play UNO if you want to have a lovely time full of laughter with your friends. And what’s better than that??? It’s a classic for a reason. Honestly, I’m going to start bringing this deck of cards to meetings to break up the tension when things get hairy.
You can buy a fresh deck of UNO cards at Target.