UNO (Two-Player)

What You Need

• One UNO deck: 108 cards. That is 76 number cards in red, yellow, green, and blue, plus 8 Skip, 8 Reverse, 8 Draw Two, 4 Wild, and 4 Wild Draw Four.
• Pen and paper if you play to 500 points.

Setup

1. Each player draws one card. The higher card deals. Put both cards back.
2. Shuffle. Deal 7 cards to each player.
3. Put the rest face down in the middle. This is the draw pile.
4. Flip the top card of the draw pile face up next to it. This starts the discard pile.
5. If that first card is a Wild Draw Four, slide it back into the deck and flip another. Any other action card hits the non-dealer at once. Skip or Reverse means the dealer plays first. Draw Two means the non-dealer draws 2 and the dealer plays first. Wild means the non-dealer names the color and plays.

How a Turn Works

The non-dealer goes first. On your turn, play one card that matches the top of the discard pile by color, by number, or by symbol. A Wild can go on anything.

No match in hand? Draw one card. If you can play it, you may play it right away. If not, your turn ends. You can also draw on purpose while holding a playable card, but then you may only play the card you drew.

If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile (leave the top card) and keep going.

Special Cards

• Skip: your opponent loses a turn. With two players, that means you play again.
• Reverse: in a two-player game a Reverse works exactly like a Skip. Play it and go again.
• Draw Two: your opponent draws 2 cards and loses a turn. Play comes straight back to you.
• Wild: play it on anything and name the new color. You may play a Wild even when you hold a matching card.
• Wild Draw Four: your opponent draws 4 and loses a turn. You name the color. You may only play it when you hold no card of the current color. Holding a matching number in a different color is fine.

The Challenge Rule

If you think your opponent played a Wild Draw Four illegally, say so before you draw. They show you their hand. If they held a card of the current color, they draw the 4 cards instead of you. If the play was legal, you draw 6 cards, the original 4 plus 2 more.

Saying UNO

When you play your second-to-last card, say "UNO" out loud. If you forget and your opponent catches you before they start their turn, you draw 2 cards. Catch yourself first and you are safe. Mattel sheets say 2 cards. Some groups play 4. Agree before you deal.

Scoring

A hand ends the moment one player plays their last card. If that last card is a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four, the other player still draws those cards, and they count in the score.

The winner scores every card left in the loser's hand.

• Number cards: face value
• Skip, Reverse, Draw Two: 20 points each
• Wild, Wild Draw Four: 50 points each

Winning

First player to 500 points wins. Mattel's other method: track the points each player gets caught holding, and when one player passes 500, the lower total wins. Pick one before the first deal.

Two-Player Notes

• Every action card is an extra turn for you. Play Skip, Reverse, Skip in a row and you take four turns while your opponent watches.
• Stacking a Draw Two on a Draw Two is not in the official rules. If you want it, agree first.
• Hands run 5 to 10 minutes. A game to 500 is usually 5 to 8 hands.

Strategy Tips

• Save Skip and Reverse for the turn after your opponent says UNO. Two extra turns in a row often ends the hand.
• Dump Wilds and Wild Draw Fours before your hand gets small. Each one is 50 points against you if you lose.
• Your opponent drew because they had no match for the current color. Keep that color on the pile as long as you can.

Variations

• Stack Draw Twos. The next player can add a Draw Two and pass the total back.
• Most decks include blank cards. Write a house rule on one and shuffle it in.