What was this proprietary card game I used to play and enjoy as a child?

August 18, 2023 10:30 AM

As a kid in the mid-late 90's, I had this Uno-like branded card game that I'd like to try finding again, at least on boardgamegeek if not a physical copy. I wonder if anyone else might recall this particular game? Here's what I remember...

The general mechanic of the game was to take turns playing numerical cards that you've drawn into your hand, increasing a "count total" based on cards played, with the main goal of avoiding being the person forced to "bust" the running total by putting it over a certain value (I want to say 20 or 21... which is what is making tracking this game down difficult!!!). I feel like each turn required drawing from the deck as well before playing.

The deck also included Uno-esque special cards that would help you get out of a jam such as change direction of play, skip turn, reset the total to zero, subtract ten from the total.... other wildcards in there too I'm sure that I don't precisely recall at the moment. Also, I'm not entirely certain about this, but I feel like the backs of the cards / the game overall had a purple colour scheme / motif.

One other VERY KEY DETAIL I think I remember about this game as well as that its name was a single word, five letters long.. I remember this because the way the game was scored was that each player had a separate set of five scoring cards (one showing each letter of the game's name), and if you were the person to bust, you had to flip one of these scoring cards over.. flip over all five letter cards and you're outta the game... last one standing wins?

I'm in Western Canada if that helps anything. Maybe a long shot but hoping someone might have some clues to lead me to this game.

Thanks, friends <3

posted by wats to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Only four letters (and an exclamation mark), but was it Whot!?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:41 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

(Not to abuse the edit window: The standard gameplay isn't what you're describing, but it would certainly have lent itself to that; it did have special cards; and the set we had in my childhood was a dark purplish burgundy, the colour shown here. The scoring mechanism isn't ringing a bell though, so it's definitely a long shot.)
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:48 AM on August 18, 2023

Skip Bo?
posted by phunniemee at 11:06 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Flinch?
posted by Schmelena at 11:22 AM on August 18, 2023

Best answer: This sounds similar to Boom-O! I played as a kid and it was quite fun!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1333/boom-o

Board Game Geek led me to 5-Alive as a "re-implementation" and seems to more closely match your description

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1961/5-alive
posted by party boots at 11:35 AM on August 18, 2023

Best answer: I was also going to suggest 5 Alive! I had it as a kid too. It fits your memory well, complete with the purple color scheme.
posted by peperomia at 1:10 PM on August 18, 2023

Could it be O'NO 99? Parts of your description fit my vague recollections of it from childhood. The point limit was 99 instead of 21ish, but it has UNO-type cards.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 1:17 PM on August 18, 2023

Response by poster: 5 Alive!!!!!! Totally it.

Thanks, pals!
posted by wats at 1:42 PM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]