Uno (with a twist)
Taking the game of Uno you know (and hopefully like), and making it playable anywhere, a little vicious, and a lot of fun.
- 4+ Players
- Teams allowed
- 30+ minutes
Gameplay
Materials Needed
You can play this version with any 4 decks of regular cards. The decks can all be different, or they can all be the same, but importantly each deck must include the 2 Jokers that came with the deck. Depending on the number players you can add more decks. There is actually no limit to the number of people that can play, you’re only limited by the number of cards you’ve got.
Teams or solo
The game can be played either in teams or individual players. You can divide the teams as you see fit, and depending on the total number of players you can have teams of 2, 3, 4, etc. Teams determine how certain cards behave in-play, as well as have an effect on scoring. Otherwise, gameplay remains the same.
Setup
Shuffle all the decks together. Going clockwise, starting with the person to the left of the dealer, deal each person 7 cards face down. Once finished, place the remaining cards in the center of the table and flip the top card face up to start the game. Gameplay begins with the person to the left of the dealer.
Gameplay
To play, you must play a card that is:
- The same suit as the top card on the center pile
- The same number or face card of the top card on the center pile
- A wild card (Jacks or Jokers)
For example, if the card on top of the center pile is a 6 of clubs, the current player can play any club, a 6 of any suit, or a wild card. If the player cannot play any card, he/she must draw 1 card from the deck.
Card Actions
Certain cards perform special actions. Note that most cards must be played in-suit (or on another card of the same number) and are not wild.
| Card | Individuals | Teams | In suit? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ace |
Reverse play |
Reverse play |
|
|
Deuce |
Next player draws 2 |
Next player draws 2 |
|
|
Seven |
Skip next player |
Skip to next team member |
|
|
Jacks |
Change suit |
Change suit |
|
|
Jokers |
Next player draws 5 |
Next player draws 5 |
|
Jacks and Jokers are the only wild cards. Also note that deuces and jokers are stackable, meaning that as long as a player has a deuce or a joker in their hand it can be played, and the draw total continues to go up until a player cannot play.
Scoring And Game End
The game progresses until a predetermined score is achieved by a player or a team (i.e. the losing score). In smaller games of 4-6 players, a score of 500-750 is reasonable and usually results in a game of about 45 minutes or so. For larger games with 6-10 or more players, a score of 1000 or more is reasonable.
Scoring should also be based on team or individual play. Team scores are added for the entire team, so games with a large number of players can quickly hit 500 or more points in a just a few rounds.
To score the round, the player (or team) that won the round is scored “0”. The remaining players add up their cards; teams add the cards of each of their individual players up to get the total team score for the round.
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
|
Ace |
20 |
|
Deuce |
20 |
|
Jack |
30 |
|
Joker |
50 |
|
3-7 |
5 |
|
8-K |
10 |
The finer points
Nope. You’re only limited by the number of decks you’ve got. So, if you’ve put 4 decks in, that’s 8 jokers that are out there to play. Have fun drawing and holding 40 cards.
Nope. You’re only limited by the number of decks you’ve got. So, if you’ve put 4 decks in, that’s 8 jokers that are out there to play. Have fun drawing and holding 40 cards.
Take that center pile with all those jokers and deuces, shuffle it, and add back to the draw deck. Keep on going.
The first card played is considered thrown by the dealer, so play progress as if the dealer threw the card. If a Jack is thrown, the dealer choses the suit. If a seven is flipped play goes to the next team member of the dealer’s team.
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