Uno (; from Spanish and Italian for 'one'; stylized as UNO) is an American
shedding-type card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ga ...
that is played with a specially printed
deck. The game's general principles put it into the
crazy eights
Crazy Eights is a shedding-type card game for two to seven players and the best known American member of the Eights Group which also includes Pig and Spoons. The object of the game is to be the first player to discard all of their cards. The ga ...
family of card games, and it is similar to the traditional European game
mau-mau
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...
.
It has been a
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
brand since 1992.
History
The game was originally developed in 1971 by
Merle Robbins in
Reading, Ohio, a suburb of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. When his family and friends began to play more and more, he spent $8,000 to have 5,000 copies of the game made. He sold it from his barbershop at first, and local businesses began to sell it as well. Robbins later sold the rights to Uno to a group of friends headed by Robert Tezak, a funeral parlor owner in
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362.
Hist ...
, for $50,000 plus royalties of 10 cents per game. Tezak formed International Games, Inc., to market Uno, with offices behind his funeral parlor. The games were produced by Lewis Saltzman of Saltzman Printers in Maywood, Illinois.
In 1992, International Games became part of the Mattel family of companies.
Official rules
![UNO cards deck](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/UNO_cards_deck.svg)
The aim of the game is to be the first player to score 500 points, achieved (usually over several rounds of play) by being the first to play all of one's own cards and scoring points for the cards still held by the other players.
The 2018 edition of the game consists of 112 cards: 25 in each of four color suits (red, yellow, green, blue), each suit consisting of one zero, two each of 1 through 9, and two each of the action cards "Skip", "Draw Two", and "Reverse". The deck also contains four "Wild" cards, four "Wild Draw Four", one "Wild Shuffle Hands" and three "Wild Customizable".
Sets manufactured prior to 2018 do not contain these last two types of Wild cards, for a total of 108 cards in the deck.
For each hand, a dealer is determined by having each player randomly draw one card from the deck. The player with the highest number card deals, and all cards are reshuffled into the deck to begin the dealing.
To start a hand, seven cards are dealt to each player, and the top card of the remaining deck is flipped over and set aside to begin the discard pile. The player to the dealer's left plays first unless the first card on the discard pile is an action or Wild card (see below). On a player's turn, they must do one of the following:
* play one card matching the discard in color, number, or symbol
* play a Wild card, or a playable Wild Draw Four card (see restriction below)
* draw the top card from the deck, and play it if possible
Cards are played by laying them face-up on top of the discard pile. Play initially proceeds clockwise around the table.
Action or Wild cards have the following effects:
* A player who draws a playable card from the deck must either play or keep that card and may play no other card from their hand on that turn.
* A player may play a Wild card at any time, even if that player has other playable cards.
* A player may play a Wild Draw Four card only if that player has no cards matching the current color. The player may have cards of a different color matching the current number or symbol or a Wild card and still play the Wild Draw Four card.
A player who plays a Wild Draw Four may be challenged by the next player in sequence (see
Penalties) to prove that their hand meets this condition.
* If not otherwise challenged, an illegally played Wild Draw Four stays without penalty for its player.
* When playing a Wild or Wild Draw Four card, a player may declare the current color as the next one to be matched.
* If the draw deck runs out during play, the top discard is set aside and the rest of the pile is shuffled to create a new deck. Play then proceeds normally.
* It is illegal to trade cards of any sort with another player.
A player who plays their penultimate card must call "Uno" as a warning to the other players.
The first player to get rid of their last card ("going out") wins the hand and scores points for the cards held by the other players. Number cards count their face value, all action cards count 20, and Wild and Wild Draw Four cards count 50. If a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four card is played to go out, the next player in the sequence must draw the appropriate number of cards before the score is tallied.
The first player to score 500 points wins the game.
Penalties
* If a player does not call "Uno" after laying down their penultimate card and is caught before the next player in sequence starts to take a turn (i.e., plays a card from their hand, draws from the deck, or touches the discard pile), they must draw two cards as a penalty. If the player is not caught in time or remembers to call "Uno" before being caught, no penalty applies to that player.
* If a player plays a Wild Draw Four card, the next player in turn order may choose to challenge its use. The player who used the Wild Draw Four must privately show their hand to the challenging player in order to demonstrate that they had no prior matching colored cards. If the challenge is successful, then the challenged player must draw four cards instead and play continues with the challenger. Otherwise, the challenger must draw six cards – the four cards they were already required to draw plus two more cards – and lose their turn.
In either case, the Wild Draw Four stays with its chosen color.
Two-player game
In a two-player game, the Reverse card acts like a Skip card; when played, the other player misses a turn.
House rules
The following house rules are suggested in the Uno instructions to alter the game:
* Progressive or Stacking Uno: If a draw card is played, and the following player has a card with the same symbol, they can play that card and "stack" the penalty, which adds to the current penalty and passes it to the following player
(although a +4 cannot be stacked on a +2, or vice versa).
This house rule is so commonly used that there was widespread Twitter surprise in 2019 when Mattel stated that stacking was not part of the standard rules of Uno.
* Seven-O: Every time a "7" is played, the player who played the "7" card must trade their hand with another player of their choice. Every time a "0" is played, all players pass their hands to the next player in the current direction of play.
* Jump-In: If a player has exactly the same card (both number and color) as the top card of the discard pile, they may play it immediately, even if it is not their turn. The game then continues as if that player had just taken their turn.
2018 rule changes
The two new types of Wild cards have the following functions:
* Wild Shuffle Hands: The player using this card collects all cards held by all players, then shuffles and re-deals them.
* Wild Customizable: These cards are blank and can have a house rule assigned to them.
Either type can be played on any turn and is worth 40 points when a player goes out.
Card and deck styles
![Uno Old Deck](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Uno_Old_Deck.jpg)
Modern 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 had letters only. Earlier English versions can be recognized by the absence of the white rim that surrounds the edge of most Uno cards.
Other versions of the game use symbols and images in both old and new designs, especially ones with Wild cards that do not bear the word "Wild". There are also language-free versions of the newer styles that do not bear the word "Wild" but have the same styling.
The 2010 "Uno Mod" edition uses symbols instead of letters or numbers.
On September 16, 2017, Mattel released Uno ColorAdd, which was designed specifically for those suffering from
color blindness
Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...
.
On October 1, 2019, Mattel released a
Braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille disp ...
version of their game with Mark Riccobono, president of the
National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is an organization of blind people in the United States. It is the oldest and largest organization led by blind people in the United States. Its national headquarters are in Baltimore, Maryland.
Overvie ...
. Riccobono said in a press release, "The fact that a blind person is now able to play a classic game of UNO straight out of the box with both blind and sighted friends or family members is a truly meaningful moment for our community."
Special Uno games
* '' Uno 50th Anniversary'' (2021)
* ''Uno Wild Twists'' (2022)
* ''Uno All Wild'' (2022)
* ''
Uno Attack
Uno Attack (called Uno Extreme in the United Kingdom and Canada; stylized as UNO Attack) is one of many variations on the popular Mattel card game '' Uno''. It includes 112 (106 in the later versions) card Card or The Card may refer to:
* Various ...
'' (''Uno Extreme'' in the UK and Canada) (1999)
* '' Uno Attack Jurassic World'' (2018)
* ''Uno Attack Refill Deck''
* ''Uno Bingo'' (1997)
* ''Uno Blast'' (2012)
* ''Uno Blitzo'' (2000)
* ''Uno Choo-Choo'' (2011)
* ''Uno Color Screen''
* ''Uno Deluxe''
* ''Uno Dare'' (2014)
* ''Uno Dice'' (1987, 1996, 2011)
* ''Uno Dominoes'' (1986)
* ''Electronic Uno''
* ''Uno Flash'' (2007)
* ''
Uno Flip!'' (2009) (Target Store Exclusive)
* '' Uno Flip'' (2019)
* ''Giant Uno'' (2016)
* ''Giant BTS Uno'' (2020)
* ''
''Uno H2O'' (2004)
* ''
''Uno H2O'' To Go
* ''Uno Hearts'' (1994)
* ''Uno Junior'' (1992)
* ''King Size Uno'' (1994)
* ''Uno Madness'' (1995)
* ''Uno Moo'' (2008, 2014)
* ''Uno Power Grab''
* ''Uno Reflex''
* ''Uno Roboto''
* ''Uno Royal Revenge'' (2014)
* ''Uno Rummy Up'' (1993)
* ''
Uno Spin
Uno Spin is a variation of the popular Mattel ''card game Uno'', with a wheel containing numerous game alterations. Unlike in ''Uno'', there are 20 "spin" cards that can be played to make other players spin the wheel. The game marketing uses the s ...
'' (2005)
* ''Uno Spin Hannah Montana'' (2005)
* ''Uno Spin
One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual cha ...
'' (Japan)
* ''
Uno Spin To Go'' (2010)
* ''
Uno Stacko {{Short description, Board game
''UNO Stacko'' is one of the many variations of the card game '' Uno''. This game is a block-stacking tower game which combines the gameplay of Uno and that of Jenga. There are two versions of the game: the earlier v ...
'' (1994)
* ''
Travel Uno Stacko {{Short description, Board game
''UNO Stacko'' is one of the many variations of the card game '' Uno''. This game is a block-stacking tower game which combines the gameplay of Uno and that of Jenga. There are two versions of the game: the earlier v ...
''
* ''Uno Tippo'' (2009)
* ''Uno Slam''
* ''Uno Tiki Twist'' (2014)
* ''Uno Wild Jackpot'' (2016)
* ''Uno Wild Tiles'' (1982)
* ''Get Wild for Uno'' (2016)
* ''Uno
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java (programming language), Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made pub ...
'' (2018)
* ''Uno Showdown Supercharged'' (2020)
* ''Uno Triple Play'' (2021)
* ''Uno Go!'' (2022)
Uno H2O
Uno H
2O differs from the standard game in that the cards are transparent and waterproof. Play is identical to the standard pre-2018 Uno game, with the addition of two types of "Wild Downpour" cards. When one of these is played, all other players must draw either one or two cards as indicated on the card. The player using it may then declare the next color to be matched.
Video games
* ''Uno (handheld video game – 2000)''
* ''
Uno'' (
handheld video game
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
for the
Game Boy Color of the classic Uno board game)
* '' Uno DX ''(Japanese exclusive Sega Saturn game by Mitsui & Co. – 1998)
* ''
Uno'' (
PlayStation Network)
* ''
Uno'' (
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
)
* ''
Uno Rush'' (
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
)
* ''
Uno Challenge'' (
mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
version of the classic Uno board game)
* ''
Uno Free Fall'' (puzzle game for mobile phones)
* ''
Uno 52'' (Nintendo
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
)
* ''
Super Uno'' (
Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
)
* ''Uno (Facebook)'' (
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. Fla ...
–based version of the classic Uno card game produced by
GameHouse Studios)
* ''
Uno (iPhone)'' Features online and local play. Produced by
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
* ''
Uno (iPad)'' The same as on the iPhone, but with enhanced graphics. Produced by
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
* ''
Uno (Android)'' Released as three versions: SD, HD and Free with adverts. Produced by
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
* ''
Uno (DSi)''
* ''
Uno (WiiWare)'' Produced by
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
* ''
Uno & Friends'' (various platforms)
* ''
Pocket Uno''
* ''Uno'' and ''Uno & Friends'' for Windows Phone
* ''
Uno Undercover'' (Windows)
* ''
Uno'' (2016 video game for
PC,
PlayStation 4, and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', ...
)
* ''
Uno'' – 2017 video game (release of
2016 game on the
Nintendo Switch), produced by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', ...
* ''UNO!'' – developed and published by
Mattel163 in 2017
Variations
Many variations from standard gameplay exist, such as Elimination Uno, Speed Uno and Pirate Uno.
In 2018, Mattel released a spin-off of Uno entitled ''Dos''; the game is differentiated primarily by having a "center row" of discard piles, where pairs of cards that add up to the sum of a card on the top of one of the piles may be discarded.
The game can be played with two decks of standard playing cards, if the
jokers are marked up as the zeroes of the four suits, and the royalty treated as the special cards.
Spin-offs
Uno Slot
In 2002, International Gaming Technology (IGT) released a video slot machine based on Uno.
Uno: The Game Show
In March 2013, it was announced that
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
and the Gurin Company were teaming up to create a game show based on the card game, produced as a half-hour daily strip with a $100,000 cash jackpot along with a primetime version in which contestants competed for 1 million dollars. However, the idea was scrapped later on.
Film adaptation
On February 4, 2021, an action heist comedy film based on the game was announced to be in development for
Mattel Films
Mattel Films is the film production division of Mattel originally formed on October 16, 2013, as Mattel Playground Productions as part of Mattel Global Brands, a unified media structural and strategy unit.
On March 31, 2016, Mattel placed the ...
with
Lil Yachty
Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles "One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...
of record label
Quality Control Music developing and being eyed for the lead role alongside the label's managers Kevin "Coach K" Lee and Pierre "P" Thomas, and Brian Sher for Quality Films producing, Marcy Kelly writing, and Robbie Brenner and Kevin McKeon leading the project as executive producer and supervising producer, respectively.
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.
*
Crazy Eights
Crazy Eights is a shedding-type card game for two to seven players and the best known American member of the Eights Group which also includes Pig and Spoons. The object of the game is to be the first player to discard all of their cards. The ga ...
**
Black Jack (Switch)
Switch, also called Two Four Jacks or Irish Switch, or Last Card, in New Zealand, is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim ...
**
Switch (card game)
Switch, also called Two Four Jacks or Irish Switch, or Last Card, in New Zealand, is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim ...
*
Eleusis
*
Last Card
*
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
*
Mao
*
Mau Mau (game)
Mau-Mau is a card game for 2 to 5 players that is popular in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, the United States, Brazil, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Netherlands. Mau-Mau is a member of the larger Crazy Eights or shedding family, to ...
*
O'NO 99
ONO 99 (previously published as O'NO 99 by International Games, Inc.) is a proprietary card game produced by Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headqua ...
*
One Card (game)
*
Phase 10
Phase 10 is a card game created in 1982 by Kenneth Johnson and sold by Mattel, which purchased the rights from Fundex Games in 2010. Phase 10 is based on a variant of rummy known as contract rummy. It consists of a special deck equivalent ...
*
SKIP-BO
Skip-Bo is a commercial version of the card game Spite and Malice, a derivative of Russian Bank (also known as Crapette or Tunj), which in turn originates from Double Klondike (also called ''Double Solitaire''). In 1967, Minnie Hazel "Skip" Bowman ...
*
Taki
*
Whot!
References
Bibliography
Current official rules, from MattelOfficial Mattel Uno siteUno Rulesat UnoRules.org
Uno Variationsat UnoVariations.com
at pagat.com
Uno Newsat Wonkavator
*
External links
Uno H2O rules*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uno (Board Game)
Card games introduced in 1971
Dedicated deck card games
Mattel
Shedding-type card games
American inventions
Games of mental skill