If you’ve mastered the Classic UNO rules or you’ve played 50 rounds of UNO with your family, you might be wondering if there are any alternative games to play using UNO cards.
Fortunately, the answer is an emphatic yes to this question. To add a distinct taste to your usual UNO game, you may learn the Spicy UNO rules.
Alternatively, you may play something entirely unrelated to UNO with your deck.
And, unlike other variants like UNO Flash and UNO Attack, most of these games don’t require any additional equipment, so you can get started right away.
So, we’ve compiled a list of 16 of the greatest and most imaginative alternative card games that you can play with your UNO deck, including games for all ages.
Table of Contents
1. SORTING GAME
2. NUMBER GRAB GAME
3. PATTERN GAME
4. COLOR + NUMBER MATCH
5. SNAP
6. MEMORY
7. GO FISH
8. OLD MAID
9. FIND THE ITEMS
10. GUESS THE NUMBER
11. CARD HOUSES
12. DOMINO EFFECT
13. STRESS
14. SLAP
15. SPOONS
16. HIGHER OR LOWER
Other versions of UNO
Other Games to Play with UNO Cards
1. SORTING GAME
2+ players are required.
Children of all ages.
Playing Time: 5–10 minutes
Sorting Game in a nutshell:
Challenge a toddler or young kid to sort the cards into color order from a shuffled deck. Challenge them to sort them numerically once they’ve sorted them into colored order. If there are more than one participant, it’s time to see who can sort the deck the fastest.
2. NUMBER GRAB GAME
2+ players are required.
Children of all ages.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Number Grab Game in a nutshell
Remove all non-number cards from a UNO deck and play exclusively with the number cards. Shuffle the deck and arrange the cards face down in a stack. Players must yell out the number as soon as they see it. When the original stack is depleted, the player with the most cards wins.
3. PATTERN GAME
2+ players are required.
Children of all ages are welcome.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Pattern Game in a nutshell
Collect all of the number cards and arrange them in a basic pattern, such as 2 yellows, 3 greens, 2 yellows, and so on. Players are challenged to figure out the pattern; the first person to do so earns a point and moves on to the next pattern. The player with the most points at the conclusion of the game wins.
4. COLOR + NUMBER MATCH
2+ players are required.
Children of all ages.
Playing Time: 5–20 minutes
Color + Number Match in a nutshell
Sort through all of the cards in the deck until just the colored number cards remain. Make sure your youngster has a variety of colorful objects, such as sweets. The player must then choose a card from the pile and arrange the things that match the amount and color on the card.
5. SNAP
2+ players are required.
Children of all ages are welcome.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Snap in a nutshell:
Only utilize the number cards, which should be separated and shuffled into a deck. Place the deck on its back. Players should be dealt the complete deck so that they have about the same amount of cards.
Starting to the left of the dealer, players place one card at a time into the discard pile. When a matching pair is found, all players must smack their palm on the pile and yell SNAP!
Whoever has the lowest hand at the end of the round wins that round and takes the pile. Whoever has all of the cards at the conclusion of the game wins.
6. MEMORY
2+ players are required.
Children of all ages are welcome.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Memory in a nutshell:
Collect 20 UNO cards that are arranged in 10 pairs. Shuffle the cards and put them out in a 55 grid pattern, making sure they’re in a random order. Challenge a player to locate the ten pairings in the fewest feasible moves.
To complete the challenge, keep track of how many cards they overturned, and the person with the lowest total wins.
7. GO FISH
2–5 players are required.
Children and pre-teens.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Go Fish in a nutshell:
Remove all but two cards from each color number. Shuffle the deck and distribute 7 cards to each player evenly. Players must match four identical cards and ask other players if they have any cards that can be used to complete a set of four. If they don’t have the card, the player is advised to ‘Go Fish,’ and another card is picked up. The player who gets rid of all of their cards first wins.
Related: Go Fish Game Rules
8. OLD MAID
2–5 players are required.
Children and pre-teens.
Playing Time: 10–25 minutes
Old Maid in a nutshell:
Take all of the number cards from a UNO pack and one wild card at random. Shuffle the deck and distribute the cards to all participants. Players must match cards, and if they do so in their initial draw, they can set these aside.
Hold the remaining cards up to the right-hand player, who can choose one at random to potentially make another match. At the end of the game, the player who has the wildcard loses.
9. FIND THE ITEMS
2+ players are required.
Children and pre-teens.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Find The Items in a nutshell:
Shuffle all of the number cards before drawing one from the pile. Players must locate as many things in the color of the card as possible. If a ‘Red 4’ is drawn, players must locate four red things. The first player to accomplish each task receives a point. The player with the most points at the conclusion of the game wins.
10. GUESS THE NUMBER
2+ players are required.
Children, pre-teens, and teenagers.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Guess The Number in a nutshell:
Shuffle the full UNO deck and give each player a card. Players must place their provided card on their forehead without being able to see it. They then ask questions in an attempt to determine which card is on their forehead.
Other players can only respond to queries with yes or no answers. The person who picks their card correctly in the fewest questions wins.
11. CARD HOUSES
2 players are required.
Pre-teens and teenagers.
Playing Time: 10 minutes
Card Houses in a nutshell:
Split the deck in half and distribute one deck to each participant. Set a timer for 10 minutes and challenge both players to construct the highest tower in that period. The player who constructs the highest and safest tower wins.
12. DOMINO EFFECT
2+ players are required.
Pre-teens and teenagers.
Play time is 20 minutes.
Domino Effect in a nutshell:
Divide the deck of UNO cards in half and distribute one half to each player. Set a time restriction of 20 minutes, and each participant must create the longest ‘domino train’ possible. The winner is the player who has the longest train.
13. STRESS
2 players are required.
Pre-teens and teenagers.
Playing Time: 10 minutes
Stress in a nutshell:
Withdraw all wildcards from your deck, leaving just numbered cards. Draw two cards at random from the draw pile and place them in the centre. Distribute the remaining cards. At the same time, players must add cards that are either the same, one higher, or one lower than the center card.
The opposite player can cry ‘STRESS’ if a player plays the identical number card as one of the middle cards. If they do so, the game restarts with the other player picking up the collected cards. The player who gets rid of all of their cards first wins.
14. SLAP
2+ players are required.
Pre-teens and teenagers.
Play time is 20 minutes.
Slap in a nutshell:
Distribute all of the numbered cards to the players. Decide on a winning sequence, such as four green cards in a row. Each participant in the circle swiftly places one card at a time in the center. To win the game, participants must yell ‘SLAP’ and slap their palm on the pile as soon as the sequence happens.
15. SPOONS
6–12 players are required.
Pre-teens and teenagers.
Playing Time: 30–45 minutes
Spoons in a nutshell:
Remove all of the number cards from the UNO deck and divide by the number of players. Players are given four cards and must match four numbers. A player can pick up a spoon once they have four of a kind. A letter spelling out SPOON is handed to the last player without a spoon. A player is out once they have SPOON. The game is won by the last person standing.
Related: How To Play Spoons
16. HIGHER OR LOWER
One or more players
Pre-teens and teenagers.
Playing Time: 5–15 minutes
Higher or Lower in a nutshell:
Shuffle the UNO deck, including the wildcards, but not all of them. Draw the highest card. The player must estimate whether the following card is higher, lower, or a wildcard. Determine how many valid guesses each player can make; the player with the most correct guesses wins.
Wrap Up
You’ll be prepared for those vacation weekends when your only deck of cards is your UNO deck now that you have a list of alternative games to play using UNO cards.
If you want to play additional UNO games, see our complete list of all other UNO variations below:
Other versions of UNO
Do you want to stay with UNO? Why not try one of the following UNO alternatives:
- DOS
- Spicy UNO
- UNO Attack
- UNO Bingo
- UNO Blast
- UNO Blitzo
- UNO Choo-Choo
- UNO Colors Rule
- UNO Dice
- UNO Disney
- UNO Dominos
- UNO Flash
- UNO Flip
- UNO Hearts
- UNO House Rules
- UNO Madness
- UNO Master
- UNO Moo
- UNO Power Grab
- UNO Reflex
- UNO Roboto
- UNO Royal Revenge
- UNO Rummy-Up
- UNO Spin
- UNO Stacko
- UNO Tiki Twist
- UNO Tippo
- UNO Wild Jackpot
- UNO Wild Tiles
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