Uno Wilderness is a relatively new version of Uno from Mattel that has an outdoors theme. In terms of rules and gameplay, it is basically the same as Classic Uno, with the only difference being the card illustrations, which show various outdoor scenes. If you love Uno and can’t get enough of the outdoors, then Uno Wilderness is the edition for you!
Uno Wilderness has 108 cards and all the usual Action cards of Uno. 2-10 players may take part in the game. The objective of the game is to discard all your cards before the other players do in a round, and to accumulate 500 points (or whichever number you are comfortable with). It normally requires at least a few rounds of play depending on the number of players, before you can reach 500 points and win the game.
Starting the Game
Before you start the game, choose a dealer by having everyone draw a card from the deck and the person with the highest number card becomes the dealer (Action cards should be counted as zero). The dealer shuffles the cards and deals out 7 cards to each player. The remainder of the deck becomes the Draw pile and is placed face down. The top card is turned up and placed in the center – this becomes the Discard pile. If the first card is an Action card, refer below for what to do.
Uno Wilderness regular numbered cards
Gameplay
The first player to begin is the player seated to the dealer’s left, and play proceeds in a clockwise direction (unless reversed later by a Reverse card). Depending on the topmost card on the Discard pile, cards are matched by color, number, or symbol (for Action cards).
If you don’t have any card that matches the topmost card on the Discard pile, you would need to draw a card from the Draw pile. If the card drawn is a matching card, you can play it. But you are not obligated to play any card if you so choose, the only condition being that you need to draw a new card if you are not putting down any card.
Thus, after your turn is up, play moves to the next player in turn.
Action Cards
Uno Wilderness Action cards. From left to right: Wild Draw Four, Wild, Skip, Draw Two, and Reverse cards.
Reverse card – The Reverse card reverses the direction of play. If the turns are clockwise, then a Reverse will make it counter-clockwise, and vice versa. This card can only be played on another card that matches the color, or on another Reverse of any color. If turned up at the start of the game, the dealer goes first (normally it is the player to his/her left) followed by the player to the dealer’s right.
Skip card – The Skip card can only be played on a card of the same color, or on another Skip card of any color. It forces the next player to miss a turn. If turned up at the start of play, the first player (to the dealer’s left) misses a turn, and the next player (in clockwise direction) goes first instead.
Draw Two card – This card can only be played on a card with the same color, or another Draw Two of any color. If played, the next player needs to draw 2 cards from the Draw pile and miss a turn. If a Draw Two is turned up at the start of the game, the first player needs to draw two cards and miss a turn.
Wild card – This card can be played whether you have any matching color card or not. This card can substitute any card for any color. When played, you get to choose what color you want to continue the game with, and it will stand in for that color. If turned up at the start of play, the first player must choose the color to continue play.
Wild Draw 4 card – This card can be played whether you have any matching color card or not, just like a standard Wild card, but on one condition; you should not have any card that matches the color of the card on the Discard pile. If you have a matching color card but you still play it, the next player can challenge you to show your hand. If guilty, you must draw 4 cards instead. But if proven innocent, the challenger must draw 6 cards instead. If turned up at the start of play, return the card to the Draw pile, and pick another.
Going Out
When you are down to your last card, you must announce “Uno!” out loud to everyone (the moment you play your second last card). If someone catches you not saying this, you will be penalized by drawing 2 more cards. The winner of the round is someone who discards all their cards first.
Scoring and Winning
The standard Uno rules states that the winner is someone who reaches 500 points first (although you can decide how many points are needed to win) and this is down via adding up the cards left in each player’s hands after the round ends. The scoring is as follows:
- All number cards (0-9) – Face value
- Draw 2/Reverse/Skip – 20 points each
- Wild/Wild Draw 4 – 50 points each
Mattel has proposed an alternative scoring system although I am not too sure if anyone actually uses this scoring system. This method is to keep a running tally of the points everyone has at the end of each round, and when someone hits 500 points, the player with the lowest points is declared the winner.
