Mattel Invites People For 'Chief UNO Officer' Role, Know Weekly Pay

 I cannot recall the number of times I have had a raging fight among friends and family when it came to the rules featuring the popular card game UNO.

What's even more interesting is that I am not the only one fighting for rules; seems like the whole world is. With every person playing UNO with a new group across time spans, the rules become different, and the game becomes even more intriguing - what really are the makers' decided rules? Well, hardly anyone knows.

Back in school, over a decade ago, we had this rule that the player throwing the card 'zero' would be eligible to ask the player next to them to pick up ten cards. Last week, when I played the game with my cousins, I was mocked to no end. Well, guilty as charged. Ever wonder how did UNO become a game ever so interesting that it is still talked about among different age groups across countries and taken as seriously as a raging World Cup? 

In an interesting update, the UNO-maker company Mattel is now inviting applications for the role of 'Chief UNO Officer'. The multinational toy and entertainment company is on the lookout for someone who can take over charge of their latest game creation, the UNO Quatro game. The role will require the officer to be in New York City for four days, playing the new game for four hours each day. The game will require the candidate to have a solid personality, that can help them communicate with strangers on a daily basis while playing the Quatro. Coming to the most interesting part, the person will receive a salary of $4,444 weekly, amounting to 3.6 lakh rupees.

In an official statement, the company mentioned, "We’re looking for someone who’s just as passionate about throwing down a Draw 4 as they are engaging strangers in a game. Someone who knows how to play a reverse and likes to get WILD (in a nice-ish way). Is that you?"

Rising Popularity Of UNO Game 

It's famously said that UNO brings the worst out of people. It's not an incorrect saying, you know. While it has been self-established by UNO lovers that the game holds different rules everywhere, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah reminded us recently that it isn't so. 

In an interesting segment of his show, Noah revealed to the audience that the makers of the game UNO have changed the rules, and while they aren't what we have been following or agreed, well - that is exactly what we must follow, if we play by the rules, of course. 

Sharing a clarification from the makers, Noah said, "Apparently, you cannot stack up Draw 2's one after another." While the audience booed, he explained further, "You know what that means right; so, if even if the next person has a Draw 2 card, they have to pick up two cards and cannot throw in their Draw 2 to make it 4 for the person next to them."

"They said draw 2; you take the draw 2, that's it!"

Noah's video triggered UNO lovers in all ways possible. We asked the millennials what keeps them hooked to the game even today. Apoorva Joshi, who works as an investment banker in Gurgaon, says UNO gives her something to hold on to amidst hectic schedules. "My friends and I have made it a rule to play UNO every Friday. The best part about it is that it isn't complicated. Well, the complication lies in our differing views on rules, but isn't that fun too?"

Noah's video, which has now reached millions of views, also had UNO makers' comments under it. They responded, "In, life, only three things are certain: the skip card, the reverse card and playing by your house rules."

Snehal Kumari says that she and her husband have come to a middle ground when it comes to the game. "Well, I had a different UNO experience while at school, and he played completely differently while at his school. Today, at 30, we're arguing about rules that were vastly opposite each other. Well, for one thing, the Draw 2 rule is settled."

UNO basically has carried forward generation after generation with different set rules, moulded as per convenience, and with 'fun' being the only commonality, so much so that even celebs are obsessed with the game. I recall the news from Page Six where the Academy Awards dinner party saw the UNO wave as Chrissy Teigen and John Legend brought to their table a stack of cards to make the night fun and to engage. 

UNO was developed by Merle Robbins in 1971 in Ohio, United States. A card game lover, Robbins saved eight thousand dollars to make his 5,000 sets of UNO. He sold the stack right out of he sold out of his barbershop. It was only later that Internal Games Inc. purchased rights to the games, which was then later bought by the company Mattel. 

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