How to Play UNO

UNO Instructions
Ross Nelson, Opeoluwa Bamgbose, Sharbria Blanche, and Alex Martinez
University of North Texas
10/27/2014
TECM 1700-007

How to Play UNO

UNO
UNO is a fun card game that can be found in stores like Walmart, Target, and ToysRUs. It
can be played by anyone that is 7 years or older. It doesnt require any specific level of
expertise to play. The instructions are very simple and will make the game very easy to
follow and understand whether the player is a novice or experienced. The only things you
will need in order play is a deck of original UNO cards and 2-8 players. There isnt a
particular time limit that this game can be played in. The time it takes to play UNO varies
each game because the cards are chosen at random and creates different circumstances
amongst the players which can affect how long each game is played. The purpose of this
document is to provide the players with detailed instructions so that they will be able to
play UNO in an effective way.

How to Play UNO

1. Designate one player to be the card dealer

Figure 1: The dealer

Figure 2: Shuffled cards
a. The dealer will then shuffle the deck of cards.
b. After the cards are shuffled, he or she must deal 7ShuffSuff
cards toS each player face down.
- At this time, players are allowed to look at their cards. However, it would be wise
for them to not display their cards for other players to see.

Figure 3: Dealt cards

Figure 4: Players

c. After the dealer has dealt the seven cards to each player, he or she must then make a
draw pile with the remaining cards left in their hand.
- The draw pile is a stack of cards laying face down that were leftover after dealing
designated number of cards to each player.
2

Figure 5:
Draw pile

How to Play UNO

2. Establish a reference card

Figure 6: Discard pile

a. The dealer must then flip over the top card of the draw pile.
b. This top card will then be used to start a new pile of cards.
- The top card will be the first card in the discard pile. The discard pile will be
where the players will place the cards from their hands that match the
corresponding card in the pile.

3. Establish the player order

Figure 7: Player order

a. Decide which player should to start off the game.

b. That player should then look to their left. The person to their left will play right after
them and so on.
- The game should be played clockwise.

4. Start the game

Figure 8: First player

How to Play UNO

Figure 9:
Player
matching card

a. The designated first player needs to look through their cards.

b. The player should then try to see if they can match the first card on top of the
discard pile.
- You can match the card in three different ways:
i. Color: Lets say the card on top of the discard pile is blue. If you also have a
blue card then you can place that card in the discard pile.
ii.

iii.

Figure 12:
Wild card
Figure 13:
Draw four
card

Figure 10:
Matching by
color

Number: Lets say that the card on top of the discard pile is red and the
number is 7. You look through your cards and dont have a red. However, you
have a green card that has the number seven on it. At this time, you are
allowed to place that green card on top of the discard pile.
Special Cards: The wild card basically gives you the power to change the
color to whatever you want. The draw four cards also allow you to change
the color. However, it also has another power. It makes the player that goes
after you, draw four cards from the draw pile. Remember, the wild and
draw four cards can be used at any point in the game as long as it is your
turn. They especially come in handy when the rest of your cards dont match
the deck.

Figure 11:
Matching by
Number

Other cards include:

Figure 16:
Draw two
card

The skip- Once this card is put down, it allows the player to skip the players turn to
the left of them.
The draw two- Makes the person to their left draw two cards from the pile.
The reverse Basically switches the direction in which the game is played.

c. If the player cant seem to find a card that corresponds to the reference card on top of
the discard pile then they must follow the next step.

5. Draw card

4
Figure 17: Player drawing card

Figure 14:
Skip card

Figure 15:
Reverse card

How to Play UNO

a. The player must draw one card from the draw pile if they cannot find any cards in
their hands that relate to the previous card.
b. After the player draws the card, they must then determine if they can use it or not.
c. If the player has found a match within the card they just drew, then they may put it
on top of the discard pile.
d. However, if they could not find a match then their turn will be over and cannot put
down another card until its their turn again.

6. Pass turn to the next person

Figure 18: Second players turn

a.

It will be the next persons turn after you have either drawn a card or put another
card on top of the discard pile.
b. The next person will have to then repeat steps 4 and 5.
c. This process will continue to go clockwise. However, if a player has only one card
left then they must follow the next step.

7. Say UNO! when you have one card left

Figure 19: Player with UNO

a. A player must call UNO whenever they have only one card left in their hand. They
must do so before another player does.
b. If the player fails to say UNO! before someone else then he or she must pick up one
card from the draw pile.
5

How to Play UNO

- They must then repeat steps 4 and 5 until they end up with one card again.
c. If the player does manage to say UNO! before someone else then they dont have to
draw a card.
d. That player will then be able to play their card on their next turn if it is a match. If
the card is a match then that person WINS the game.

Figure 20: The winner!

Conclusion:
UNO is a great card game that can be played with both family and friends. It is very fun and
easy to learn how to play. The purpose of these instructions was to make sure a novice player
would become more familiar with the rules of UNO and gain knowledgeable experience. By
just following these simple instructions, the player will be able to play more effectively.