Uno Variation: Uno Mao

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety)

Players: 2+

Time: ~5-25 min/round

Rating: 9/10

The game plays just like standard Uno with three additional starting rules and many more rules that will be created throughout the game. A violation of any of these rules during the game results in a penalty where that person must draw a card. The initial three rules are:

1) If a player has the exact same card as the card on top of the discard pile, he may immediately play it out of turn and play then continues as if he had played it as his turn.

2) Whenever a player plays a green card, she must say what the card is (i.e. "Green Five").

3) There is no talking while the game is in progress. You may, however, still call penalties on other players and if discussion is needed, the game can be paused by calling a "Point of Order." You may also talk in compliance with any other rules (such as rule 2, saying "Uno," or choosing the color of play with a Wild card). During a "Point of Order," all players put down their hands and may discuss freely until the game is resumed when one player says "traditional Mao starts now." Note that if a player touches his cards during a "Point of Order," another player may call a penalty on him.

After a player wins a round by discarding her last card, she then will create a new rule that will apply in all future rounds. However, only she will initially know what the rule is. Until all players figure out the rule, that player will be solely in charge of enforcing her rule. She must comply with her rule at all times and must also consistently call penalties on others who break the rule. If she does not do either of these things, another player (who has figured out the rule) may call a penalty on her for not enforcing her rule.

There are few guidelines on rules that a player can create. Players are allowed to contradict or modify any of the initial rules (i.e. they can create a rule that penalizes a player for calling a penalty for talking, which has the effect of eliminating the no talking rule). However, they cannot create rules that contradict another player's rules. Also, rules must be generally applicable and cannot target specific individuals. Some examples of good rules are: "Wilds must be played on the bottom of the pile (and thus have no effect)," "When a player plays a Red 6, she must slap the table," or "Skip cards skip two players instead of one." The sky is the limit when it comes to new rules. Experiment to figure out what types of rules work best for you!

Advantages: Each game of Uno Mao is unique and engaging. It is really fun to create new rules and it can also be fun to try to figure out the other players' rules. This variation will be particularly rewarding for more experienced players who are looking for a challenge.

Disadvantages: There are two disadvantages to this variation. First, a bad rule can make the game really frustrating. This can be avoided if all players try to create rules that are clear and can be easily enforced (and eventually figured out). Second, rounds can take a long time to complete. As the game goes on and the rules multiply, the game gets more challenging, the penalties are more frequent, and consequently the rounds can drag on later in the game.

Overall: Because Uno Mao is different every time you play it, it has great replay value. It will challenge and entertain players and is very enjoyable as long as the players create good rules. Give it a try!

Note: Uno Mao is fun to play without any actual winners or losers (and can last until the players get bored). However, Uno Mao also works well with traditional Uno scoring to give the game more of a competitive edge.

Uno Variation: Special Card Roulette

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety); 1 or more dice; List of Special Wild card effects

Players: 2+

Time: ~10-25 min/round

Rating: 10/10

This variation is a sister variation to Special Card Showdown and it improves upon it in significant ways.

To play, you will need a complete list of Special Wild card effects to reference (condensed version, printer-friendly version). From this list, you will assign numbers to each effect (1-6). If playing with more than 6 effects (recommended), separate the effects into 6 groups (numbered 1-6) and then number the effects within those groups (1-6) (if there are extra numbers, effects may be given more than one number).

During game play, whenever a player plays a Wild card or a Special Wild card, he will roll the dice to determine the effect that it will have. Where there are more than 6 effects being used, the player will roll a die twice to determine the effect (the first roll to determine the effects group and the second for the effect within that group).

Advantages: This variation makes use of all of the different Special Wild card effects, allowing players to experience a wide variety of game play, and leaves the outcome to chance. The uncertain outcomes of wild cards makes this variation fun, unpredictable, and easy to play again and again.

Disadvantages: The major disadvantage (perhaps the only disadvantage) to this variation is that it can cause rounds to take a long time where many people are involved. If you want to shorten rounds, only roll the dice to determine the effects for Special Wild cards, not for regular Wild cards.

Overall: This is easily the most enjoyable Uno variation we have played to date. It keeps things original, changes the strategy, and is easy for both beginners and advanced players. There is some initial preparation time, but once it is done, the same list can be used over and over again for great experiences. Try it out!

Note: Instead of using dice to determine the Wild card effect, the variations can be printed out, cut into strips of paper, and selected from a hat or bowl. By not replacing an effect once drawn, all effects will eventually be used.

Uno Variation: Time Bomb

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety)

Players: 2+ (3+ preferred)

Time: ~10 min/round

Rating: 5/10

For this variation, all Draw 2 and Draw 4 cards are time bombs and don't take effect immediately after played.

For a 2 player game, the fuse is set at 3 and counts down for every turn after the card is played. For example: P1 plays a Draw 2 card (fuse: 3) -> P2 takes turn (fuse: 2) -> P1 takes turn (fuse: 1) -> time bomb explodes on P2 who then draws 2 cards. If you play with "Stacking Draw 2s," the fuse is not set until the last stacked Draw 2 card is played.

For a 3+ player game, the fuse is set at 2. For example: P1 plays a Draw 4 (fuse: 2) -> P2 takes turn (fuse: 1) -> time bomb explodes on P3 who draws 4 cards.

The key to this variation is that Skip and Reverse cards affect who will end up drawing cards. For example, in a 3 player game: P1 plays a Draw 2 (fuse: 2) -> P2 plays a Reverse card (fuse: 1) -> time bomb explodes on P1 who draws 2 cards.

Advantages: This variation balances out the action cards in the game, taking some power away from the Draw 2 and Draw 4 cards and adding some power to Skip and Reverse cards. The game is also more unpredictable and dangerous knowing that the time bombs can also hurt the person who plays the Draw 2 or Draw 4 card.

Disadvantages: In its current form, this variation may be more trouble than it is worth. It can be very difficult to keep track of the time on the bomb(s) and takes enough effort that it can become the controlling feature of the game at the expense of game play.

Overall: This variation has the potential to shake up traditional Uno. Feel free to try it out and if you think of ways to make this variation better, please leave them in the comments.

Notes:
For changing fuse lengths, you can roll a die at the beginning of the game to set the fuse length.

Fuse lengths can also be applied to Wild, Skip, and Reverse cards, but doing so takes away the power of the Skip and Reverse cards to alter the course of the bomb.

Uno Variation: Special Card Showdown

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety); List of Special Wild card effects

Players: 2+

Time: ~5-10 min/round

Rating: 7/10

This variation puts all of the Special Wild card effects from various Uno themes at your disposal. When any Wild card or Special Wild card is played, the player gets to choose any Special Wild card effect to use with the card (click here for a substantial list of Special Wild card effects). Players can either choose beforehand which effects will be available or they can use all of the effects by printing out the printable list of effects to use as a reference.

While players are getting used to new effects, it is helpful to start with just a few such as the Zar'Roc Card (look at a player's hand and exchange one of his cards for one of yours), Power Card (blocks Draw 2s and Draw 4s), Merlin Card (choose a color and all players draw until they get a card of that color), and Wild Downpour Card (all other players draw 2 cards). Check out the full list of Special Wild cards for more effects.

Advantages: This makes Uno a high-powered game. Wilds become paramount to the game and very unpredictable. The wide variety of effects available keep this interesting and always changing.

Disadvantages: Some games will simply be dominated by the person who has the most Wild cards as they can use the cards in the perfect way to suit their needs. The other minor disadvantage is that once the best effects are discovered, the others become unused and the variety is limited (this disadvantage can be removed by playing Special Card Roulette instead).

Overall: This is a fun variation that lets you try out a variety of new rules and adds a very different level of strategy to the game. Give it a try!

Note: As a slight variant to these rules, you can also make Draw 4s into Special Wild cards (in addition to making a player Draw 4) or can limit the Special Wild cards to either the actual Special Wild cards or the standard Wild cards (leaving any Special Wild cards to have the effect of the actual deck you are playing with).

Uno Variation: Hands Down

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety)

Players: 2+

Time: ~10-15 min/round

Rating: 9/10

This is a simple variation, but it completely changes the strategy of the game. As the name suggests, this variant is played with every person's cards visible on the table.

Advantages: This variation takes away some of the luck inherent in a regular Uno game as it allows players to plan ahead based on others' cards. It is also great for any players who regularly allow other players to inadvertently see their cards. Another advantage is that players can work together to prevent players with one card left from finishing the round.

Disadvantages: While this variation is excellent for advanced players, it is hard for newer players to grasp the strategy and can then become an unbalanced game. Also, the amount of collaboration between players in this version tends to make the game slightly longer than other variations.

Overall: The simplicity of this variation makes it easy to implement and the new strategies make it seem like an entirely different game. This variation works especially well with House Rules (with or without the "No Scoring" rule).

Uno Variation: Three Piles

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety)
Players: 2+
Time: ~5-10 min/round
Rating: 7/10

1) When starting the game, create three discard piles instead of one. If "Starting Neutral" is not in effect, the starting player is only affected by the first card that is flipped over to create a discard pile.

2) Each discard pile acts independently of the others, but no pile can be played on twice in a row. If a stacking rule is being used, cards can still be stacked, but to do so, the stacked card must be played on a different pile, not on the card it is being stacked on. For example, if a Draw 2 card is played on Pile A, the next player may play another Draw 2 card, but must be able to do so on Pile B or C to stack the effect.

Advantages: This is a very simple variation to implement, but still has the benefit of completely changing the nature and strategy of the game. Because each player has two piles to play on at any time, the games tend to be shorter and more fast paced.

Disadvantages: Although fast paced games can be fun, this variation makes it much more likely that a game will end without a player drawing any cards or ever being unable to play a card on her turn.

Overall: The simplicity of this variation makes it fun to try as well as to experiment with. Feel free to share any thoughts or modifications in the comments.

Uno Variation: House Rules

Cards: 1 or more Uno decks (any variety)
Players: 2+
Time: ~10 min/round
Rating: 8/10

These are the variations that we liked enough to make our default rules:

1) Play according to the Uno rules except where they conflict with the following rules

2) "Stacking Draw 2s": When a Draw 2 card is played, the next person has the opportunity to play a Draw 2 card immediately to avoid drawing cards. The next person then has to either draw 4 cards or add her own Draw 2 card. Play continues until a player cannot add a Draw 2 to the pile. That person then draws the number of cards equal to all of the Draw 2s that were stacked and play continues with the next person. (For a further variation, allow "Stacking Draw 4s").

3) "Starting Neutral": When the top card is turned over to begin play, it is deemed to have no effect (i.e. if it is a Draw 2 card, the first player is not required to draw). If the card is a Wild, the next card is turned over.

4) "No Scoring": The Uno rules suggest keeping track of players' scores at the end of each round. With this variation, the game ends when the first person plays his last card. That person is then declared the winner and a new game begins. Alternately, the remaining players can continue playing to determine 2nd place and so on.

5) "No-limits Draw 4s": Draw 4 cards can be played at any time even if a player is able to match the color in play.

Advantages: This variation turns Uno into a fast-moving game with a slightly more strategy involved in winning each round (particularly with the Draw 2s). This game is easily repeated to allow all a chance for some sort of victory, even those with less experience. And it is particularly fun for 2 player games.

Disadvantages: The main disadvantage to this variation is that some strategy is removed by taking out the scoring.

Overall: A great variation for quick, fun, casual games of Uno with a bit of an edge. Feel free to use and modify these rules and let me know what you think in the comments!