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UNO
The world's most famous card game, where you chain cards of the same color or the same number to empty your hand first. The rule that forces you to shout 'UNO!' when you're down to one card, plus the constant pressure from Reverse, Skip, and Draw cards, is why it has worked for half a century.
Rules
Match the discard pile by color, number, or symbol and be the first to empty your hand in this world-famous card game. Reverse, Skip, and Draw cards create constant pressure, and Wild Draw 4's color call has kept it popular for over fifty years.
Components — 112 cards
| Card | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Number cards (0–9) | 76 | 4 colors (blue, green, red, yellow) × 19 each; one 0 and two of each 1–9 per color |
| Draw 2 | 8 | 2 per color. The next player draws 2 cards and loses their turn |
| Reverse | 8 | 2 per color. Reverses the direction of play |
| Skip | 8 | 2 per color. Skips the next player's turn |
| Wild | 4 | Lets you name any color |
| Wild Draw 4 | 4 | Names a color and forces the next player to draw 4 cards and lose their turn |
| Blank cards | 4 | Replace a lost or damaged card, or write in a custom house rule |
Supports 2–10 players
The official rules support 2 to 10 players. More players means less hand coverage and a bigger impact from Draw cards.
Setup
- 1Each player draws a card. The highest value becomes the dealer.
- 2The dealer shuffles and deals 7 cards to each player.
- 3Place the remaining cards face down as the draw pile, then flip the top card to start the discard pile.
- 4If the first flipped card is a Wild or Wild Draw 4, return it to the deck and draw another.
If the starting card is an action card
If the revealed card is a Skip, Reverse, or Draw 2, apply its effect as play begins (see the Special Cards section).
Taking a turn
- 1Play starts with the player to the dealer's left and moves to the left.
- 2Play a card matching the discard pile's color, number, or symbol. Wild and Wild Draw 4 may be played at any time.
- 3If you have nothing to play, draw 1 card from the draw pile. You may play it immediately if it's playable; otherwise play passes to the next player.
- 4When you have only 1 card left, you must say "UNO" before playing it.
You may also renege
You may choose not to play a playable card and draw from the draw pile instead. If that drawn card is playable you may play it, but you may not also play another card from your hand that same turn.
Special cards — Skip, Reverse, Draw 2, Wild
| Card | Effect |
|---|---|
| Skip | Skips the next player's turn. If turned up at the start, the player to the dealer's left is skipped. |
| Reverse | Reverses the direction of play. If turned up at the start, the dealer plays first. |
| Draw 2 | The next player draws 2 cards and loses their turn. Only playable on a matching color or another Draw 2. |
| Wild | Names the next color to be played. May be played even if you have another playable card. |
| Wild Draw 4 | Names a color and forces the next player to draw 4 cards and lose their turn. Playable only when you hold no card matching the current color (a matching number or symbol in a different color is fine). |
Stacking Draw cards is not an official rule
Playing a matching Draw card in response to pass its effect onward ("stacking") is a widespread house rule with no basis in the official rulesheet. Officially, a player who draws from a Draw card simply draws and loses their turn.
Wild Draw 4 — legality and challenges
Wild Draw 4 may be played only when you hold no card matching the discard pile's current color. A card with a matching number or symbol in a different color does not disqualify you.
- 1The player who must draw 4 may immediately challenge if they suspect the rule was broken.
- 2The challenged player must reveal their hand.
- 3If they did hold a matching-color card (guilty), they draw the 4 cards instead.
- 4If they did not (not guilty), the challenger draws the 4 cards plus 2 more, for 6 total.
- 5Only the player required to draw the 4 cards may make the challenge.
The same applies at the start of the game
If the first discard is a Wild Draw 4, return it to the deck and reveal another card. A Wild stays in place, and the player to the dealer's left chooses the starting color.
Saying "UNO" and the penalty
- 1The instant you are down to 1 card, you must say "UNO" before that card touches the discard pile.
- 2If you forget but catch yourself before anyone else does, you are safe with no penalty.
- 3If another player catches you before the next player begins their turn (by drawing or playing), you must draw 4 more cards.
- 4Once the next player has begun their turn, the missed call can no longer be challenged.
The penalty is 4 cards, not 2
The official rulesheet specifies "FOUR more cards" for a missed UNO call. It is commonly misremembered as 2, but the official figure is 4.
Scoring — the official 500-point rule
A round ends the instant someone empties their hand. The winner scores every point remaining in the other players' hands.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Number cards (0–9) | Face value |
| Draw 2 · Reverse · Skip | 20 each |
| Wild · Wild Draw 4 | 50 each |
First to 500 wins the game
Scores accumulate across rounds, and the first player to reach 500 points wins the whole game. If the draw pile runs out before anyone reaches 500, reshuffle the discard pile and continue the round.
Ending a round and restarting
After a round ends, the player who emptied their hand records everyone else's scores, and all cards are gathered and reshuffled for the next round. This repeats until someone reaches 500.
If the last card played was a Draw 2 or Wild Draw 4, apply its effect (the next player draws 2 or 4) before tallying the score.
Strategy straight from the rules
- Number cards cost little if you're caught holding them, but action and Wild cards cost 20–50 points each, so play them off first.
- Wild Draw 4 is legal only when you hold no card of the current color, so keeping a spread of colors in hand can keep that option available — or unavailable to you when you'd rather not use it.
- To follow up on your own Draw 2 or Wild Draw 4 pressure, you need to be holding a matching card for your next turn, since stacking isn't an option.
- Make a habit of saying "UNO" the instant you reach 1 card to avoid the 4-card penalty.
Official variants — two players, partners, Challenge UNO
| Variant | Key difference |
|---|---|
| Two-player rules | Reverse acts like a Skip, letting the player go again immediately. Skip works the same way. After a Draw 2 or Wild Draw 4, the opponent draws and play returns to you. |
| Partners (4 players) | Players seated across from each other are partners. When either partner goes out, the round ends and the opposing team's combined hand points go to the winning team. |
| Four-player individual play | Each player tracks separate scores against each of the other three (12 hands total); whoever wins the most hands wins. |
| Eight players, two tables | Two tables of four play so that every player partners with every other player once (28 hands total), scored as above. |
| Challenge UNO | Each player accumulates a running total of the points they're caught holding. Reaching a set target (500 is suggested) eliminates that player. The last two play head-to-head, and whoever reaches the target first loses. |
Stacking and post-2022 packaging are outside this guide
Stacking Draw cards onto each other is a popular house rule that Mattel has publicly denied as official. Some newer packaging and wiki summaries also describe a simpler single-round win with no 500-point tally, but this guide follows the 500-point accumulation rule confirmed in the official rulesheet above.
Frequently confused rules
Q. Can Wild Draw 4 be played at any time?
No. It's legal only when you hold no card matching the discard pile's current color. A matching number or symbol in a different color does not disqualify it.
Q. What happens if a Wild Draw 4 is suspected of being illegal?
Only the player who must draw may challenge. The player who played it reveals their hand: if they held a matching-color card, they draw the 4 cards instead; if not, the challenger draws 4 plus 2 more, for 6 total.
Q. How many cards do I draw for not saying "UNO"?
4 cards, if caught before the next player's turn begins. It is often misremembered as 2, but the official figure is 4.
Q. Can I stack a Draw 2 on a Draw 2 to pass it along?
Not officially. A player who draws from a Draw card simply draws and loses their turn. Stacking is a house rule that Mattel has stated is not official.
Q. Can I draw instead of playing a card I'm able to play?
Yes, this is the reneging rule. You may then play the drawn card if it's playable, but you may not also play a different card from your hand that same turn.
Q. What happens if Reverse or Skip is played in a two-player game?
Under the two-player variant, both effectively work the same way — the player who played it immediately plays again.
Q. Does winning one round win the whole game?
No. Officially, the round winner scores the other players' remaining hand points, and the game is won by whoever first reaches 500 points across rounds.
History and editions
Merle Robbins created the game in 1971 in Ohio. Robert Tezak later bought the rights and built International Games around it; Mattel acquired International Games in 1992 and has published UNO ever since.
Numerous spin-off editions have followed, including Uno Attack, Uno Flip, Uno Spin, and Uno H2O, and the Wild-card family itself was revised in 2015 and 2017 with hand-swapping Wild cards. This guide covers only the 112-card base game, not those spin-offs.
As of 2026-10-10, Namuwiki carries general coverage of UNO, but this guide did not fully cross-check Korean retail and distribution details. No official Korean rulesheet text was located.
Sources
Mattel — official UNO rulebook (instruction sheet, code 42001pr)BoardGameGeek 2223 — UNOWiki cross-check — Wikipedia: Uno (card game)Wiki cross-check — Namuwiki search: coverage limited to general mentions (2026-10-10)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-10-10
💡 Master tip
Save Wild Draw 4 not as a finishing blow but as an escape hatch for when you have no matching color. If an opponent keeps drawing on a certain color, holding onto that color is the cheapest way to keep the pressure on them.
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