How to Play Uno With 2 Players: Rules for Two-Player Uno

Uno works well with two players. Rounds are fast, it is easy to teach, and a couple of small rule changes keep it fun with just one opponent. This page explains how to set up, how to play, what changes when there are only two of you, and how to score, plus a free Uno game you can play in your browser.

UNO is a trademark of Mattel. This page is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mattel.

What you need

A standard Uno deck of 108 cards:

• 76 number cards: four colours (red, yellow, green and blue), each with one 0 and two each of 1 to 9.
• 24 action cards: for every colour, two Skip, two Reverse and two Draw Two.
• 8 wild cards: four Wild and four Wild Draw Four.

The goal

Be the first player to get rid of every card in your hand. If you win a round, you score points from the cards your opponent is still holding (see scoring below).

Setting up for two

1. Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player.
2. Put the rest face down as the draw pile. Turn the top card face up next to it to start the discard pile. If that card is a Wild Draw Four, put it back into the deck and turn a new one.
3. Decide who goes first, for example by cutting the deck for the higher number.

How to play a turn

On your turn, play one card from your hand that matches the top card of the discard pile by colour, number or symbol. For example, on a red 7 you can play any red card or any 7. You can play a wild card at any time (see the Wild Draw Four rule below).

If you have no playable card, draw one card from the draw pile. In the official rules, you may play that card straight away if it fits; otherwise your turn ends. Some versions have you keep drawing until you find a playable card, so agree on which way you play. The free game further down describes drawing until you get a card you can play.

What the special cards do with two players

• Skip: your opponent loses their turn, so you play again.
• Reverse: with two players, it acts like a Skip. You play again.
• Draw Two: your opponent draws two cards and loses their turn.
• Wild: play it on any card and choose the colour that comes next.
• Wild Draw Four: choose the next colour, and your opponent draws four cards and loses their turn.

The Wild Draw Four rule: you may only play a Wild Draw Four if you have no card of the current colour in your hand. Your opponent can challenge you. If you were holding a card of that colour, you draw four cards yourself. If you were not, the challenger draws six.

Saying "Uno"

When you play your second to last card, and you are left with one card, you must say "Uno" before your opponent's turn begins. If your opponent notices you didn't, they can call you out and you draw two penalty cards. In the online game described below, there is a button for calling Uno, and the developer says you get two penalty cards if you forget.

Winning and scoring

The first player to play their last card wins the round. The winner scores points for the cards left in the loser's hand:

• Number cards: the number on the card.
• Draw Two, Reverse and Skip: 20 points each.
• Wild and Wild Draw Four: 50 points each.

The first player to reach 500 points wins the game. For a quicker game, you can simply play a set number of rounds or first to 200.

Tips for two-player Uno

• Keep your colour options open. A hand with several colours gives you more ways to play.
• Save Skip and Reverse for the right moment. With two players, each of them lets you play twice in a row, which is a great way to get rid of two cards or set up a win.
• Watch what your opponent draws. If they keep drawing after you name a colour, they probably don't have it, so keep the colour going.
• Don't get stuck with a wild at the end. A Wild is worth 50 points against you if your opponent goes out first, but it is also your best way to change the colour when you need it.
• Call "Uno" as soon as you play your second-to-last card. It costs nothing to remember and saves you two cards.

House rules you may hear about

Many families play with extra rules that are not part of the official game. The most common one is stacking: when someone plays a Draw Two, the next player can play another Draw Two on top of it instead of drawing, and the total keeps growing. It is fun, but make sure both of you agree on it before you play.

Play Uno online

If you don't have a deck, try Uno Game on our site. According to the developer, it can be played by two, three or four people, you match cards by colour or number, and there is a button to call Uno. It runs in your browser with no download, and on desktop you choose cards with the mouse.

More card games for two: see our list of the best 2 player card games, and for a Crazy Eights-style game against the computer, try Dirty Seven.