Setup & Basic Gameplay
- Starting Hand: Every player is dealt 7 cards face down. The remaining deck becomes the draw pile, and the top card is flipped over to start the discard pile.
- Taking a Turn: Play starts to the left of the dealer and moves clockwise. You must match the top card of the discard pile by color, number, or symbol/word .
- Drawing Cards: If you do not have a matching card, you must draw one card from the draw pile. If that drawn card is playable, you can put it down immediately; otherwise, your turn ends.
- The "UNO!" Shout: When you play your next-to-last card and are down to exactly 1 card , you must yell "UNO!" . If someone catches you forgetting to say it before the next player starts their turn, you must draw a penalty (2 to 4 cards, depending on the version's specific ruleset).
⚡ Action Cards & Special Rules
- Skip: The next player misses their turn.
- Reverse: Reverses the direction of play (clockwise becomes counterclockwise, and vice versa).
- Draw Two (+2): The next player must draw 2 cards and lose their turn.
- Wild: Can be played on any card. The player changes the active color to whatever they choose.
- Wild Draw Four (+4): Changes the active color, and the next player must draw 4 cards and lose their turn. According to official rules, you can only play this card if you do not have any cards in your hand matching the current color .
⚠️ Two Myths Debunked by Official Rules
- No Stacking: You cannot stack action cards. If someone plays a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four on you, you cannot place another Draw card on top to pass the penalty to the next person. You must draw the cards and skip your turn.
- Playing Only One Card: You can only play one single card per turn. You cannot throw down pairs or multiples of the same number at the same time.