This Big List of Games to play with UNO Cards

Fast Fun for Everyone  2 to 10 players ages 7 and up

The card game Uno turns 50 years old this year. Happy birthday Uno! And it feels like in the last 50 years everyone has played at least one game of this classic game. It has an endless number of editions–Disney, Mario Brothers, Minecraft, Harry Potter, Marvel, the list goes on and on. But most people don’t know all the rules. And having been around for 50 years, there have been many new variations of Uno made up to increase the fun of this classic game. In this post we’ll cover the original Uno Rules as well as the new rules for many variations.

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Original Uno

First, the rules for the original Uno game state that 7 cards are to be dealt to each player. The rest are stacked in the middle of the playing area with the top card flipped over. Next, players take turns matching either the colour or the number on the discard pile. If a player doesn’t have a card that they can play, he picks up one card off the draw pile, playing if it’s possible or ending his turn if he still can’t play.

Of course there are the special cards.

Skip – when the skip card is played the next player misses a turn.

Reverse – when the reverse card is play the direction of play changes. If it had been going clockwise, it is now going counterclockwise.

Draw Two – to play this card, a player must match the colour of the discard. The next player has to pick up two cards from the draw pile and add them to her hand. This is that player’s whole turn. She can not place a card on the discard pile.

Wild – this is the black card that has the four colours in the middle. As the name implies, it can be played at any time and the player gets to choose the new colour of play.

Wild Draw Four – this card allows the player who played it to pick the new colour. However, this card can only be played when a player has no matching cards in her hand. The next player has to draw four cards from the draw pile to add to his hand. Similar to the Draw two card, drawing four cards is the whole player’s turn. The player whose turn it is next when a draw four card is played may challenge the player if he thinks that she has played it illegally. The pentelity for playing the draw four card is having to pick up four cards to add to your hand. On the other hand, if a player has challenged and lost, he must pick up six cards to add to his hand.

One of the classic moves in Uno is calling out Uno when you have only one remaining card. If a player doesn’t call out Uno before the next player plays, then she must pick up two cards from the draw pile so she now has three cards instead of one.  Once a player is out of cards the round is over and scoring happens.

Scoring

Yes, there is scoring in Uno. Who knew?

When a player goes out, he gets the points that the other players have in their hands.

Face cards are worth their face value.
Skip cards are worth 20 points.
Reverse cards are worth 20 points.
Draw Two are worth 20 points.
Wild cards are worth 50 points.
Wild Draw Four cards are also worth 50 points.

Winning Uno

The player who reaches 500 points is the winner.

Alternatives

There are many variations of Uno. We’ll go over a list of some that are popular.

Alternative Score from Mattel

The most popular variation of Uno is from Mattel. Play is the same as the original Uno game. The difference comes in when scoring happens. Instead of the player who goes out gaining the points, each player keeps their own points. The game is over when one player reaches 500 points therefore losing the game.

Uno Teams

This game is best played with four people. The game is played the same, using the Mattel scoring, however when your partner goes out, you also get to score zero points. At the end of each round, players rotate teams. The player with the least amount of points after 6, 9 or 12 rounds wins. Or you could play until one player reaches 500 points. When playing with younger kids teams wouldn’t have to rotate. Either way, Uno Teams would be great for kids just learning how to play card games.

Face Up Uno

The variation of Uno that is called Face Up Uno is played the same as the original with one twist: the cards are dealt face up and placed on the table in front of each player. This adds a different level of strategy.

Spicy Uno

When I first heard of Spicy Uno my mind instantly thought it wasn’t for kids. However, I assure you that Spicy Uno rules are indeed family friendly.

Spicy Uno is played with same as Orinigal with a few rule additions.

Playing a 6 – If a 6 is played then all players must slap the six with their hand. The last player to do so has to draw two cards for their hand.
Playing a 7 – When a 7 is played, everyone must be silent. The silent treatment is conitued until the next 7 is played. If someone speaks during the silent time, then they must draw one card for their hand.
Playing a 0 – If a player puts down a 0 he may trade hands with any other player. This is optional.

The Draw Cards

Playing Draw 2– Draw Two cards have two rules. First, when one is played the next player does not have to draw two cards if she has a draw 2 card herself. Instead, she places the draw two card on top of the first one. This continues until someone doesn’t have a card and has to pick up. The second rule is that when a player doesn’t have a draw two cards, any other player can pass him a card facedown. The player can choose to accept it or not. The card does not have to be a draw two card, making it a risky decision.

Playing Draw 4 – Draw four cards have the same rules as the draw two cards.
Identical cards. If you have an identical card as was just played you can go ahead and place it on top. It does not have to be your turn. When this happens, play continues with the player whose turn is after the player who put the second card down.

Scoring and other cards are the same as the original.

See? Family friendly and Spicy Uno has some unique rules that keep the excitement going.

Deadly Uno

In Deadly Uno play is the same as the original game with one difference. When a player can not put down a card, he is out of the round and whatever cards are in his hand are his score. Talk about pressure.

Killer Uno

Who knew there were so many unsavory variations of Uno? In Killer Uno the rules are the same. The differences are that when a green 0 is played everyone passes their hand to the next player. If you have two cards that are the same you can play the together (so if you have a red 5 and a blue 5 you can play them at the same time). The next difference is that if you can’t play you keep drawing cards until you can play. Another one is if you have the identical card that has been played, you can play out of turn and play continues from there. The last difference is that if someone calls your Uno before you do, you have to draw two cards.

Pirate Uno

Pirate Uno is the cheekiest variation of Uno. For the most part the original rules apply with a few exceptions.

First, a player can play more than one Draw two cards and they add up. So if a player plays two draw two cards, the next player has to draw four cards into his hand.

Second, if a player plays a 7 she can choose to switch hands with another player.

Next, if a 0 is played then all players pass their hands in the direction of lay (so if play was going clockwise, everyone passes their cards to the player on their left).

The last rule is that you must cheat in any way that you can. After all, you are pirates. Some suggestions is hiding cards, playing when it’s not your turn, playing two cards at a time, you know the stuff. Now this can cause the game to be a bit rowdy, especially since you are to play using a lot of “arrs” and pirate talk. Pirate Uno is great for loud crazy family fun nights.

House Rules Uno

The Uno variation of House Rules is played with the original rules—at least for the first round. The winner of the round that has just been oplayed is now the Uno Master and choose one rule to be added to the next round. This can be anything from “ever time a green five is played you have to give me a compliment” to “you have to do 4 jumping jacks if you play a yellow four.” The new rules could be to undo the rule before it too. Rules can be set for one round or they can be for every round following them depending on the ages and memories of the players. Be sure to read all the Uno variations in this post to get ideas for new rules.

Add It Up Uno

In this variation of Uno, all rules are the same as original with one change. A player can add up their cards to equal the card on the discard pile. The colours must still match. An example would be if a green 9 is on the discard pile and a player could play a green 3 and a green 6 to add up to 9. Add It Up Uno can make for quicker rounds as well as some sneaky math practice.

Wild Winning Uno

If you’ve played Uno a lot, you know that an easy win is to keep a wild card as your last card. But does anyone like winning that way? It certainly takes the challenge out of  the game. To combat this, Wild Winning Uno does not allow for a player to win this way. Instead, if you have a wild card as your last card you must draw two cars into your hand. That would fix that for sure.

Solitaire Uno

Uno means one so why not try playing alone? To play Solitaire Uno, you deal 20 cards in a stack and flip one over for the discard. You then hold your stack with only one card showing. If you can play, great. On the other hand if you can’t take the top card and place it at the back of your stack. If you’re sure don’t have a card that you can lay in your stack, you draw cards until you can play. You win when you have no more cards in your stack. Keep track of how many cards it took you if you want a challenge. Otherwise, Solitaire Uno sounds like a great way to entrain the kids when you just have to do something else.

You Know

This last variation of Uno is the most unique one on the list. In You Know Uno, cards are dealt and players hold them facing out so they can’t see what cards they have. On your turn you must choose a card from someone else’s hand to play.

When there is no card that can be played on your turn the next player draws a card to add to her hand. If it is a playable card, then you can pick it and play it. If not, then the player after her draws a card. This continues until someone can draws a card that can be played.

As usual, a draw four card can only be played when no other card can be played.

The next thing that is unique is winning, sort of. The winner of You Know Uno is the player who is the first to have no cards. With one exception. If the last card that you hold is a draw card and the player before you plays is, you not do win, instead you have to draw either two or four cards as directed. This variation of Uno is unique for sure but will for sure mix up your family game night!

Free Booklet with All the Variations

Who knew there were so many different ways to play this classic game! Here at Family Game Shelf we’ve found some new favorites and have created a free Uno printable booklet that you can print, fold and keep right in your Uno box. Visit the Fun Library to get yours. You can get your password in the black box below.

Did we miss a variation that you love? Leave us a comment and tell us about it!

Conclusion

Uno is a long standing favorite with families everywhere. If you don’t have time (or attention span) for a full game, you can just play Uno in single rounds. Adding scoring adds a new dimension to the game and a refreshing challenge to a family who has played one too many times. And for families that love the game and want to mix things up even more, there are lots of variations to the Original Uno rules. Dig out those Uno cards from you Family Game Shelf and deal a game of Uno for your next family game night.

Need a new set of Uno cards? Update yours here. Canadines can Get theirs here. Or check out the other Uno options here.

Get the Free Uno Ultimate list printable here so you can keep the rules handy anytimes you want ot play Uno and mix it up!

Looking for more fun with cards? Visit our card games. For even more fun see our dice games and game reviews too!