Not One, But Two (DOS)

Welcome back to theme month!  This months going to be a little different, so hang on to your butts!  The theme this October is Classics with a Twist.  We'll look at variations of games I normally wouldn't review.  The point of this blog is to get people into games that aren't seen in everyone's closet.  This month, I hope that people can find fun alternatives to those games, and the first one is Dos, the sequel to Uno.



BACKGROUND:  Dos is a card game published in 2018 as a variation on the classic Uno, designed by Nick Hayes for 2-4 players.

GAMEPLAY:  Dos starts with 2 cards in the "center row", rather than just 1 pile.  On their turn, players match either one or both cards in their hand to the cards in the center.  Cards can be matched by Number, with any color, or by Addition, which requires two cards that add up to the top card.  Wild Dos cards count as any colored 2, and # cards count as any number of that color

BONUS:  If a player manages to match both number and color, they play an additional card into the center row.  If a players plays two cards that add up to a number and both match the color, they play a card in the center and all other players draw an additional card.



WINNING:  The first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand wins the round and all point values in each players hand.  Similar to Uno, a player must call Dos when they have exactly 2 cards in their hand, or draw 2 cards as a penalty if another player calls it out on them.

CONCLUSION:  Dos is obviously an attempt to capitalize on Uno's success, like SkipBo or It Came To Pass.  However, the complexity in the rules has changed.  Complex rules, however, do not a good board game make.  The rules feel unnecessarily complicated, especially if they wanted to evoke a game like Uno.  I applaud Mattel for trying something different, and expanding what they're known for, but really, Dos just feels like a flop.  Uno has stayed a staple of card games for a reason, it's simple to learn even at a young age, but Dos isn't, and I don't expect many to enjoy this once-off game.