UNO/Official Rules

This section of the UNO wikibook will detail the official rules of the game, as of the 2018 rules update. The goal of the game is to discard all of the cards in your hand.

UNO is played using a specially printed deck of 112 cards, including 25 each of four different colours: red, blue, green and yellow.

Each colour has 19 number cards, consisting of one zero and two of one through nine. There are also two per colour of the three action cards - Draw Two, Reverse and Skip.

The deck also includes eight Wild cards - four standard Wilds and four Wild Draw Fours.

UNO sets manufactured post-2018 will also include one Wild Shuffle Hands card and three Wild Customisable Cards.

To begin the game, one player is selected to be the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals seven cards to each player, setting the remaining cards face down on the table as a draw pile. The top card from the draw pile is flipped over and placed next to the draw pile, face up to start the discard pile. If this starting card is an action or Wild card, the action or Wild is ignored and another card is flipped until a number card comes up.

The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn, then play initially proceeds clockwise.

On a player's turn, that player must play one card from their hand to the discard pile. The card being placed must match the current card on top of the discard pile by having either the same number, colour or symbol. For example, if a yellow 5 is on top of the discard pile, the player must either play a yellow card or any colour 5. Alternatively, the player may put down a Wild card if they have one (this will be explained later).

If a player does not have a card in their hand that can match the card in the discard pile, or they do not want to play a card, the player must draw one card from the draw pile. If this card matches the card on top of the discard pile, the player may play the card they just drew as part of their turn. Otherwise, play passes to the next player.

When a player plays an action card, an action will be performed corresponding to the type of card. There are seven different types of action cards (five with the pre-2018 deck):

When this card is played the next player in turn order must draw two cards from the draw pile and lose their turn.

When this card is played the direction of play reverses and passes in the opposite direction. If play was originally passing clockwise then it changes to passing counterclockwise, and vice versa.

When this card is played the next player in turn order loses their turn.

This card can be played on top of any other card. In addition, the player who put down this card must declare one of the four colours to resume play with, and only cards of that colour may be placed on top of the Wild.

The most powerful card in the deck, this card plays like a normal Wild, with the addition that the next player in turn order must draw four cards and lose their turn.

However... there is a catch. A player may only legally play a Wild Draw Four if they do not have any cards in their hand that match the colour of the card on top of the discard pile (Wild cards count as a match).

If a player suspects a Wild Draw Four was played on them illegally (i.e. the previous player had a card matching the colour of the top of the discard pile), that player may challenge the Wild Draw Four. If they so do, the opponent being challenged must reveal their hand. If the challenger was correct in their accusation, the opponent must draw the four cards instead. However, if the challenger was incorrect then they must draw the four cards plus two penalty cards, for six total. Whatever the result of a challenge, the player who played the Wild Draw Four selects the colour that resumes play.

This card is one of two Wilds introduced in the 2018 update. When played, the player who played the card must gather all of the cards in all of the players' hands and shuffle them. Then they must deal the cards out, starting with the player on their left and passing clockwise. However, the current direction of play is retained. The player who played the Wild Shuffle Hands selects the colour that resumes play.

This card is the other Wild introduced in the 2018 update. As their name suggests these Wild cards are customisable. They have an empty white space in the centre that allows for a house rule of the players’ choice to be written. When a Wild Customisable is played the house rule written on it is performed and then the player who played the Wild Customisable selects the colour that resumes play.

The pre- and post-2018 UNO rulesets differ on what to do if an action card is the first card flipped to start the game. The pre-2018 rules apply the effect of the action card to the player left of the dealer, as follows:

• If a Draw Two comes up, the first player draws two cards and loses their turn.
• If a Reverse comes up, the direction of play immediately reverses - the dealer plays first, then play proceeds counterclockwise.
• If a Skip comes up, the first player loses their turn and the player after them plays.
• If a Wild comes up, the first player is allowed to select the colour that begins play.
• If a Wild Draw Four comes up, the card is returned to the deck and a new card is flipped in its place.

As already stated, the post-2018 rules do not allow action or Wild cards to start the game. If one is flipped as the first card the action or Wild is ignored and another card is flipped. If this too is an action or Wild, keep flipping until a number card comes up.

When a player discards their penultimate card and is left with only one card, they must call "UNO" (Spanish for "one") to alert the others they are about to win. If they forget to call "UNO" and are caught before the next player plays a card, the player who forgot to call "UNO" must draw two penalty cards.

Once a player discards the last card in their hand, they win the game.

There is an optional victory condition, which is to play for points. When this victory condition is being used, the player who discards their last card does not win the game instantly - instead, they score points for all of the cards in their opponents' hands, as follows:

• Number cards are worth their face value.
• Non-wild action cards are worth twenty points.
• Wild cards are worth fifty points.

Note that if the last card played is a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four, the next player must draw the appropriate number of cards before points are tallied.

After points are scored, if no player has reached 500 points the deck is shuffled and a new round begins. If a player reaches 500 points, they win the game.