Official Uno Rules: The Complete Guide (2025 Edition)

Whether you lost the little instruction booklet that came with your deck or you just want to prove your friends wrong, here are the official rules from Mattel for the classic game of UNO.

Object of the Game

To be the first player to score 500 points. Points are scored by getting rid of all the cards in your hand before your opponents. You score points for cards left in your opponents' hands.

Setup

  1. Every player draws a card. Matches value. The person pulling the highest number deals. Action cards count as zero.
  2. Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player.
  3. Place the remainder of the deck facedown to form a DRAW pile.
  4. Turn over the top card of the DRAW pile to begin a DISCARD pile.
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Let's Play

The person to the left of the dealer starts play. On your turn, you must match a card from your hand to the card on the top of the DISCARD pile, either by number, color, or symbol (Action Cards).

If you don't have a card that matches the one on the DISCARD pile, you must take a card from the DRAW pile. If the card you picked up can be played, you are free to put it down in the same turn. Otherwise, play moves on to the next person.

Action Cards Explained

  • Reverse: Changes direction of play. If play is currently to the left, then play changes to the right.
  • Skip: The next person to play loses their turn and is "skipped".
  • Draw Two (+2): The next person to play must draw 2 cards and miss their turn.
  • Wild: Can be played on any card. The person playing it names the color to continue play.
  • Wild Draw 4: You can play this card to change the color AND the next player must draw 4 cards and miss their turn. (Note: You can only play this card when you do NOT have another card in your hand that matches the COLOR on the discard pile).

Yelling "UNO"

When you play your second-to-last card, you must yell "UNO" (meaning "one") to indicate that you have only one card left. If you don't yell "UNO" and you are caught before the next player begins their turn, you must draw two cards.

Winning and Scoring

Once a player has no cards left, the round is over. Points are scored based on the remaining cards in opponents' hands. Standard number cards are worth face value. Action cards (Skip, Reverse, Draw 2) are worth 20 points. Wild cards are worth 50 points.