The Basics of UNO

• Here are the 112 cards:
• Nineteen (9) Blue Cards
• Zero to nineteen for green cards
• Zero to nineteen red cards.
• 19 cautions, all yellow.
• There are 8 skip cards total; 2 each of blue, green, red, and yellow.
• Two each of blue, green, red, and yellow make up the eight reversible cards.
• Take two of each color from the deck, totaling eight cards.
• Four aces in the hole
• Four Card Wild Draw
• A Deck of 4 Empty Cards
• Instructions

Points are awarded to the player who plays all of their cards before the end of each round. The winner is the first player to reach 500 points.

Setup

A card is dealt to each player. The highest-scoring player acts as dealer. Mix up the cards Each player receives a hand of 7 cards.

Form a draw pile with the remaining cards by placing them face down. To start a discard pile, use the top card of the draw pile. Reverse the top card and draw a new one if it's a Wild or Wild Draw 4. Instructions for all other cards are below.

Different Cards

Two-Card Draw

This card's effect is to force the next player to draw two cards and pass their turn if played.

The first player must draw two cards if this card is face up to start the game. You can only play this card on a card of the same color, or a Draw 2 card.

Card Turnaround

The flow of play is flipped with this card. What was once played to the left now goes to the right.

If this card is exposed at the start of play, the player to your right plays first, and play proceeds to your right rather than to your left.

Playing this card requires either a matching color or a Reverse card.

Skip Card

After this card is played, the next player in turn order does not get to play and is "skipped."

In the event that this card is revealed at the start of a hand, play will begin with the player to the dealer's left.

You can only play this card on a card of the same color, or a different Skip card.

Wild Card

Whenever this card is played, the player may switch the color of the currently played card to any other color. If you have more than one playable card in your hand, you may still use a Wild card.

The player to the dealer's left determines the color and plays the first card if this card is face up to start the game.

Draw 4 Cards at Random

With this card, you can predict the color of the next card played, but the player after you must take four cards from the DRAW pile and pass. But there's a catch

This card can only be played if the player does not have another card in their hand of the same color as the card that was just played. If this card is face up at the start of play, put it back in the deck and draw a new one.

Important: If a player has a "Wild Draw 4" card but no matching number or word card, they may still play it. You may challenge another player if you believe they have used an illegal Wild Draw 4 card.

When a player is challenged, he or she must reveal his or her hand to the challenger. The accused must show his or her four cards if the challenge is successful. If the challenged player is innocent, the challenger must draw all four cards plus two more.

Only the player who must draw all four cards can accept the challenge.

Why do we need so many extra cards?

Blank Card

You have two options for using this special card. The Blank Card can be used to replace any card in your UNO deck that has been lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair.

If you're playing solitaire and realize you're short a yellow 7, you can easily replace it by shuffling in a yellow Blank Card that you've marked with a "7."

Blank Cards can be used to record house rules for UNO games, which can then be shuffled into the main deck.

Game Play

It begins with the player's left of the dealer. The ball is passed left to start play. Find a card in your deck that has the same value as the top card in the DISCARD pile.

A Green 7 would require a Green card, or a 7 of any color, to be played. A Wild card or Wild Draw 4 card can also be played. Without a matching card, you must select one from the DRAW pile. If you get a playable card, use it.

If not, the next player takes their turn. Say "UNO" before playing your next-to-last card. If a player catches you with only one card and you didn't say UNO, you have to take FOUR more cards from the DRAW pile before the next player's turn begins.

As long as you are not caught before the next player draws from the DRAW pile or plays a card from their hand, you can avoid drawing the extra cards. The hand ends when a player plays their last card. The score is tallied (for more on this, see "Scoring"), and play begins once more.

Going Out

You can avoid the four-card penalty if you fail to say "UNO" before placing your card on the DISCARD pile, but then "catch" yourself before any other player does.

No player may be disqualified for forgetting to yell "UNO." Until the player's second-to-last card is placed in the DISCARD stack Also, once the next player's turn has begun, it is too late to penalize someone for forgetting to say it. When you "begin a turn," you can do one of two things: draw a card from the DRAW pile, or play a card from your hand.

If a Draw 2 card or Wild Draw 4 card is played as the final card in a hand, the next player must draw 2 or 4 cards, respectively. When determining a winner, these cards are factored in.

When the DRAW pile is gone, reshuffle the discards and keep going if nobody has run out of cards.

Scoring

In this card game, the first player to get rid of all their cards wins points equal to the number of cards still in the other players' hands. Keep track of your hand totals using the score pad. Here's how much each card is worth:

All nines and zeros Face Value Draw 2 20 Points Reverse 20 Points Skip 20 Points Wild 50 Points Draw #4 in the Wild 50 Points Blank

To win, you need to be the first to score 500 points. But the points each player is caught with at the end of each hand can be tallied to determine who wins.

When a score of 500 is reached, the player with the fewest points is declared the victor.

Reneging

A playable card in your hand is not required to be played. A card from the DRAW pile must be drawn if this is the case. If a card is playable, it can be used, but any cards in your hand are off limits once you've drawn a new one.

Explore Alternative UNO Editions

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