In one of the most confusing partnerships in the history of corporate synergy, game developer AirConsole, boardgame manufacturer Mattel, and car maker BMW have joined forces to let you play Uno in your car. No, not with a deck of cards – players will simply need to connect to a proprietary virtual gaming system using their own, bluetooth-enabled smartphone.
Uno, the quick to learn family card game available for as little as $6 from Amazon, will be the latest game to join the AirConsole “in-car gaming” system, available in select BMW and Mini vehicles. AirConsole runs multiplayer games on the vehicle’s dashboard computer and monitor, and players can connect using their smartphone as a video controller.
In good news for public safety, it is only accessible while the vehicle is stationary. As I have never, ever felt the urge to play a board game in the car without exiting it, the press release’s suggestions that it could be used when “a family is at rest during a road trip or a group of friends stop to figure out their next move” strikes me as a whimsical flight of fancy.
While you can have any number of players in a game of Uno, the AirConsole version caps out at just four at once. However, as all the participants will need to view the tablet-sized monitor in the vehicle’s dashboard to see the central discard pile, I expect that will feel like more than enough.
“Since 2022, the partnership between the BMW Group and AirConsole has been pioneering in-car gaming”, according to a joint press statement I assume is making the founders of BMW turn over in their graves. UNO Car Party! will “roll out via the AirConsole platform to over 500,000 BMW and MINI vehicles over-the-air on August 21”.
While this product is risible, I admire AirConsole’s hustle. The videogame industry has been a blood bath for two years, and I have to hope that this partnership will help the game developers to pay their rent. The console itself seems quite sensible: huge parts of the world game primarily via their mobile device, and Jackbox Party Pack and its ilk have proven just how popular couch co-op multiplayer is with general audiences when it’s delivered through a familiar interface.
But the phrase “Come on kids, grab your mobiles and get in the Beemer, we’re going to play Uno” will only be uttered by human lips when a video content creator learns about this farce and decides to satirise it.
For other games you can play on a mobile phone, no car required, make sure you visit Wargamer’s sister site Pocket Tactics – they even have a guide to the best mobile multiplayer games. If you want some analogue thrills, we have guides to the best board games. And if you’re absolutely determined to play games in a car, we can also recommend the best travel board games for your next road trip.
Source: Wargamer
