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.

1 comment:

  1. Nice blog and you provide a great information about the card. Yes, the variation makes use of all of the different special wild card effects, allowing players to experience a wide variety of game play. This is easily the most enjoyed Uno variation we have played to date. Thanks for information.

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