5x5 in HTML | 5x5 in .PDF format | Back to Larks

To play this game, you need a deck (or more) of Uno cards and a pawn or other marker of some sort (a salt shaker or a pen cap will do just as well). You'll also need someplace to play it that's big enough to have a layout that's five cards across and five cards down, with a little extra space for the draw and discard piles. Oh, and you'll need two to four players. The game is pointless with one person (unless you just want to win all the time) and slightly misbalanced with three; the odd position is an excellent place to put someone of slightly higher skill level. As you play the game, you'll understand why.

Depending on the skill of the players involved, and how much they care to analyze their moves before they commit, a game of Five by Five can last from 10 minutes (someone screws up and the game ends) to an hour or so (everyone more or less knows what's going on and isn't too pokey about it) to lots longer (if nobody steps in and says "excuse me, but we really ought to be moving now" or something to that effect). Players can control the length of play through the application of a time limit without too much trouble.