How is UNO House Rules different than UNO?
UNO House Rules lets players add their own made-up rules to the game. UNO House Rules plays almost the exact same way as a standard game of UNO, but there are chances to make each game unique with custom rules. Whenever someone plays an Add-a-Rule number card for the first time, they get to make up their a rule that happens whenever that number is played again. There can be up to 5 custom house rules at a time during the game. Players also have the chance to change the house rules for specific numbers when they play a Game Changer card.
How to Play UNO House Rules
Shuffle and deal 7 cards to each player. Choose a dealer to shuffle the cards together. Deal 7 cards face-down to each player for their starting hands. Then, put the rest of the cards in a face-down Draw pile where everyone can reach it. Flip over the top card of the deck and set it face-up to start the discard pile. You can play UNO House Rules with up to 10 people. Keep the cards in your hand a secret from other players.
Play a matching card or draw a card on your turn. The player to the left of the dealer takes the first turn. If you have a card that matches the color or number of the Discard pile’s top card, then play it face-up onto Discard pile. After taking your turn, the person to the left takes the next turn. If you don’t have a matching card, draw 1 card from the Draw pile. If it matches the number or color of the discard pile, you can play it right away!
Make a house rule the first time an “Add-a-Rule” number is played. Add-a-Rule cards have a small speech bubble icon around the number in the corner. The first time a number with the symbol is played, the person says a made-up house rule. Whenever that number is played again, everyone has to follow the house rule! House rules have to follow 2 rules: The rule must make all the players do an action, such as raising their hand or shouting something out loud The last player to follow the rule draws 1 card from the Draw pile. For more inspiration, check out our list of ideas for house rules to add to your UNO game.
Activate a special ability if you play an Action card. Action cards have symbols in the top corner instead of numbers. As soon as you play an Action card, the ability triggers right away. The possible actions in the game are: Draw 2: The next player loses their turn and draws 2 cards from the Draw pile. Skip: Skip the next player’s turn. If you’re playing a 2-player game, you get to go again right away. Reverse: The direction of play switches. If players were taking turns clockwise around the table, switch to going counter-clockwise and vice-versa. Wild: You can play a Wild on top of any card. Choose the next color that players have to play. You can choose a new color or the same color. Wild Draw 4: The next player draws 4 cards and loses their turn. Alternatively, a player can challenge you if they think you have a card in your hand that matches the top of the discard pile. If you don’t have a matching card, the player who challenged you draws 6 cards and loses their turn. If you have any matching cards, you draw 4 cards and the next player takes their turn as normal. Wild Game Changer: Make a new house rule for one of the number cards. If no one has made a house rule yet, you don’t get to make a new rule. Then, choose the color that players need to play next.
Call out “UNO!” when you have 1 card left. Keep going around the table taking turns. Whenever someone plays a card and only has 1 left in their hand, they must say “UNO!” out loud so other players know. If you forget to say “UNO” and another player catches you before the next person takes their turn, then you have to draw 2 cards.
Play the last card in your hand to win the game. As soon as someone puts the last card onto the discard pile, they’ve won! You can either end the game now, or play multiple rounds to keep the fun going. For a more strategic game of UNO, count the points leftover in each player’s hand and give them to the player who went out. Whoever is the first player to reach 500 points wins! The point values for the cards are: Number cards (0-9): face value Skip, Reverse, or Draw 2: 20 points Wild cards: 50 points
Ideas for UNO House Rule Cards
Easy House Rules House rules are the easiest when they’re physical actions that all the players can easily do. Shout “Moo!” as loud as you can Slap your hand on the table Touch your finger to your nose Stand up and jump in the air Spin in a circle Make deer antlers with your hands Run into a different room Singing a song lyric
Hard House Rules Make your house rules more challenging to add more excitement to the game. Don’t do anything that’s too exhausting because you’ll get tired out quickly! Do 5 push-ups Recite a tongue twister without mistakes Run around the table and get back to your seat first Touch the ceiling Crawl across the floor to a finish line Find and touch an object in the room Patting your head and rubbing your stomach
Common House Rules for UNO
Play cards even if it’s not your turn. In this rule, if you have a card that matches the color or number of the Discard pile’s top card, you can play it any time. This makes the game go a lot quicker and you have to pay attention to what’s happening even when it’s not your turn. If you have multiple cards that you can play, only play them one at a time.
Play multiple copies of a card on the same turn. Instead of only playing 1 card on your turn, play all the copies you have of the exact same card. This makes it easier to catch up when you’re behind and can change who’s in the lead quickly.
Stack Draw cards to force another player to draw more. If someone plays a Draw 2 or Draw 4 card, you can stack the cards by playing another Draw 2 or Draw 4. The player who can’t add to the stack has to draw the total listed on the cards. Example: If a player has a Draw 2 and a Draw 4 stacked on them, they have to draw 6 cards from the Draw pile. You can choose to stack any Draw cards or only stack cards of the same type (only Draw 2s or only Draw 4s).
Play Reverse cards when a Draw card is played. If someone plays a Draw 2 or Draw 4 card against you, play a Reverse card to direct the action back at them! Now they’ll have to draw the cards instead of you.
Pass your hand when someone plays a 0. Whenever someone plays a 0, all the players give their hand to the person their left. This keeps everyone on their toes and makes the game more random. Alternatively, whoever played the 0 can choose a person to swap hands with.
Drink when you play specific cards. If you want to play an UNO drinking game, add rules for when to take a sip of your drink. Some common drinking rules for UNO are: Take a sip when you draw a card Take 2 sips if a Draw 2 is played on you Take 4 sips if a Draw 4 is played on you Take a sip if you’re skipped or reversed Everyone takes a sip when a Wild card is played Take 4 sips if you forget to say UNO Take sips for each card left in your hand
Winning Strategies for UNO
Watch what cards other people are playing. Pay attention to the numbers and colors the other players are putting into the Discard pile. If you notice that someone is playing a lot of one color, try to change the color to something else. If someone keeps drawing cards, keep the color the same for as long as possible.
Play Action cards when players are close to going out. Watch how many cards each player still has in their hand. If someone only has 1 or 2 cards left in their hand, then use action cards to skip their turn or make them draw more cards.
Save a Wild for your last card. You can play a Wild card on top of any other card on the Discard pile. If you keep one as you’re last card, it’s a guarantee you’ll be able to play it and win the game!
Team up with another player. If you’re seeing someone close to winning, let the other players know so you can work together. Agree to work against the person that’s in the lead and save your Action cards to use against them.
Get rid of high-value cards early if you’re playing for points. Action cards and higher numbers are worth the most points at the end of a round, and you don’t want other players to get them. Try to play your higher numbers and Actions first so you give away fewer points.
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