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BY M \DELINKHILDEBRANDCopley News ServiceIt started in a Joliet. Ill ..apartment in 1972 Thon it moved into a basement.and then a one-off ice back roomThe results: a family card game that appears to be sweeping the nationUNO is becoming No 1. afact that keeps the Jolietmanufacturer-distributorsmoving When all the cards are on the table they love itInternational Games.Inc . a family organizationcreated to handle the newgame, moved from the back room office recentlyinto a 2.400-square-foot executive suite The company also now has a showroom in New York What began as a hunchsales for the year projected at about $15 million or 500.000 games The 1978 projections call for the sale of about one million games It wasn’t easy to breakinto the big time in the toy and game industry, espe cially with only one item to sell, according to company officers During the first few years the group won dered if others would share their enthusiasm for the game, a takeoff on the game Crazy Eights, which is played with a regulardeck of cards Ed Akeman. executive vice president ami his sis ter, Sandra Tezak, corporate secretary, said thev:: -spent hours playing UNO for fun But most of all. they played hoping to get others interested. Thevweven handed out gameswithout cost trying to en courage its use Ed and Sandy had to play more than the card game Thev had to trv their hands at the word of mouth” game, because three years after forming the company to manufac ture UNO, they couldn’t in terest retailers in picking up a hand.”They sent samples tohundreds of major retailers. hut got no responseThey persisted, and some of their samples began to make their way across the country and back — thanks to family and friends Soon the corporation began get ting letters from people who wanted to know where they could buy it.Families sent the game to servicemen and now game requests come from England Japan, Africa. Germany and CanadaEd and Sandy have some 60 nno letters on file re questing games or telling how much fun it isAbout two years ago. after three lean years, amanufacturer’s representative in Lafayette. Ind .contacted them, saying he had received requests for UNO and wanted to know more about it He asked if he could handle the game That's what it took to start the game rolling.said Akeman Now’ we have manufacturer's representatives all over thecountry asking for the game, most of whom were sent letters three years ago, but didn’t even bother to respond ”Large retail chains such as Woolworth's. K Mart. Scars. Roebuck Co and Ben Franklin are selling the game or have contract ed to do so after Jan 1 Some national chains first used it in certain regions.but now have decided to gonationwideAkeman said a recentsurvey showed UNO to be the top-selling game in a five-state area In some areas it was in ched out only by the tradi tional Monopoly.Akeman said his brother came across the game when he was stationed atFort Knox, Ky He introduced the game to Akeman. who in turn brought the game to Joliet to Sandy’s husband, RobertTeza k“We all played the game We liked it and decided it had potential We agreed totry and buy the rights from the father son team that invented it.”Akeman said they went to Reading Ohio and contart ed Merle Robbins, a retired barber and his son. RAy After some negotiations the sale was madeThe game is played with 108 cards and features four colors, yellow, blue, red and green The cards are numbered 0 to 9 and include Reverse. Wild, Wild Draw Four, Skip and Draw Two cardsIt is advert ised as a game that can be played by two to 10 players and can be enjoyed by persons 6 through adult It can be played individually or in teams.It’s a relaxing, fun thing.” said Sandy “But it can lead a couple to the brink of divorce at times,” she joked To husbands, she offers this advice “Hay the game with your wife on Saturday and you’ll have no trouble getting to watch the Sunday afternoon football game in silence ’’
Newspaper Details
Orange County Register
Orange, California, US
Sun, Aug 28, 1977
Page 146
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
AZ, USA 22 Jan 2020
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Orange County Register
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