®

UNO Composer
working title – fan-made card game variation (2–16 players) – draft 1
inspired by Mattel and Exploding Kittens :)
“-1.” The Table of Contents _______________________________________________ 1
0. Wait, what is UNO Composer about? ___________________________________ 1
1. Contents (spoiler: there are 336 cards) _________________________________ 1
2. Objective and winning conditions______________________________________ 2
3. Terminology _________________________________________________________ 3
4. Compose ____________________________________________________________ 4
5. Setup (for first round and then onwards) _______________________________ 5
6. Playing, taking turns and winning rounds ______________________________ 6
7. Action cards _________________________________________________________ 9
8. Scoring, restarting rounds and winning _______________________________ 15
9. House rules!!! _______________________________________________________ 16
10. Wild Customizable suggestions _____________________________________ 20
11. Miscellaneous stuff ________________________________________________ 21
12. The end (also known as credits) _____________________________________ 24

0. Wait, what is UNO Composer about?

With the all-new Compose mechanic, play it fast or slow to your own
heartbeat! More than 300 cards combine to create unique decks that’ll
surely challenge even the professionals of all time like never seen before!
And yes, you still have to shout UNO1 when you’re down to one card.

1. Contents (spoiler: there are 336 cards)

a) 320 playable cards (in blue/green/red/yellow and colorless/Wild):
• 4 cards each of from 0 to 9 (in each color; total 160)
• 4 cards each of Draw 1, Draw 2, Skip, Reverse (in each color; total
64)

1
“UNO” = “1”
Page 1 of 24
 • 2 cards each of Discard All, Draw 3, Draw 4, Skip Everyone, Skip
Two, Targeted Draw 2 (in each color; total 48)
• 8 cards each of Wild, Wild Draw 2, Wild Draw 4 (total 24)
• 4 cards each of Wild Color Roulette, (erasable) Wild Customizable,
Wild Draw 6, Wild All-Out, Wild Draw Color, Wild Swap Hands (total
24)
b) 16 unplayable cards:
• 2 tokens (in each color; total 8)
• 1 transparent color indicator (in each color; total 4)
• 2 cut cards (1 includes deck height ruler)
• 1 dealer card
• 1 direction tracker
c) (these) instructions
d) 16 sheets of pre-composed songs, 1 instruction sheet and 3 blank
sheets (total 20)

2. Objective and winning conditions

Typically, there is only one winner. See rule 10.18. if losers are ranked.
There are 6 types of winning conditions to pick before play:
a) # rounds: win enough rounds (usually 1)
b) # points: win enough points (usually 500)
c) most points, # rounds: win the most points after playing enough
rounds (usually after playing 5 rounds)
d) negative # points: lose the least points when someone lost enough
points (usually 500)
e) challenge # points: survive after opponents were eliminated for
losing enough points (usually 500)
f) average points, # rounds: win the most points divided by the
number of rounds won (usually after playing 5 rounds)
For a player to win a round, they must
a) not be disqualified (see rule 6.6.)
and
b) use up all cards in their hand for the round (also known as go out;
see rule 6.5.), or
c) remain in play after their opponents are all disqualified (also known
as survive), or

Page 2 of 24
 d) end a round (for example, on time) with the lowest hand score
compared to all opponents.
When a tie (= more than one player satisfies a winning condition)
happens, the tiebreaker mechanism applies (see rule 8.5.).

3. Terminology
The following definitions apply to UNO as a whole. You may encounter
them outside this variation as well. Terminology specific to Composer will
be discussed in following chapters.
1. card: the main game object, (usually) made of paper, has a
rectangular shape and two faces (down (or back) and up (or front));
its back is uniformly printed so that cards are not readily
distinguishable
2. color: one of card front’s 2 attributes; there are five such colors
3. number/symbol: one of card front's 2 attributes; there are ten
such numbers and nineteen such symbols, one of which is custom
4. deck/pack: a collection of playable cards in rounds/games
5. hand: cards in the possession of a player in a particular round
6. round: a series of cards being dealt and played, from the moment
the hands are formed until a player goes out
7. game: a series of rounds being played until there is one winner
8. deal: distribution of a number of cards into hands
9. dealer: the player responsible for dealing hands and starting a
round
10. player: a game participant actively interested in playing/winning
11. (re)shuffle: randomize order of cards in deck, usually with the
cards facing down, which is performed by the dealer or when the
draw pile is exhausted
12. draw: take a number of cards from the draw pile
13. draw pile: area of leftover cards, facedown, after a deal to draw
during play
14. discard: choose a number of cards (usually 1) and remove them
from a hand to put them down to the discard pile
15. discard pile: area of cards to match and remove during play; also
shorthand for the top card of the pile
16. match: common attribute (of color or number/symbol) between
cards; comparison between cards

Page 3 of 24
 17. play: discard a number of cards (usually 1, in turn) that matches
the discard pile and make such card(s) on top of the pile, making
them eligible for matching
18. turn: a player’s chance to take one of the following actions: to play,
to draw (and play or pass) or to complete an Action card effect
19. renege: opt to draw even though a card could be played in a
normal turn
20. turn taker: a player taking one turn
21. Action card: a non-number card, usually one that disrupts a turn
(may include a Wild card)
22. action: a player activity, usually one applied by an Action card
23. Wild card: a colorless card with, at least, the ability of forcing the
next card to match any one chosen color of four colors
24. direction of play: the recurring position of the player that takes
turns after the last player to take their last turn: either to the left
(clockwise) or to the right (counterclockwise)
25. order of play: the recurring sequence of turns players take
26. seating: how players are positionally arranged; UNO assumes
players sitting around a circle
27. score/point: assigned numerical value of a card, used to record
progress of a player to winning or losing
28. face value: numerical value of a number card, or 0 for Action cards
29. pass: end a turn (usually early) and allow the next player to take
their turn
30. switch: physically move two physical entities (usually hands or
players) so that an entity ends up on the place of the other
31. take (card): select and receive a card from any source
32. first discard: a valid card revealed from the draw pile that starts a
given round and forms the discard pile
33. challenge: a call to penalize an unacceptable decision (such as
forgetting to shout UNO or playing a Wild Draw x card incorrectly)
34. burn: remove a card from hand or the draw pile and place it at the
bottom of the discard pile, so that it has no effect

4. Compose
This game comes with 16 pre-written songs, which are factory decks and
rulesets to play UNO with. Each song has the following information:
a) venue: how many players will play and how the winner is decided
Page 4 of 24
 b) instruments: the deck’s distribution; what cards will form a deck
c) tempo: how many cards to deal to each player per round and how
many consecutive turns a player takes
d) scale: how many cards to draw before the draw pile is reshuffled
e) directions: rule modifications (like house rules)
Deal cards and play according to one song of your choosing. Players
confident that the 16 songs are not enough can take inspiration from our
16 songs and compose their own song(s). As always, have fun, though
please make the instructions unambiguous. Anything that isn’t covered
in each song or is expected as standard will be established below.

5. Setup (for first round and then onwards)

1. Pick a song of your choice. Every player must agree to it.
1.1. If you can’t pick one, just randomly draw a song!
2. Find a place to play. Players sit in a circle, so that every player has
a player to their left and a player to their right. All players need to
be able to reach a common point to draw and discard cards.
2.1. Each player always keeps their position when a round is in
progress.
2.2. Ideally, your position is also kept between rounds. You may,
however, switch seats if you prefer.
2.2.1. If your position is attached to an effect that changes
as you move, you may not switch positions until a
game has concluded.
3. From your 320 cards, pick the cards that will be used according to
the selected song to form your instrument cards. Put the remaining
cards away; they will not be used.
4. Shuffle the instrument cards (anyone can), then pick a player to
deal the first round.
4.1. By default, for each round, each player draws 1 card from
the shuffled instruments. The player with the highest
numerical value is the dealer; redraw if there is a tie.
4.2. From the second round of a song onwards, select the player
satisfying one of the following, agreed, criteria:
4.2.1. random pick (default)
4.2.2. winner of last round
4.2.3. worst loser of last round by score
4.2.4. a player to the side of the last dealer
Page 5 of 24
 5. The dealer reshuffles the instrument cards then deals each active
player a number of cards equal to the selected song’s tempo (by
default, 7 cards).
5.1. They may ask other players to insert the cut card into the
deck and then swap two cut portions. Repeat if needed.
5.2. Any player can physically deal cards in place of the dealer.
The dealer position is ceremonially assigned to determine
order of play.
6. Create a draw pile consisting of the remaining instrument cards.
7. Randomly separate and reveal 1 card from the draw pile. It is the
first discard, which starts the discard pile.
7.1. If it is an Action card, select one of the following actions:
7.1.1. act out its first discard effect
7.1.2. ignore it and reveal another card
7.1.3. put it back, reshuffle and reveal another card
7.2. For each independent, additional card revealed, another
discard pile is created.
8. By default, the first player to take their first turns is the player to
the left of the dealer, and subsequent turns are played by the
player sitting clockwise to the last player.

6. Playing, taking turns and winning rounds

1. By default, each player takes up to 1 turn consecutively.
1.1. After spending all of their turns, the next player starts their
sequence of turns.
1.1.1. The 2 default directions of play are clockwise and
counterclockwise.
1.1.2. Extra turns, by default, are effective the moment they
are granted. The current player can immediately use
such turns if the last turn is theirs.
1.2. If other players’ turns have been lost between one player’s
two full sequences of turns (also known as a turn cycle), they
are not considered to have taken them consecutively.
1.3. When a turn’s action has been completed, the turn ends. The
player to take the next turn (also known as the next turn
taker) may take their turn; it is considered to have started.
2. A turn may be overridden by the effect of an Action card. Action
cards always prevail over normal turns.
Page 6 of 24
 2.1. By default, an effect that takes away 1 turn affects the next
turn taker, even if both turns belong to the same player.
2.2. If an action does not take away a turn, it is performed
immediately before the next turn starts.
2.2.1. By default, the action is part of that next turn.
3. A normal turn consists of the player choosing and then taking one
of the following actions:
3.1. Draw one card.
3.1.1. If this card matches the discard pile, it may either be
kept in the hand or played.
3.1.1.1. If played, the card should be played as fast
as possible. The next player may take their
turn if there is no indication of play.
3.1.1.2. The card can only be played if it satisfies
rule 6.3.2..
3.1.1.3. No other cards may be played in a normal
turn if a player has chosen to draw.
3.1.1.4. Even if there are playable cards in a
player’s hand, they can still draw a card.
This is called reneging and is acceptable.
3.2. Play one card matching the discard pile. If impossible, refer
back to rule 6.3.1.1..
3.2.1. Only one card may be played to only one discard pile
in any one turn, excluding effects.
3.2.2. A card is considered played if it is a valid match and
it touches the discard pile.
4. At any time a player’s action will directly end up with a hand
reduced to 1 card (at the end of/in their turn or at the end of
someone else’s turn), the owner of the 1-card hand must audibly
shout UNO or risk a challenge after the action is complete.
4.1. In situations where it is not possible for the player to be
hearable, they must find a way to visibly/noticeably indicate
that they have 1 card remaining (for example, by pointing to
their cards with 1 finger).
4.1.1. Acceptable gestures should be agreed upon before a
game starts.
4.2. This rule applies whenever any one of these criteria is
satisfied:
4.2.1. having 2 cards, 1 card is played
Page 7 of 24
 4.2.2.
a hand with more than 1 card is swapped for a 1-
card hand
4.3. This rule does not apply for any of these criteria:
4.3.1. having 0 cards (but the round has not concluded), 1
card is drawn
4.3.2. a 1-card hand is swapped for a 1-card hand
4.4. Any player may challenge a player who has forgotten to
shout UNO after the action is complete. By default, to
challenge, a player shouts UNO towards the offender.
4.4.1. The player who forgets to shout UNO can
“challenge” themselves, under the condition that
they shout UNO and not anything else.
4.4.1.1. If they succeed, they are safe from
penalties described below.
4.4.2. Other players may elect to use different shouts, as
long as it is unambiguous that the shout is used to
challenge.
4.4.2.1. If they succeed, by default, the offender
must draw cards (2 by default; sometimes
4) in correspondence to the challenge.
They draw after they have finished their
current turn, or immediately if it is not yet
their turn. These cards are drawn before
any other penalties.
4.4.3. Challenges are no longer accepted and the offender
is safe from penalties when the next player causes a
change in card count.
4.4.3.1. This means that the timeframe for
challenge starts when the player officially
obtains a hand of 1 card and ends when
the next player has drawn or played 1 card.
4.4.3.2. In rule 6.4.4. only, “the next player” is the
player taking a turn that draws or discards
at least 1 card after the current turn taker’s
last turn.2

2
There may be players that completely miss their turns in-between without being able to draw or play a card.
Challenges are still possible until then.
Page 8 of 24
 5. A round ends in someone going out if all of the following criteria
are resolved simultaneously:
5.1. 1 and only 1 player has a hand size of 0 cards.
5.1.1. If there are more than 1, keep resolving rules 6.5.2.
and 6.5.3.. If more than 1 player still ends up with 0
cards, they must tiebreak together; if exactly 1 player
ends up with 0 cards, they have won the round.
5.2. Until the start of the next player’s normal turn, no players can
force the 0-card player(s) to take at least 1 more card.
5.3. Every outstanding action has been resolved.
5.3.1. Players still have to draw cards resulting from the
turn that triggered rule 6.5.1..
5.3.2. If, after all actions have been resolved and no players
have 0 cards, the round continues.
6. A player may be disqualified (from a round) for performing an
action explicitly denoted as disqualifiable.
6.1. Disqualification happens after the disqualified player’s turn in
which they were disqualified. All of their remaining turns are
lost. Their Action cards do not trigger, unless stated to
trigger on disqualification.
6.2. The disqualified player must reveal all of their hand, lay it
down (faceup) and stop playing. These cards are treated as a
round loser’s hand.
6.2.1. If at least one other player is using their hand during
the round, they may not reveal their hand. Instead,
they must lay it down (facedown) and stop playing.
6.3. The disqualified player takes no further part in playing in that
round and the player circle is retroactively merged so that
players previously separated by them are now connected;
this is equivalent to them always taking 0 turns.

7. Action cards
In this section, each card has its own rule. 7.?. names and describes
Action card ?, 7.?.1. describes its first discard effect (if applied), 7.?.2.
describes when it is playable, 7.?.3. describes its main effect (on play:
from the point of view of its player) and 7.?.4. states clarifications.
1. Draw x (x = 1, 2, 3, 4) (colored)
1.1. The first player draws x card(s) and lose their turn.
Page 9 of 24
 1.2. Play on a Draw x or a card of the same color.
1.3. The player taking the next turn draws x card(s) and lose their
turn.
2. Targeted Draw 2 (colored)
2.1. The first player chooses a player to immediately draw 2
cards.
2.2. Play on a Targeted Draw 2 or a card of the same color.
2.3. Choose any player to immediately draw 2 cards.3
3. Skip (colored)
3.1. The first player loses their turn.
3.2. Play on a Skip or a card of the same color.
3.3. The player taking the next turn loses their turn.
4. Skip Two (colored)
4.1. From the first player, two of the first turns are lost.
4.2. Play on a Skip or a card of the same color.
4.3. The players taking the next two turns lose their turns.
5. Skip Everyone (colored)
5.1. Everyone loses 1 turn, starting from the first player.
5.2. Play on a Skip Everyone or a card of the same color.
5.3. Take an extra turn.
6. Reverse (colored)
6.1. The first player loses their turn. Continue playing
counterclockwise.
6.2. Play on a Reverse or a card of the same color.
6.3. The direction of play changes from clockwise to
counterclockwise and vice versa.
6.3.1. A player still completes all of their turns until the
direction of play visibly changes.
6.4. In rounds where there are only two players remaining, a
Reverse acts like a Skip.
7. Discard All (colored)
7.1. Nothing happens.
7.2. Play on a Discard All or a card of the same color.
7.3. Also burn every card of the same color as the Discard All.
8. Wild (colorless)
8.1. The first player chooses a color and takes the first turn.
8.2. Play on anything.

3
Targeted draw cards do not cause loss of turn.
Page 10 of 24
 8.3. Choose a color out of the four colors. It is now the color of
the card.
8.4. For all Wild cards, only one of the four colors may be
selected, including the color of the current discard. The color
of Wilds (or colorless) may not be picked.
9. Wild Draw x (x = 2, 4, 6) (colorless)
9.1. Before starting a game, decide on one of the following
actions:
9.1.1. return this card to instrument cards, reshuffle and
start with a new first discard (default)
9.1.2. the dealer chooses a color; first player draws x cards
and loses a turn; the player playing the next turn
takes the turn as normal
9.1.3. the first player chooses a color, draws x cards and
loses a turn; the player playing the next turn takes
the turn as normal
9.1.4. the first player draws x cards and loses a turn; the
player playing the next turn chooses a color and
takes the turn as normal
9.2. Play on anything.
9.2.1. If there is at least one card other than the Wild Draw
x in hand matching in color against the current
discard (making them offending cards), playing a
Wild Draw x (also known as bluffing) might incur a
penalty.
9.3. Choose a color out of the four colors. It is now the color of
the card. The player taking the next turn must select one of
the following choices:
9.3.1. Draw x cards and lose their turn.
9.3.2. Challenge the last player whether they had a different
card matching in color. They become the challenger.
9.3.2.1. The last player must show their hand to
only the challenger.
9.3.2.2. If the challenger succeeds (the last player
does have an offending card), they draw
no cards and the last player draws x cards.
The challenger does not lose their turn.
9.3.2.3. If the challenger fails (the last player does
not), they draw x cards plus some more in
Page 11 of 24
 addition (by default, 2 more cards or (50%
of x) cards, whichever is higher) and lose
their turn.
9.4. Below are four clarifications on challenges:
9.4.1. Only the next turn taker is allowed to challenge, and
no one else. The penalty for a failed challenge can
vary.
9.4.2. Decide before a game starts if Wild cards are
considered offending. By default, they are not.
9.4.3. Cards only matching in number/symbol are not
offending cards.
9.4.4. The card played, if challenged successfully, is not
returned to the offender’s hand.
9.4.4.1. Some players may play that the card is
replaced with a correct card before the
offender draws. This is an ancient rule.
10. Wild Draw Color (colorless)
This card is mostly the same as rule 7.9. (Wild Draw x). For sections
where they match, the corresponding rules are “[skipped]” (replacing the
name of “Wild Draw x” with “Wild Draw Color”).
10.1. [skipped]
10.1.1. [skipped]
10.1.2. the first player chooses a color and draws cards until
they get a card of that color then loses a turn; the
player playing the next turn takes the turn as normal
10.1.3. the player taking the second turn chooses a color,
the first player draws cards until they get a card of
that color, then the player taking the second turn
takes the turn as normal
10.2. [skipped]
10.2.1. [skipped]
10.3. [skipped]
10.3.1. Draw a card and check if it matches the Wild Draw
Color’s chosen color.
10.3.1.1. If it does, they must reveal it to everyone
before putting it in their hand.
10.3.1.2. If it does not, repeat drawing until it does.
10.3.2. [skipped]
10.3.2.1. [skipped]
Page 12 of 24
 10.3.2.2. If the challenger succeeds (the last player
does have an offending card), they draw
no cards and the last player draws cards
until they get a card of the chosen color.
The challenger does not lose their turn.
10.3.2.3. If the challenger fails (the last player does
not), they draw cards until they get a card
of the chosen color. Then, they draw some
more cards in addition (by default, 2 more
cards) and lose their turn.
10.4. Below are four clarifications on challenges and three
clarifications on drawing cards:
10.4.1. [skipped]
10.4.2. [skipped]
10.4.3. [skipped]
10.4.4. [skipped]
10.4.4.1. [skipped]
10.4.5. Whenever the phrase “draw cards until they get a
card of the chosen color” appears, follow rule
7.10.3.; in particular, all final cards must be revealed.
10.4.6. If a valid card is not revealed, the drawing player
continues to draw as though they did not draw a
valid card. This may be done accidentally4 or
deliberately5.
10.4.7. Wild cards are not matching cards for the purpose of
drawing cards.
11. Wild Color Roulette (colorless)
11.1. Before starting a game, decide on one of the following
actions:
11.1.1. return this card to instrument cards, reshuffle and
start with a new first discard (default)
11.1.2. the first player chooses a color, publicly draws cards
until a card matches the chosen color, then loses
their turn
11.2. Play on anything.

4
The drawing player has until the next card is drawn to reveal their valid card. Otherwise, that card is invalid.
5
for example, to hunt for a better card
Page 13 of 24
 11.3. The next player chooses a color out of the four colors. It is
now the color of the card. They then draw a card,
immediately reveal it to everyone, and then check if it
matches the chosen color.
11.3.1. If it does, they stop drawing and collect all drawn
cards into their cards.
11.3.2. If it does not, they continue drawing, while leaving all
revealed cards revealed.
11.4. Wild cards are not matching cards for the purpose of
drawing cards.
12. Wild All-Out (colorless)
12.1. Before starting a game, decide on one of the following
actions:
12.1.1. the first player chooses a color and takes their first
turn (default)
12.1.2. everyone draws 2 cards, then the first player
chooses a color and takes the first turn
12.2. Play on anything.
12.3. Choose a color out of the four colors. It is now the color of
the card. Every other player draws 2 cards sequentially,
starting from the next player in direction of play.
13. Wild Swap Hands (colorless)
13.1. The first player chooses a color and takes the first turn.
13.2. Play on anything.
13.3. Choose a player, give the current hand to them and receive
their current hand; this is done privately so that no cards are
viewable by any other player. Then, choose a color out of the
four colors. It is now the color of the card.
13.4. The player can choose to swap hands with themselves (also
known as choosing not to swap). This card may be played
as the final card of a round, and the receiver of the 0-card
hand is eligible to win immediately.
14. Wild Customizable (colorless)
This card is the same as the Wild card. However, its rule can be rewritten
and a new special effect to the players’ liking may be specified. All
players must agree to the written rule before playing. By default, the
custom rule applies before a color is chosen, and the card is reshuffled
from the draw pile if it is the first discard.

Page 14 of 24
8. Scoring, restarting rounds and winning
1. At the end of a round, each player totals up the score of their hand.
The score of a hand is the sum of the score of each card in it.
Below is the default score of each card:
1.1. The balanced score set (default):
1.1.1. number cards (0 to 9): face value (0 points to 9
points)
1.1.1. Draw 1: 10 points
1.1.2. Targeted Draw 2: 15 points
1.1.3. Draw 2, Skip, Reverse: 20 points
1.1.4. Draw 3, Skip Two: 25 points
1.1.5. Draw 4, Discard All, Skip Everyone: 30 points
1.1.6. Wild Draw 2, Wild Color Roulette: 40 points
1.1.7. Wild, Wild Draw 4, Wild All-Out, Wild Swap Hands:
50 points
1.1.8. Wild Draw 6, Wild Draw Color: 60 points
1.1.9. Wild Customizable: (should be agreed by players)
40 points, +5 points per card drawn per player, +5
points per card discarded per player, +10 points per
turn lost or gained, +10 points per hand swapped, +5
points per miscellaneous activity; final score rounded
down to the 5 or overridden by effect
1.2. The simplified score set:
1.2.1. number cards (0 to 9): face value (0 points to 9
points)
1.2.2. colored Action cards: 20 points
1.2.3. Wild cards: 50 points
1.3. The algorithmic score set:
1.3.1. number cards (0 to 9): face value (0 points to 9
points)
1.3.2. colored Action cards: 15 points, +5 points per
(minimum) card drawn, +5 points per turn skipped
1.3.3. Wild cards: 40 points, +10 points per (minimum)
card drawn, +5 points per turn skipped
2. For games where the winning condition is # points, every
opponent’s hand score is added to the current score of the round
winner.

Page 15 of 24
 3. For games where the winning condition is either negative # points
or challenge # points, every player’s own hand score is subtracted
from their current score.
4. In challenge # points, when a player reaches the losing condition,
they are eliminated and can no longer participate in future rounds.
5. Points accumulate over rounds. The first player to achieve the
chosen goal (equaling the goal counts as achieving the goal)
triggers the game winning/losing condition.
5.1. There may be multiple players satisfying the round’s winning
condition. They receive full rewards and losers receive full
punishments.
6. If multiple players achieve the winning condition at the same time,
players must tiebreak for winning. Ties are broken in this order,
whichever comes first:
6.1. The winner has won the most points/lost the least points.
6.2. The winner has been eliminated the least number of times.
6.3. The winner has won the most points in one round across the
entire game.
6.3.1. In negative # points or challenge # points games,
this tiebreak condition is replaced with “The losers
have lost, in total, the most points in one round
across the entire game.”.
6.4. The winner wins one, final, unscored round between all tied
players.
6.5. The winner becomes the final dealer between all tied players
according to rule 5.4.1..
6.5.1. If there is still a tie after this point, repeat, eliminating
players not receiving the highest numeral value.

9. House rules!!!
Spice it up with some house rules (basically rules treated as non-official)!
In theory, you can come up with rules on your own. Just remember that
everyone agrees, or the rule is useless.
Below are 8 official house rules (silly, amirite)! Each house rule may have
stages, indicating the intensity of the rule, or dependencies, indicating
rules that must be activated together. Also remember that modified
actions still count as actions and must all be triggered before a round
ends in someone going out.
Page 16 of 24
1. Stacking
1.1. stage 1
1.1.1. This rule applies to Draw x and Wild Draw x cards.
1.1.2. After a player has played a Draw x card, the next turn
taker chooses one of two options:
1.1.2.1. apply default rules
1.1.2.2. stack: play the same Draw x card
regardless of color
1.1.3. After a player has played a Wild Draw x card and
chosen a color, the next turn taker chooses one of
three options:
1.1.3.1. apply default drawing rules and draw x
cards
1.1.3.2. apply default challenging rules and resolve
as usual
1.1.3.3. stack: play the same Wild Draw x card
regardless of color
1.1.4. After a player has stacked, the next turn taker
chooses one of three options:
1.1.4.1. draw the penalty of all drawing cards
played, lose their turn and end the stacking
1.1.4.2. (only if possible) challenge the previous
turn taker’s hand with the potential penalty
being the entire stack plus some more
cards (by default, 2 more cards); after
resolving, the stacking ends
1.1.4.3. stack
1.2. stage 2 (dependency: Wild Draw Bluff stage 4)
1.2.1. This rule applies to Draw x and Wild Draw x cards.
1.2.2. After a player has played a (Wild) Draw x card, the
next turn taker chooses one of two options:
1.2.2.1. apply default rules
1.2.2.2. stack: play a (Wild) Draw x card where the
current x is at least equal to the last x
1.2.3. After a player has stacked, the next turn taker
chooses one of two options:
1.2.3.1. draw the penalty of all drawing cards
played, lose their turn and end the stacking
1.2.3.2. stack
Page 17 of 24
 1.2.4. Wild Draw x cards played while stacked are
colorless. Colors do not matter when stacking.
1.2.4.1. Colors may not be selected as they’re
played until the next turn taker decides to
draw.
1.3. stage 3 (dependency: Wild Draw Bluff stage 4)
1.3.1. This stage is the same as Stacking, stage 2, except
for rule 9.1.2.2.2.:
1.3.1.1. “stack: play a (Wild) Draw x card”
1.4. stage 4 (dependency: Wild Draw Bluff stage 4)
1.4.1. This rule applies to Draw x, Wild Draw x, Skip and
Reverse cards.
1.4.1.1. Skips are treated as though they were
“Draw 0”s.
1.4.1.2. Reverses are “Draw 0”s with the ability to
immediately change the direction of play.
1.4.1.3. Skips and Reverses skip all remaining
turns a player still has.
1.4.2. This stage is the same as Stacking, stage 3, except
for rule 9.1.3.2.1.:
1.4.2.1. “stack: play a Skip, Reverse or (Wild) Draw
x card”
2. Draw-to-Match
2.1. A normal turn consists of the player either choosing to play a
card or draw a card. If they decide to draw, they must keep
drawing until they have found a playable card.
2.2. The drawing player does not have to reveal their card.
However, if they try to hide that they stopped early, their
hand can be consulted to check if they were cheating.
3. Force
3.1. If a card drawn in a normal turn is playable, it must be
played. If the drawing player tries to hide that the card is
unplayable, their hand can be consulted to avoid cheating.
3.2. Since Wild Draw (x/Color) cards can be challenged, they are
always excluded from the list of playable cards, even if the
challenge would have benefited them.
4. 7-0
4.1. Numbers 7 and 0 become Action cards.

Page 18 of 24
 4.2. Any time a number 7 card is played and triggered, its player
must choose another player to swap their hand with.
4.3. Any time a number 0 card is played and triggered, all players
must pass their hand to the next player in the direction of
play.
5. Jump-In
5.1. After the current player has played a card, a player whose
turn is not next to the current player has an exact (in color
and number/symbol) copy of such card, they may play it
before the next turn taker finishes their turn. The same player
playing the card also has this opportunity.
5.2. The previous card has no effect. The jump-in player is
considered to have played a card in their first turn.
5.3. A card played which ends a round may not be jumped in.
5.4. Wild cards may not be jumped in until a color is chosen.
6. Wild Draw Bluff
6.1. stage 0
6.1.1. It is considered cheating to bluff a Wild Draw x.
6.2. stage 1
6.2.1. The additional penalty for losing a Wild Draw x
challenge is set to 100% of x cards.6
6.2.2. For the player, the additional penalty for losing a Wild
Draw x challenge is set to 50% of x cards.
6.3. stage 2
6.3.1. The additional penalty for losing a Wild Draw x
challenge is set to 50% of x cards.
6.4. stage 3
6.4.1. The additional penalty for losing a Wild Draw x
challenge is set to 2 cards.
6.5. stage 4
6.5.1. A player facing a Wild Draw x may not challenge.
7. Mercy
7.1. stage 1
7.1.1. At any time a player ends a turn with a hand of at
least 25 cards, they are disqualified.
7.1.2. By default, when scored, such hand is treated as the
larger of 250 points and the actual score of the hand.

6
Unless otherwise stated, assume that the penalty is described in the challenger’s point of view.
Page 19 of 24
 7.2. stage 2
7.2.1. At any time a player draws a card when their hand
already has 30 cards, they are disqualified.
7.2.2. By default, when scored, such hand is treated as the
larger of 300 points and the actual score of the hand.
7.3. stage 3
7.3.1. At any time a player draws more than 18 cards at a
given time, they are eliminated.
7.3.2. By default, when scored, their entire hand score is
given to the last player to have played a card before
them. The eliminated player loses all of their points.
8. U-KNOW
8.1. stage 1
8.1.1. The penalty for failing to shout UNO is set to 4 cards.
8.2. stage 2
8.2.1. Players no longer need to shout UNO.

10. Wild Customizable suggestions

Can’t think of good rules to customize your cards? Here are a few
curated (?) suggestions you can use to enhance your gameplay, quickly.
1. Burn any card in your hand. (50 pts.)
2. Search for, then draw, a card from the draw pile. Regardless of if
the card is found, reshuffle. (60 pts.)
3. The next player must either burn a Wild or draw 3 cards. (60 pts.)
4. Reveal a card from the draw pile. If it is playable, keep exactly 1
card in your hand and burn the rest. If it is not, draw that card plus
3 more cards. (75 pts.)
5. Draw 2 cards. Target an opponent to draw 5 cards. (75 pts.)
6. Choose 2 players to play rock-paper-scissors until there is one
winner. Loser draws 4 cards plus 1 card per tied round. (75 pts.)
7. Target a player with fewer than 6 cards to draw until they have 7
cards in their hand. (75 pts.)
8. Until your next turn cycle, everyone must reveal their hands and
play with full knowledge of everyone’s hands. (100 pts.)
9. [playable out of turn] Cancel the previous Action card effect. The
current turn taker continues play. (125 pts.)
10. Draw 2 cards from the draw pile, then choose 3 cards from your
hand to distribute to any opponent. (150 pts.)
Page 20 of 24
 11. [playable out of turn] Alter the previous Action card effect: “draw”
effects become “discard” and vice versa. The current turn taker
continues play. (175 pts.)
12. Burn cards in your hand until you have 1 card remaining. (200 pts.)

11. Miscellaneous stuff

1. House rules override default rules. Every player must agree to the
existence of a non-default rule, or it does not exist.
1.1. Feel free to house rule any unclear rules in these instructions.
2. Cards may be drawn from anywhere between the draw pile.
3. When multiple cards must be drawn in one turn, they are drawn
one-by-one. This enables reshuffles to happen on time.
4. A card is considered drawn if, from the draw pile, it fully leaves the
draw pile.
5. A card is considered discarded if, from a hand, it first touches the
discard pile.
6. Cards “discarded” from a draw pile are either considered burnt (if
they have no effects on the current discard) or played (if they have
any effects on it).
7. In a round with multiple turns, the turns are taken by one player
until they have run out of turns for the round. Turns cannot be
escaped by a player; they must draw a card for each normal turn.
8. If a drawn card (that has not touched the drawing player’s hand) is
accidentally exposed (more than one player has seen it against the
will of the drawing player), put it back into the deck and reshuffle. If
it is clearly deliberately exposed, the card is drawn as normal.
9. If a card in a player’s hand is exposed for any reason, it is returned
to its owner.
10. If a card, clearly away from the game, is found for any reason and
should have been part of a round’s instruments, the next reshuffle
must reintroduce the card. The current round should be cancelled.
11. When the draw pile reaches its scale (by default, 100% of the pile
being used up) and a player needs to draw cards, the discard pile
(may include its top card or not) is reshuffled to form a new draw
pile. The last top card keeps its status as the current discard.
Cards initially set aside because of the scale are not reshuffled.
11.1. If a player still has cards to draw before a reshuffle happens,
they continue drawing out of the new reshuffled deck.
Page 21 of 24
 11.2. If, after the draw pile (including the top card) and the discard
pile are exhausted, cards may be drawn from the instruments
unused due to the scale being less than 100%. These cards
can be reshuffled if they go into the draw or discard pile.
11.2.1. If there are any cards in the draw pile, then the
reshuffled discard pile, are drawn first.
11.2.2. If no more cards remain in the draw pile, the discard
pile and cards set aside, all pending draws are
cancelled until the next reshuffle happens.
12. No players may look at the fronts of the draw pile unless they are
to handle such cards or have been shown such cards by another
source. Deliberately looking at a card established to be hidden (like
someone else’s card in their hand or a card in the draw pile) is
punishable with a card draw penalty (usually 2 cards drawn per
uncovered card) or a point penalty (usually 25 points against them
per uncovered card).
13. No one may suggest a move to take (like a card to play) to a player.
If they are not a player, they must stay away from the game. If they
are a player, they can be punished with a card draw penalty
(usually 4 cards drawn per suggestion) or a point penalty (usually
50 points against them per suggestion).
13.1. The same rule applies if a player asks for suggestions.
13.1.1. ...or suggests.
14. No players may attempt to gain an advantage not stated in these
instructions’ rules (an example is looking at another player’s hand
without asking them). It is considered cheating, and a cheating
player is eliminated from the game.
14.1. A player may accuse a probable cheater if there is
reasonable suspicion (for example, if there is a lack of cards)
that a player has cheated. Then, anyone can inspect any
player’s hand and investigate.
14.1.1. If there is provable cheating, the cheater is eliminated
from the game.
14.1.2. If there is provable lack of cheating, the accuser is
eliminated from the game.
14.1.3. If at least one player is eliminated, future rounds
must be played without the eliminated player.
14.1.4. If there is no/insufficient proof, all players survive.

Page 22 of 24
 14.1.5. All surviving players must vote to either restart the
round or continue play.
15. At the end of a round, every card must be revealed. A round must
not start with missing cards.
16. A Wild card is considered colorless until a color is chosen. Then, it
is assumed to be that color until it is matched. Finally, it becomes
colorless again.
17. All copies of the same card are treated equally.
18. If any player marks any cards (or makes any cards distinguishable
from others), they are automatically a round loser. They may play
until the end, but they cannot be considered a winning player.
19. If any player breaks the game session to the point that not every
card can be discreetly and verifiably retrievable by every player
(including the draw/discard pile; an example is table-flipping), they
are automatically a round loser. They may not play until the end
and cannot be considered a winning player.
20. Players may play as teams of two. There must be an even number
of players, and there must be no eliminations. Partners must sit
opposite each other. Partners may view another’s hand (privately,
at any time) but may not suggest which cards to play. When one
player is a winner, their partner automatically wins as well; their
hand when their partner wins is disregarded.
21. Players may be divided into two teams. There must be an even
number of players, and there must be no eliminations. Opponents
alternate in position, so that one player is always surrounded by
two opponents. Partners may not view the other’s hand and may
not suggest which cards to play. When one player wins a round,
the entire team wins as well; that team’s hands are disregarded.
22. In deciding one rule/card to play, if there is strategic disagreement,
the following procedure of draft and select applies:
22.1. Count the number of undecided rules/cards.
22.2. Randomly add two more rules/cards.
22.3. Each player secretly puts up a number of points to lose.
22.3.1. If the winning condition does not involve points,
players instead bid to start rounds with more cards.
22.4. After all players have cast a bid, everyone reveals their bids.
22.4.1. The winner is the bidder putting up the most points.
22.4.2. If there is a tie for most, tied players bid in secret
again; the minimum bid is this tied score.
Page 23 of 24
 22.5. The final winner loses the number of points bid to become
one of the drafters.
22.6. Repeat this process until either all players have been
selected or the number of drafters is one fewer than
rules/cards, whichever comes first.
22.7. The first drafter to be selected privately eliminates one
rule/card, then passes the remaining ones to the second.
22.8. Repeat this process for the second drafter, third drafter and
so on. Loop back to the first drafter at the last.
22.9. When there is only one rule/card remaining, it is used as
though there was consensus. All rules/cards are revealed.
23. Alternatively, if players should be ranked, record each player’s
number of cards at the end. All rules about tiebreaks are cancelled.
Then, when at least one player has satisfied the winning condition,
rank the players higher in the following order:
23.1. They have the highest score.
23.2. They have been disqualified the fewest times.
23.3. They have the highest one-round score.
23.4. In rounds they lost, they cumulatively lost the lowest points.
23.5. In rounds they lost, they cumulatively have the lowest cards.
23.6. In one round they lost, they had the lowest cards.
23.7. An unscored tiebreaker round is played between tied players,
which helps re-rank players.
23.7.1. Using the new information from the tiebreaker round,
repeat this order. Treat the round as a whole game.
24. Token cards are multi-purpose. Use them to track won rounds,
eliminations, credits for in-game stuff, whatever! Just be creative.
24.1. Of course they are colored. Teammates forever? ;)

12. The end (also known as credits)

DeeDeeEn is the author of this fan-written variation’s instructions and
idea. The core game and franchise, UNO, is owned by Mattel as of 2025.
The idea of mixing cards and rules is credited to Exploding Kittens:
Recipes for Disaster by Exploding Kittens. The author is also the main
inspiration for this mess of a thing. They sure love rules.

Page 24 of 24