Uno has so many variants built on different themes, and Uno – The Legend of Zelda is no different. This game is specially made for Uno players who are also fans of the long running Nintendo game, The Legend of Zelda. Featuring artwork of the characters in the Nintendo game series, it also contains a special Action card of its own, the Wild Triforce card, which works on all number 3 cards (and its multiples). Here, we’ll look at all the Uno The Legend of Zelda rules and how to play it.
There are 112 cards per deck, just like other Uno card games, with the standard 4 colors (red, yellow, blue, green) and the Action cards. The goal of the game is to get rid of all your cards before any others, and gain 500+ (or however much you desire) points – although this point scoring system is entirely optional. 2-10 players may take part in a game
Starting the Game
To start the game, choose a dealer first, who will shuffle all the cards and deal out 7 cards to each player. The remaining cards are then placed face down to form the Draw pile. The top card from this Draw pile will then be turned over face up to form a Discard pile. If this first card is an Action card, it is to be ignored. Pick the card below it until you get a numbered card.
NB: This appears to be a latest simplification from earlier rule sheets of other Uno card games, whereby Action cards were taken into account even from the first card turned up from the Discard pile. We will get to the functions of each Action card in a moment.
Gameplay
The player to the left of the dealer usually goes first, with play going in a clockwise direction. That player must match the card on the Discard pile by putting down a card that matches the topmost card of the Discard pile either by color, number, or symbol. Do take note each player can only put down one card at a time, per turn. If there is no suitable matching card, a player must draw a card from the Draw pile. They can choose to play it if it is a match in some way, or abstain from playing any card.
After playing or drawing a card, a player’s turn is over, and play moves to the next player in the turn list. Thus the gameplay progresses in this manner until someone gets rid of all their cards before the others and becomes the winner of the round/game. Although the main goal is to discard all their cards, players also constantly need to strategize and attempt to slow down the other players from winning, while the Action cards will change the dynamics of the game.
The Action Cards
From Left to Right (Wild card, Wild Draw 4, Reverse, Draw Two, and Skip).
Skip – This card forces the next player after you to miss their turn.
Reverse – This card changes the direction of play from clockwise to anti clockwise and vice versa.
Draw Two – This card forces the next player after you to draw two cards from the Draw pile.
Wild – This card can match anything on the Discard pile, so you can play it at any turn, and choose the color to continue play right after your turn is done.
Wild Draw Four – You can play this card on any color just like the Wild card and choose what color to continue play, but the catch is, you should only play it when you have no card that matches the color of the Discard pile card. The next player on the receiving end of this card can challenge you to show your hand to them to prove you do not have any other matching color cards (Wild cards also count as matching color cards).
If you’re innocent, the challenger draws 6 cards and loses their turn. But if guilty, you draw 4 cards instead of them!
Wild Triforce Card – This is the unique Action card for this game. Being a Wild card, you can choose what color to continue play. But the next player not only has to play the card with your chosen color, but it has to have a Triforce symbol on it. Only the 3, 6, and 9 numbered cards (of any color) have this Triforce symbol. If they don’t have any cards like that in hand, they have to draw 3 cards.
Uno The Legend of Zelda Wild Triforce card and cards with multiples of three that have the Triforce symbol.
Winning the Game
Winning the game is simple. Just be the first to discard all of your cards, and don’t forget to yell “Uno” the moment you are down to your final card. If you forget, and someone catches you before the next player has begun their turn, you will have to draw 2 cards as penalty!
Game Scoring
The way to win via the scoring system is basically to count all the points from the cards left in the hands of the vanquished players and award them to the winner of the round. The first player to reach 500 points is the winner (although you can certainly set the winning score yourself). Here’s how the cards are scored:
- All numbered cards (0-9) – Face value for each
- Action cards (Skip/Draw 2/ Reverse) – 20 points for each
- Wild cards (Wild, Wild Draw 4, Wild Triforce) – 50 points for each