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Uno Rules in Plain Words

These are Mattel's official rules, rewritten in plain words. The rulebook wins any argument — this page just makes it easy to read.

What the game is

Uno is a card game about getting rid of your cards. On your turn you play one card that matches the card on top of the discard pile — by color, by number, or by symbol. Action cards let you skip players, flip the direction of play, and force other people to pick up cards. The first player to play their last card wins the round.

Players: 2–10. Ages: 7 and up.

What you need: a Uno deck of 108 cards — number cards in red, yellow, green, and blue, plus Skip, Reverse, and Draw Two cards in each color, and Wild and Wild Draw Four cards.

Setting up

Pick a dealer. Each player draws a card; the highest number deals. Action cards count as zero.
The dealer shuffles and deals 7 cards to each player, face down.
The rest of the deck goes face down in the middle. That is the draw pile.
Flip the top card face up next to it. That starts the discard pile. (If it is an action card, see the box below — the classic rules do something special with it.)
The player to the dealer's left goes first, and play runs clockwise.

How a turn works

Look at the top card of the discard pile. You may play one card from your hand that matches it by color, by number, or by symbol. A Wild card matches anything.
If you have no card you can play — or you would rather not play one — draw one card from the draw pile. If that new card can be played, you may play it right away. If not, your turn ends.
If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile (leave the top card in place) to make a new draw pile.
When you play your next-to-last card and are down to one card, you must call out "Uno!" If another player catches you not saying it before the next player takes their turn, you draw 2 cards.
The round ends the moment a player plays their last card.

The action cards

Skip: the next player loses their turn.
Reverse: the direction of play flips. If play was going clockwise, it now goes counterclockwise. In a two-player game, a Reverse works like a Skip — you play again.
Draw Two: the next player draws 2 cards and loses their turn.
Wild: play it on anything, and name the color that play continues with.
Wild Draw Four: play it on anything and name the color — but only if you hold no card that matches the color on top of the discard pile. The next player draws 4 cards and loses their turn — unless they challenge (see the box below).

How you win / keeping score

The first player out of cards wins the round. Most families just shuffle and play another round. Mattel's scoring way is optional: the round winner scores points for every card left in the other players' hands — number cards score their face value, Skip, Reverse, and Draw Two score 20 each, and Wild and Wild Draw Four score 50 each. Keep a running total across rounds; the first player to 500 points wins the game.

Official rule or house rule?

Stacking — answering a Draw Two with your own Draw Two so the next player draws 4: House rule. Mattel's official rules do not allow stacking, and Mattel has said so flatly in public: a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four cannot be stacked on another one. If your table stacks, that is your table's rule, not the book's.

The Wild Draw Four challenge: Official. The player who is told to draw 4 may challenge instead. The player who played the card must show their whole hand. If they did hold a card matching the color in play, they were bluffing: they draw the 4 cards and the challenger draws none. If their hand was clean, the challenger draws 6 cards instead of 4 and loses their turn. Either way, the Wild Draw Four player still names the color.

When the first card flipped is an action card: The editions disagree, so here are both. Mattel's classic instructions give the card its normal effect: a Skip skips the first player; a Reverse means the dealer plays first and play reverses; a Draw Two makes the first player draw 2 and lose the turn; a Wild lets the first player name the color; a Wild Draw Four is shuffled back into the deck and a new card is flipped. Some newer editions print a simpler line instead: ignore the action card and flip the next card. Check which sheet came in your box.

Playing a Wild Draw Four when you hold a matching number but not the color: Officially legal. The ban is only about the color in play — matching the number or symbol does not block you.

Going out on an action card: Official, and it still bites. If the last card played is a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four, the next player must draw those cards before the round is scored.

Common questions

Can I play a card I just drew if it matches?

Yes. Mattel's rules let you play the drawn card right away. You may not play a different card from your hand after drawing.

Do I have to play a card if I have one that matches?

No. You may choose to draw one card instead. But if you draw, the drawn card is the only one you may play that turn.

What if nobody can finish and the draw pile is gone?

Shuffle all of the discard pile except the top card to form a new draw pile and keep playing.

Someone called "Uno" for me before I said it. What happens?

If they caught you before the next player's turn began, you draw 2 cards. Once the next player has taken their turn, you are safe.

Can a Reverse be answered with a Reverse forever?

Reverses simply flip direction each time one is played. There is no rule against playing one on your turn if it matches by color or symbol.

Source: Mattel's official Uno instructions for the classic game (rules sheet W2085 and the current Mattel rules), read in full and rewritten in our own plain words.