Step-by-Step Guide on How to Play Uno Like a Pro


One thing that’s certain in the gaming arena is that casino games are highly popular. The mere fact that hundreds of gaming operators are mushrooming at a lightning-fast pace is a testament to this. However, in as much as casino games are highly popular, they have one major shortcoming – they are only accessible to those who have attained the legal age of majority. Depending on the jurisdiction you reside in, you can only access top casino games when you are either 18 or 21 years of age. One game however that is user-friendly to everyone including the young folks is Uno.

Uno deck

Uno is a card game that falls in the casual games’ category. Thanks to its simple rules, anyone who has developed the ability to master the game’s rules can enjoy the game. The 10-year olds, 8-year olds or even 7-year olds can enjoy the game. Essentially this means in addition to being a casual game, it’s also a family game. in the same vein, it’s also a pro game as it is available at top online casinos.

The gameplay instructions remain the same whether you are playing the game at home with family and friends or at top gambling platforms. The gameplay instructions are highlighted in detail in this detailed step-by-step guide on how to play Uno.

Uno Game Objective

Before we start sharing the step-by-step tips on how to play Uno, the first thing we want to highlight is the game’s objective. When playing Uno, what you are aiming for is to be the first player to reach the 500-card count. To reach this target, you need to quickly eliminate all of the cards you are dealt by discarding them in the discard pile. Note that you may fail to reach the 500 card count target in just one round hence it’s possible to win one round but end up losing the game. Consistency is therefore key to emerging as the ultimate winner as you will need to win all (or most of the) rounds.

Key Things to Note Before Initiating a Gaming Session

  • Uno is played using a unique Uno cards deck with 108 cards
  • Players may increase the deck up to 112 cards by adding customisable cards. All competing players however have to agree beforehand on how the customisable cards are to be branded and how they operate
  • The game can be played by 2 to 10 players at once
Jenga game

Step-by-Step Uno Gameplay Guide

  1. The selected dealer (any one of the competing players tasked with shuffling the cards) initiates the game by shuffling the cards and dealing 7 each (face down) to all competing players
  2. The remaining cards from the deck are placed at the centre of the table facing down and they constitute the draw pile
  3. The top card from the draw pile is flipped face up and placed adjacent to the draw pile. This card will count as the first card in the discard pile
  4. The player to the immediate left of the dealer will need to pick any card from his hand that matches the face-up card on the discard pile by colour, number, word or symbol and discard it to the discard pile. The next player to the left in a clockwise direction will need to join in the action and the cycle continues until one player discards all his/her cards
  5. If a player’s turn arrives but there is no matching card with that on the top of the discard pile either by colour, number, word or symbol, then the player is forced to draw another card from the draw pile. If the picked card also doesn’t match with that on top of the discard pile, the player keeps the card but the game proceeds as it becomes the next player’s turn to play
  6. The first player who discards all his/her cards wins the round
  7. When the round ends, the remaining players count the value of all their cards and the total becomes the card count of the player who won the round. If the card count equals or exceeds 500, then the player wins the game. if not, another game round ensues.

Uno Special Cards

Among the 108 cards (or up to 112 when using customisable cards) in the Uno deck, 32 are special cards. This in essence means they perform other special functions during the game. The incorporated special cards and the functions they perform are as follows:

  • Skip Cards: When a player places a Skip card on the discard pile, the next player ordinarily expected to play will see his/her turn skipped
  • Reverse Cards: A reverse card necessitates the game round to change its cycle from clockwise to anti-clockwise (or vice versa if it was already in the anti-clockwise cycle)
Uno cards
  • Draw 2 Cards: The next player to play after the Draw 2 Cards card is placed on the discard pile will have to pick two cards from the draw pile and not place any card on the discard pile
  • Wild Cards: This card can be placed on top of any card on the discard pile and the player who placed it will have to name the colour, number, word or symbol card to enter the round from thereon
  • Wild Draw 4 Cards: Functions just like the Draw 2 Cards card albeit the player who gets to pick the cards will pick 4 instead of 2
  • Blank Cards: Blank cards are customisable cards to which players may assign special functions that they deem necessary if all of them are in agreement. Blank cards however are optional.

Uno Card Rankings

When it comes to counting the cards at the end of a round, players have to use the following card rankings:

  • All number cards (0 to 9) have a face value
  • The Draw 2 card is worth 20 points
  • The Reverse card is worth 20 points
  • The Skip card is worth 20 points
  • The Wild card is worth 50 points
  • The Wild Draw 4 card is worth 50 points
  • If the Blank customisable cards are in play, players need to decide beforehand what each card is worth.

Round Up

Uno is quite a fascinating game to play. This is largely necessitated by the fact that it comes with simple gameplay rules. This makes it accommodative even to beginner players without much gaming experience. More impressive is the fact that the game can be enjoyed as a casual game when played with family and friends and at the same time, can be enjoyed as a pro game when playing at top online casinos.