Uno is one of the most popular card games out there, and luckily the rules to Uno are pretty simple and easy to learn. The game is made for audiences seven years and older and is playable by 2 to 10 players. For these reasons, Uno is a fantastic easy game for family game nights or as a classic party game.
In this post, we will go over the rules of Uno as well as some of the different Uno games out there.
Each player gets seven cards, dealt one at a time and face-down. The remaining cards form a draw pile placed in the center of the table, equidistant from each player. Next to the draw pile is the discard pile. The top card of the draw pile is flipped and forms the discard pile. This action begins the game.
There are three customizable cards included with the game. Players can make up their own symbols and rules, and add the mat to their games.
Uno is a popular game that is played very similarly to Crazy Eights. The rules for Uno are pretty simple and the entire family can get involved in playing.
Once you get to know the Uno rules, make sure to start employing some Uno strategy as well!
In Uno, the player to the dealer’s left starts the game, and the play moves clockwise. Players examine their cards and try to match the top card of the discard. Cards match by color, number, or action. For example, if the top card of the discard is a blue 5, a player can play any blue card or any color card with a 5. Players may play Wild cards at any time, and the player may choose to change the leading color with it.
If a player cannot match or does not wish to match, they must draw from the draw pile. If a player can play a card, doing so is in your best interest. Either way, after play moves to the next person. Some variants require players to draw cards until they can play one, up to 10 cards.
NOTE: If the first card flipped from the draw to the discard (which initiates the game) is an action card, the first player will complete the action. The only exceptions are if wild cards or wild card draw four is flipped. If this occurs, reshuffle the cards and start again.
If the draw pile is ever exhausted, remove the top card from the discard. Shuffle the discard thoroughly, and it will be the new draw pile. Continue playing on the single card from the discard as usual.
Reverse: Switches the directions of turns. If the play is moving left, it moves right.
Skip: The next player skips their turn.
Draw Two: The next player must draw two cards AND lose their turn.
Wild: This card can represent any color card. The player who plays it must declare which color it represents for the next player’s turn. A player may play this card at any time.
Wild Draw Four: This acts like a wild card, but the next player must draw four cards and lose their turn. A player may play this card only when no other card in hand matches. It is strategic to keep this in hand as long as possible.
Wild Shuffle Hands: There is only one of these cards in each deck. They were recently added as well, as the deck from before 2018 does not have a copy. This card acts like a wild, but all cards from all players are taken and shuffled and, as evenly as possible, dealt to each player, starting with the player to the left of the current player. That same player then chooses the new color.
Newer Uno decks have wild cards with a blank space that is meant to be written on. This means you can use a pencil (or pen if you are confident) to write some fun “house rules” on your Uno Wild Cards. The world is your oyster, and there really isn’t any limit to what you can write on the card.
Play continues until a player has a single card. They must declare, “UNO!” They must draw two cards if they have an uno and do not declare it before other players notice. Anytime you have a single card left, you must call it out. After one player has no cards, the round finishes, and players tally scores. The game repeats. Typically, players will play until someone reaches 500+ points.
When the game ends, the winner receives points. All their opponents’ cards are collected and given to the winner. The player tallies their score.
Number Cards: face value
Draw 2/Reverse/Skip: 20 points
Wild/Wild Draw 4: 50 points
Wild Shuffle Hands/Wild Custom Cards: 40 points
The winner is the first player to reach 500 points – or whatever the mutually agreed upon target score is -.
Uno Dou is the ultimate experience for two players. Using a standard Uno deck you can play Uno with just one other player. The game starts using drafting mechanics to determine players’ opening hands. Use strategy to be the first player to empty their hand each round. The winner has the lowest score. The first to have 200 or more points loses.
The game Uno Stacko is a beautiful mix of Uno and Jenga. Stack a tower high of blocks covered with traditional uno symbols. You must remove your blocks based on the last one pulled when playing. Be careful; knocking over the tower ends the game. The winner will be the last player to place a block successfully.
The game Uno Triple Play has players discarding into three different discard piles. As they play, the discard piles will begin to become overloaded. If you overload a tray, you must draw! The first player to empty their hand is the winner!
The game Uno Mario Kart has new action cards and themes around the wonderful Nintendo classic Mario Kart. Players will be competing to empty their hands first during the rounds. The winner of the game will be the first player to reach 500 or more points.
In the game Uno All Wilds, all the cards are wild! The cards are all playable after any other card, making this a fun but chaotic game. There are new action cards, such as a targeted draw two and the ability to swap hands! The first player to reach 500 points or more wins the game!
The game Uno Showdown adds some fast-paced sun with the showdown feature. When players initiate a showdown, they must race to be the first player to hit their paddle. This action sends cards flying at their opponent that they must add to their hand. The first player to reach 500 points is the winner.
The game Uno Ultimate Marvel adds so much more to the game. With superheroes and special powers donning the cards, elevating the game. Players will now be fighting villains and weathering epic events. Be the first player to empty their hand to be the winner!
Another similar game to Uno is Phase 10, which is a rummy style game also published by Mattel!
This rule is a house rule that is optional to play with. When a 7 card is played, that player may choose another player to switch hands with you. In addition, when playing a 0, all players pass their hands one to the left.
Yes, the last card you play may be a wild card. Remember to call Uno when you have only one card remaining!
Uno is a card game for as few as 2 players and as many as 10 players.
Amber (They/Them) is an Austin writer and gaming connoisseur. A self-proclaimed gaming master with a love for dogs, plants, and D&D.
Latest posts by Amber Crook (see all)Thank you for sharing the rules! Very clear! I also checked out the reference which is great. 🙂 Besides that, I found another source with an very extensive FAQ to solve questions that might be the result of different gameplays: unorules.org/faq
Amber Crook Hi John, thanks for the info! What is the material of playing cards made from? Amber CrookHi Ps, I researched this for you and found standard plating cards are made up of layers of paper called pasteboards. I hope this helps.
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