Uno (game)

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Uno

The game of Uno.
Players 2 +
Age range 5 +
Setup time < 1 min
Playing time > 5 minutes
Random chance Medium
Skills required Saving important cards; knowing when to put down those cards.
A deck of English Uno cards from 1995. Notice that letters are used instead of symbols.
A deck of English Uno cards from 1995. Notice that letters are used instead of symbols.
Special action cards from an old-style non-English deck. L-R: Skip, Reverse, Wild, Draw Two, and Wild Draw Four.
Special action cards from an old-style non-English deck. L-R: Skip, Reverse, Wild, Draw Two, and Wild Draw Four.

Uno (Spanish, Italian "one") is a card game played with a specially printed deck (see Mau Mau for an almost identical game played with normal playing cards). The game was originally developed in 1971 by Merle Robbins. It is now a Mattel product. The game's general principles put it into the Crazy Eights family of card games. Despite being developed in America, Uno is officially pronounced exactly the same way as the Italian and Spanish word for "one", uno.

Contents

[edit] Official rules

The custom deck consists of cards of 4 suits (colors): red, green, blue, and yellow. The ranks in each suit are 0-9. There are 2 "honor" cards in each suit, labeled "skip", "draw two", and "reverse". There are special black cards, "wild" and "wild draw four". There are two copies of each regular and honor card, except for the 0s, which only have one per suit. There are four "wild" and "wild draw four" cards each, producing a total of 108 cards.

To start the game, seven cards are dealt to each player, and the top card of the stock is exposed to start the discard pile. If the exposed card has a special ability, it is treated as if the dealer played that card, and the special effect occurs (i.e., skip, draw two, reverse, or wild). If the exposed card is a wild draw four, however, it is returned to the deck and the next card is exposed.

At each turn, a player may play a card from their hand that matches the suit or rank of the top exposed card, or play a wild or wild draw four. If a player has no legal card to play, that player draws the top card of the stock, and may either play it or place it in their hand. A player may choose to draw the top card of the stock even if they have a legal play (known as reneging), but after having drawn the top card of the stock only that card may be played that turn (a player may intentionally do this when desperate to keep another player from going out). After playing a single card or drawing, the next player clockwise takes a turn, unless a reverse is in effect. If the stock is emptied, the discard pile is shuffled and turned over to replenish the stock.

The hand ends when a player plays all their cards. When a player plays down to only one card, that player is required to say "uno". If another player catches someone not calling "uno" (after the second to last card touches the discard pile but before the next player starts their turn), then that player must draw two cards.

After a player plays all of their cards, the other players count the number of points pertaining to the values of the cards in their hands. Number cards are face value (with zero cards worth ten), coloured special cards worth twenty, and wilds worth fifty. When the number for one of the players reaches or exceeds a certain value (500 is customary), the player with the fewest points wins.

[edit] Special cards

Image
(New,
English)		 Image
(Old,
English)		 Image
(Old, non-
English)		 Card Description
Draw two The next player must draw two cards and lose their turn. Many people play with a cumulative draw rule (see below) although this is not an official rule.
Skip The next player must skip their turn.
Reverse The order of play is reversed from clockwise to counterclockwise, or from counterclockwise to clockwise. If there are only two players, reverse acts as a skip.
Wild The person playing it names a color, and the next legal play must be that color, unless another wild is played.
Wild draw four Acts like a wild, but the next player must draw four cards and skip their turn. This card may only be played if the player holding it doesn't have any card matching the current color.
Uno being played in Windows Live Messenger.
Uno being played in Windows Live Messenger.

Note: The newer style English Uno action cards bear symbols which denote their action, except for the Wild cards which still bear the word "Wild." Before the design change, such cards in English versions of the game bear letters. Other versions also use symbols and images in both old and new designs, especially those with Wild cards that do not bear the word "Wild." The Xbox 360 version of the game uses the new English style of the cards in gameplay.

[edit] Penalties

If any player fails to say "uno", then another player may force him or her to draw two penalty cards ("Challenge Uno"). If nobody notices the failure to say uno before the next player takes another turn, there is no penalty. The penalty for calling a false "uno" is that the player has to draw three cards.

If a player gives card-play suggestions, he or she must draw two cards.

If a player plays an illegal card, he or she must draw two cards.

If a player plays a wild draw four card when he has a playable card in his hand, he can be challenged by the player having to draw the four cards. If he or she played the card correctly, the challenging player must draw six cards instead of four. If the player playing the card cheated, he or she has to draw four penalty cards.

If a player plays a Reverse or Skip card in a two player game, and has no playable card to go after it, he or she must draw two penalty cards from the deck.

[edit] Common variants

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This article has been tagged since January 2007.
There are many implementations of Uno. As an example, #unochan on irc.rizon.net is a Internet Relay Chat version of Uno with support for multiple human players.
There are many implementations of Uno. As an example, #unochan on irc.rizon.net is a Internet Relay Chat version of Uno with support for multiple human players.
Duo is a free computer implementation of Uno.
Duo is a free computer implementation of Uno.
  • Jump-in Rule (also called 'Cut'). It's a very interesting variant, which makes the game very quick and a lot of fun. Players would need some time and exercise in order to use it correctly. If the player is holding a card that matches the previously played card, both in suit and rank, he may play it even if it is not his turn, and it is treated as if it were his regular turn. Play continues from that player and the intervening players were effectively skipped. This rule speeds up the game, especially when there are many players, and forces players to pay attention when it isn't their turn. Note that it is always a race between the person whose legal turn it is and any player who may have a jump-in card. After a draw two or wild draw four, the player must wait until the person has drawn their penalty cards before playing the jump-in card.
  • If the player is playing the jump-in rule, he may play a wild draw four even if he holds cards of the color called, but only after another player plays a wild draw four (ie: the player is jumping in).
  • Infinite draw. If the player chooses to draw (or are forced to draw) a card from the stock, he continues to draw until he has a playable card. If necessary, the discard pile is reshuffled and recreated as the stock pile.
  • Multiple cards (also called "Stacks"). If the player has two or more cards of the same number (eg. '2') or function (eg. Draw Two) then he may play them all at once as long as the bottom played card matches the color and rank of the top exposed card.
  • Cumulative draw cards. If a Draw Two card is played and the player has another Draw Two in his hand, he may play it making it draw four to the next player. If they have a Draw Two in their hand, they may play it making it draw 6 and so on until someone cannot play a Draw Two and must draw. Likewise, a wild draw four may be cumulative on another wild draw four. Draw Twos and Wild Draw Fours may or may not be cumulative with each other depending on the variant.
    • Another variant on cumulative draw requires that a player draw the appropriate number of cards and lose their turn as usual, but if the next player also plays a draw card, it instead forces the player after him to draw the total number of cards noted on the consecutive draw cards that have been played up to that point (so Player 1 plays a Draw 2, Player 2 draws two cards, Player 3 plays a Draw Two, and Player 4 draws four cards).
  • Deflection. Reverse and skip cards can be used to deflect draw penalties, but only if they can be legally played. For instance, if someone plays a wild draw 4 and announces the color as green, if the next player has a green reverse, the person who played the draw 4 has to draw the penalty cards (unless he/she has a reverse or green skip).
  • The Magic Zero. When the hand starts, the player with the most cards in the last hand(the dealer in the first hand) decides what will happen when any 0 is played. This will be in effect for the whole hand and cannot be changed until the next.
  • Killer Uno. This variant is, as the name implies, faster and more aggressive than official play. There are four additional rules (see below). Its earliest confirmed attribution is to Keith Chin-A-Loy and Mark Bomgardner in December 1987. It may also be referred to as "Dirty Uno."
    1. Infinite draw (see above).
    2. Jump-in (see above).
    3. Cumulative draw cards (see above).
    4. Zero. On any play of a zero card, all players to pass their hands in the direction of play. Play continues as usual. Note that playing a zero as a last card is a losing strategy since inheriting the neighbors hand is inevitable.
    5. Red Zero. One variation of Killer Uno plays the red zero as a draw 10 card. All other zeros pass hands in the direction of play as above.
    6. Silent Twos. In another variation of Killer Uno, any color two is "silent." Not a single sound (barring coughs and sneezes) can be uttered until the play returns the player who played the two. The first person to make a sound draws two cards; after that, the silence is broken.
    7. Nines. When a 9 of any color is played, all players must slap the middle pile (a lot like Egyptian Ratscrew). The last player with their hand in the middle draws two cards.
  • Speed Uno. This variant is the fastest, non-deterministic version. It includes some of the Killer Uno rules with some additions. This development is attributed to the South African Uno League sometime between January 2003 and July 2004.
    1. Jump-in (see above).
    2. Cumulative draw cards (see above). So the maximum draw 4's would force the next player to pick up 16 cards.
    3. 7's. Any player playing a 7 stops the game and this player must exchange hands with any player chosen.
    4. Blocking 7's. (see above). If the player is chosen by the current 7's role to exchange hands, the player may block in the case of a 7 in the player's hand. As a consequence the player which blocked may then force the player who chooses them to swap with any other player that the blocking 7's player choose.
    5. Zero. (see above - same as Killer Uno).
    6. Cutting the cards. The player that deals the hand at the start of the game cuts the cards. In the case of cutting the exact right amount of cards (i.e. number of players x 7 cards per hand) then -50 points.
    7. Betting. Players other than the player that has to deal the hand at the start of the game may bet, after the cut has taken place, if they believe that the cut is the correct amount of cards. If correct the player that placed a bet may also win -50 points if correct or in case of an incorrect bet will accumulate 50 points.
    8. Hat trick Rule: The hat trick rule comes into play anytime that the same card is played or ‘snapped’ three times. The person who has played the final card in the hat trick, has to retain their cards, but swap seating with anyone else at the table. Should the sequence of similar cards exceed three, the player of the last card can force any two other players to swap seats while still retaining their cards.
  • Deadly Uno. This optional rule states that a player who is unable to play a card loses the game instead of drawing cards. This rule drastically speeds up the progression of games.
  • Drunken Uno. Whenever you draw a card, drink!
  • Allowing the Draw Four card to be played even if the player has cards of the current color.
  • Dead at 21. Player is out of the game when the total number of cards in his or her hand equal or exceed 21.
  • Cheating UNO. It is morally acceptable to attempt to cheat in Cheating UNO. Any method can be used to cheat, with the exception of pocketing cards. If a player gets caught cheating, he or she must immediately draw four cards.
  • Northwest Arkansas & Cow/Bear UNO. When somebody plays a card thats an "8" the person playing it must say "Its the ocho" as they put the card down. Also, if anyone plays a "2" then the person must say "wait for it" and then hand out 2 of their cards out to other players as a sort of penalty. The player may hand both cards to one person or hand two people one card.
  • Shout UNO. When a player plays down to only one card, anyone shouts out "uno." If the first person to shout out "uno" is not the player at hand, then the player at hand must draw two cards as if he was caught not saying "uno."

[edit] Records

Single Round Record Record was set by a team of five people in Austin, Texas in the United States in a four-hour–long single round on October 28, 2006.

  • James C.
  • Amanda M.
  • Kevin S.
  • Chris A.
  • Andie S.

The game ended with a victory for Kevin S.

Fastest Round Record Record was set by a team of four people in Le Grand Couret, France in a two-minute thirty-seven second spectacle of furious game play on November 11, 2006.

  • Neil R.
  • Mark G.
  • Stephen C.
  • Nick W.

The game ended with a victory for Neil "Speedy Cards" R.

Size of Game Record Three hundred thirty people helped celebrate the 35th anniversary of Uno. They set a new Guinness world record for the largest card game tournament ever played, beating the old record by 10 players. (The previous record of 320 players was set in Portugal.) The ultimate winner was Lucinda Kowalewski of Poca. She received 2007 season tickets to the West Virginia Power Games and an XBox 360 along with several other prizes.

[edit] Special packs

Certain special packs of Uno are available in shops. These sometimes include more special cards.

  • Barbie Uno - which features the "friendship" card, where the player can swap his/her hand with another player.
  • Batman - feature a Joker, when you discard this card you can choose 1 to 3 players to draw 1 to 3 cards
  • Family Guy Uno - in which players can try for world domination, a la Stewie Griffin, with the exclusive "Dominate" card and rule.
  • Hanna-Barbera Edition Uno - Yogi Bear adds to the fun with the exclusive ‘pic-a-nic’ card – the player with this special card gets to steal the top card from the discard pile at any point in the game.
  • Harry Potter Uno - which features a Draw Three (instead of Draw Two) card; also features a "howler" wild card where, if played, the player who uses the card may select another player to say all of their cards aloud; also features an "invisibility" wild card where, if played, the player can block any card placed down (such as, a card that forces them to draw cards)
  • Nintendo Uno - Has pictures of various Nintendo characters on each card and has writing in classic 8-bit style. Also contains the Power card; this card can be used as a regular Wild card at any time, but can also be used to block a Draw 2 or Wild Draw 4 card played against the player after which it acts as a regular Wild card.
  • One Piece Uno - a One Piece version of Uno released in Japan. The gameplay is the same as normal, but all card's artwork is made into One Piece related artwork.
  • Sesame Street Uno - Features a Grouch card, which allows players to give up to three un-needed cards in their deck to another player, so it removes their "garbage". The character featured on it is Oscar the Grouch. There are 4 Grouch cards in the 112 card deck.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants Uno - which features the Super Absorbency card, a wild card which requires the next player to draw one card from all other players hands at random. There is controversy as to what happens when the Super Absorbency card is played as they players' penultimate card. Some contend that the person playing the card would win as the next player would be required to take that card from him/her. However, some play that there is an exception whereas the Super Absorbency requires a card to be drawn from all player's hands except those who are in the uno stage.
  • South Park - The special card is called "Dead Kenny". When you play this card, you decide which player will share Kenny's bad *luck. You may choose any player's hand to "kill" by having that player draw cards from the DRAW pile. The chosen player must keep drawing cards until he/she draws any card with Kenny on it.
  • The DOG UNO - The deck features pictures of various dogs on each of the cards, and contains a Fetch Wild Card.
  • The Simpsons Uno - features a Draw Three card
  • The Simpsons - GREAT SCOT Uno - which features a "GREAT SCOT" card, with Groundskeeper Willie, where a player selects another player and gives that player two of their cards
  • The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror Uno - features a Witchcraft, the player who plays this card can use it to block any Draw 2 or Wild Draw 4 played against him/her.
  • Spiderman Uno - the special card let you know the player's hand.
  • Star Trek Uno - based on the original Star Trek series with special cards:
    • Double Tribble card - the player who plays this card chooses the color of play, and the next player doubles the amount of cards in their hand and forfeits their turn. (appears once in pack)
    • Beam Me Up, Scotty card - this can played to stop any command card (a "draw 2" card, for example) and allows for the color of play to be chosen.(appears once in pack)
    • Mind Meld card - this commands the next player to show the person who played this card to show their hand.(appears once in pack)
    • Live Long & Prosper card - can be played at any time to discard the players hand and pick up an entirely new one, then allows him/her to choose color of play. (appears once in pack)
  • Superman - battle card, when this card is played, the player who plays it selects another player to "battle". the player who play the card chooses to be either superman or bizarro, and the player he/she selected is the other character. superman must discard a blue card since bizarro is vulnerable to blue kryptonite, and bizarro must discard a green card since superman is vulnerable to green kryptonite.
  • Uno 35th Anniversary - A special deck made to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the first edition of Uno released in the United States in 1971. in this deck, there are specialty "35" cards, when, if the card is in play, only 3s or 5s of any color must be played after the card is delt.
  • Uno H2O - A deck with transparent water-proof cards. It includes 2 extra cards called "wild DownPour" cards; when played ALL the other players must pick up the number specified on the card (either 1 or 2) and may choose the next color of play.
  • Disney Theme Park Edition - Evil card: the player holding this card can steal the top card from the DISCARD pile at any point in the game, even if it's not his/her turn.
  • Peanuts - Good Grief card: this is a wild card, the player playing the card designates the recipient who must start drawing cards from the draw pile until he/she draws a card with Charlie Brown on it.
  • Muppet Show - Mayhem card: the player who plays it causes everyone one swap hands. The direction of the swap is determined by the player playing the card.
  • Happy Feet Edition - Mambo! card: the player who plays it must give each opponent one card from his/her hand, and then places a card on the discard pile to start the next round.

-

  • Versions available on the Xbox 360 Live version of Uno:
    • Project Gotham Racing Uno - In this game, the cards are drawn like cars seen in the Project Gotham Racing series of video games. In this game, the rules include a card called the "Gotham Live" card, which is the same name used as the replay feature in Project Gotham Racing 3. This card allows a player to look at the hand of any of the other players.
    • Kameo: Elements of Power Uno: This pack was released on November 1, 2006. This is a custom deck with artwork from the Kameo game. In addition, a special play card allows you to swap your hand with the hand of another player in the game.
    • Uno 35th Anniversary - (see above)

[edit] Other Uno Related games

[edit] Similar games

Uno is a member of the shedding family of card games. The shedding family of card games consists of games where the objective is to get rid of all your cards while preventing the other players from getting rid of their cards.

[edit] Tenbuck

This very short game involving UNO CARDS and is played by one person, or more than one to see who gets more points. You draw cards one at a time until you have a grid of ten (5 across, 2 Down) The cards have an effect/points each.

  • 0-9: Points on Card
  • Wild: 20 Points
  • Reverse: Worth the last Card Drawn. If two reverses are drawn next to each other, the second reverse is worth the last one. If the last one had an effect, do not repeat the affect. Just the points.
  • Skip: Makes the next card worth zero points, but does not diminish the affect. If more than one skip is drawn next to each other, the next TWO cards are worth nothing. The Grid can have exceptions is skipped card is the fifth, or if there are two skips as cards 4 and 5, etc. You continue adding to the first row until no cards are skipped. This is known as the elevenbuck rule. This does not apply ot the second row. If past the last card should be skipped, the skipping card(s) is worth nothing Examples:

1.3 2.Wild 3.4 4.Skip 5.Skip 6.5 7.7 NEXT ROW 8.Draw2 9.Draw4 10.Reverse 11.Skip 12.Skip

  • Draw 2: Draw the next two cards and put them in the order you choose. This can allow you to put a reverse on large-point cards and avoid large-pont card skips. If a Draw-2 Card is drawn as one of these two cards, the affect takes place when you put the two cards down. If it is drawn and there is only room for one more card, only draw one card. This card is worth no points
  • Draw 4: The Luckiest Card. The winner is always who has this card. It is, first of all, worth 50 points. Secondly, it has the same affect as draw two, but you draw four cards. If there is only room for three more, draw three; two more, draw two; et cetera.
  • Special: Special Cards Like FRIENDSHIP in BARBIE UNO, SPIDER SENSE in SPIDERMAN UNO, and SUPER ABSORBENCY in SPONGEBOB UNO, are all worth 30 points.
 Game invented by J.D. Oglesby

[edit] External links

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