Denial pile...

We really do enjoy playing games with grands. It's been even more fun lately, because Grahm can play more and more games with us. Uno has been a favorite for a long time, we have played it since Chris and Mark were young. If Grahm gets one of the Draw 2 or Draw 4 cards, he will lay them aside. He knows the rules but he wants to win! Cash calls the cards Grahm sets aside, the “denial pile.” So funny! Sometimes Grahm plays fair and square and other times he uses the denial pile. He does win most of the games. Oh well, you are only 5 once!

Uno history... 51 years and counting

Merle Robbins

In 1971, he invented UNO to resolve an argument with his son Ray, a teacher, about the rules of Crazy Eights. The original decks were designed and made on the family dining room table. Then he and his family mortgaged their home to raise $8,000 and created the first 5,000 UNO decks to sell. At first, he sold them out of his barber shop, while his son Ray handed them out to his students. In 1972, he sold the rights to UNO to International Games for $50,000 plus royalties of 10 cents per copy.

Today, the game is produced by toy giant Mattel in 80 countries and has sold 151 million copies worldwide.

Merle Robbins was a barber in Milford, Ohio. He died in 1984 in Cincinnati.