50 Fun Facts About Uno

In which year was Uno first developed?

It took two decades to reach Mattel, which bought the rights in 1992.

Who invented Uno?

He first sold it from his own barbershop.

Uno was created in a suburb of which U.S. city?

Reading, Ohio, is the town; the inventor's family and friends were the first players.

In which year did Mattel acquire Uno's owner, International Games?

The deal closed on 23 January that year.

Uno is derived from which family of card games?

That family in turn descends from the German game mau-mau.

Uno's ancestry traces back to which traditional German card game?

Crazy eights sits between the two on the family tree.

How did the inventor's family raise the $8,000 for the first print run?

The money paid for 5,000 copies.

How many copies were in Uno's first print run?

They were sold from the inventor's barbershop and then by local businesses.

Where did the inventor first sell the game?

Local businesses soon started stocking it too.

Robert Tezak, who bought the rights to Uno, ran what kind of business?

International Games' offices were behind the funeral home in Joliet, Illinois.

How much royalty per game did the inventor receive after selling the rights?

The sale price was $50,000 plus the per-game royalty.

The early games were printed by Saltzman Printers in which Illinois town?

Lewis Saltzman produced the decks for International Games.

In which year was Uno inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame?

It went in alongside pinball and the Magic 8 Ball.

The first official Uno World Champion was crowned in 2021 in which city?

The final was held at the HyperX Esports Arena for a $50,000 prize.

What was the prize for winning the inaugural Uno Championship Series?

The event marked the game's 50th anniversary.

Before the 2022 rule change, how many points won a game of Uno?

Points scoring is still offered as an optional way to play.

How many cards were in the classic Uno deck before 2018?

Sets made since 2018 have 112, adding Wild Shuffle Hands and three customizable Wilds.

How many zero cards does each colour have?

Every other number from 1 to 9 appears twice per colour.

How many Wild +4 cards are in the deck?

There are also four plain Wild cards.

How many cards are in an Uno deck made since 2018?

The extras are one Wild Shuffle Hands and three customizable Wild cards.

How many cards are dealt to each player at the start of a hand?

The top card of the rest is then flipped to start the discard pile.

In which direction does play initially proceed?

A Reverse card flips it.

Officially, a Wild Draw Four may be played under what condition?

The next player can challenge and make you show your hand.

If a Wild Draw Four challenge fails, how many cards must the challenger draw?

The usual four plus two more, and they lose their turn.

What is the penalty for being caught not calling "Uno" on your penultimate card?

You are safe if nobody catches you before the next player takes their turn.

When scoring, how many points is each action card worth?

Number cards count face value and Wilds count 50.

How many points does a Wild card score against a player holding it?

The newer Swap and Shuffle Hands cards were originally worth 40.

In a two-player game, which card acts like a Skip?

Modern instruction sheets no longer mention this rule.

In 2019 Mattel surprised Twitter by confirming which popular move is NOT an official rule?

Progressive or stacking Uno remains a house rule only.

Under the Seven-O house rule, what happens when a 7 is played?

Playing a 0 makes everyone pass their hand to the next player.

Which house rule lets you play an identical card out of turn?

Play then continues as if that player had just taken their turn.

How many blank, customizable Wild cards were added in 2015?

Players assign their own house rule to each one.

In 2017 the Swap Hands card was replaced by one that does what?

It collects every hand, shuffles them and re-deals from the player to the left.

Since the 2022 rules, what happens if the first card flipped is an action or Wild card?

The 2022 update also made going out first, not 500 points, the official goal.

The 2010 "Uno Mod" edition replaced letters and numbers with what?

Modern action cards in all editions now use symbols, except the word "Wild".

Uno ColorAdd, released in 2017, was designed for whom?

A Braille edition followed in 2019.

Mattel launched a Braille edition in 2019 with which organisation?

Its president Mark Riccobono called it "a truly meaningful moment".

In the 2024 accessibility shapes, which shape marks red cards?

Diamonds are yellow, squares blue and triangles green.

What is special about the cards in Uno H2O?

It also adds two "Wild Downpour" cards that make everyone else draw.

The 2023 Fandom series launched with sets for all the teams of which league?

Star Trek, Harry Potter and Monster High decks were in the same wave.

What is the name of the Uno spin-off released in February 2018?

Players discard pairs of cards that add up to a card in a centre row.

What new card did Dos Second Edition introduce?

It forces the next player to play at least two cards or draw two.

In 2002, UNO was licensed for which kind of gambling machine?

They shared a "Famous Games" jackpot pool with Magic 8 Ball machines.

What top prize was planned for the primetime Uno game show announced in 2013?

The daily version offered $100,000; the whole idea was later scrapped.

Which rapper was eyed for the lead in the Uno heist movie announced in 2021?

His label Quality Control Music was developing the action comedy for Mattel Films.

Uno belongs to which family of card games, defined by getting rid of your cards?

Crazy eights is the best-known traditional member.

Which magazine put Uno in its top-100 list for 1980 and 1982?

It called it "a much better game" than Crazy Eights and "just as simple to learn".

What does the word "uno" mean in Spanish and Italian?

You shout it when you are down to one card.

Under the old rules, how was the dealer chosen?

The 2022 rules dropped any official method.

What happens when the draw deck runs out mid-hand?

The top discard is set aside and the rest becomes the new deck.