UNO Mobile Gameplay Rules for Beginners 2025

Remember UNO? I used to play this card game with my colleagues at work during lunch break, it was so much fun! But then we all got new jobs, and I missed playing. Guess what? I found UNO on my phone! It’s made by a company called Mattel163. You can play with people all over the world and make friends!

At first, understanding the UNO Mobile Gameplay Rules across its different modes was a little tricky compared to the card game. I got a little frustrated sometimes (oops!), but I kept practicing, and now I’m really good at it!

I want to help you learn how to play too! If you’re new to the phone game and it seems a little confusing, don’t worry! I’m going to make some easy guides to teach you everything I know. We’ll start with the basics, and then you’ll become a UNO master just like us! Let’s go!

Creating Your UNO Account

When you first open the game, you’ll see some choices about how to get started. You have a few options:

• Facebook: If you have Facebook, you can press the blue button that says “Sign in with Facebook.” It’s like using your Facebook pass to get into the UNO game.
• Google: If you have a Google account (like for Gmail), you can press the button that says “Sign in with Google.” It’s like using your Google pass.
• Mattel163: That’s the name of the company that made the UNO game! You can press the button that says “Sign in with Mattel163” to make a special UNO account just for this game.
• Snapchat: If you use Snapchat, you can press the button that says “Sign in with Snapchat.”

If you don’t want to use any of those, that’s okay! You can press the words that say “Play as a Guest.” That means you can play the game right away without signing up for anything. But if you play as a guest, you might not get all the cool rewards or be able to save your game.

How to Get Free Coins in UNO Mobile Game

After the registration process, 500 coins will be added to your account by default. But there are many ways to get free coins in the game. Let’s categorize them into four parts: Daily Rewards, Weekly Rewards, Seasonal Rewards and One-time Rewards. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Daily Rewards

1. Login Gifts: Play the game daily to claim an additional login bonus of 200 coins (included if you watch a 30-second sponsored video ad).

2. From UNO in-game store: You can claim an extra 200 coins every 12 hours daily [The game follows 0:00 UTC time] by watching a 30-second sponsored video ad within the game app, categorized under the “Hot Offers” tab.

3. Mattel163 Store Rewards: Log in every day to the official UNO mobile store to claim rewards like Coins, Diamonds, and in-game shopping vouchers.

4. Joining Club: You can ask club members to send you gifts of coins (100, 150, or 200 amount – it doesn’t matter if you are out of coins or already have a balance) or Energy Boosters, which you can use as an entry fee to play and complete missions in UNO Universe.

5. Gumball Machine: Watch 6 sponsored ads (each 30 seconds) with a 5-second gap, which resets every 24 hours, to earn additional bonus coins, gems, and seasonal tokens. [This will be available to new players once your XP reaches Level 5.]

Weekly Rewards

1. App Notifications: Get an additional 300 coins free every week by turning on the UNO mobile app notification setting.

2. Coins League: Each league has separate rewards of Coins, Diamonds, and in-game Vouchers. [A total of 7 league tiers can be obtained in the Coins League, including Beginner, Advanced, Professional, Expert, Elite, Master, and Legend]. Ranking is decided by the total coins won only during the period (it has different settlement periods for different tiers as the game follows the UTC +0 time zone), but coins are only counted in the following match modes: Classic, Go Wild, Fun Pack, All In 1V1. The higher your ranking in the Coins League, the richer the rewards.

• Beginner Coins League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 1 day 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).
• Advanced Coins League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 7 days 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).
• Professional Coins League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 7 days 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).
• Expert Coins League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 7 days 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).
• Elite Coins League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 7 days 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).
• Master Coins League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 7 days 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).
• Legend League Tier: Countdown Cycle = 7 days 1 hour (including a 1-hour settlement period to either be promoted to the next league tier or stay in the same league).

3. From UNO in-game store: You can claim an extra 100 coins daily (every 24 hours) under the “Decorations” tab. It may also be visible for a limited time only.

Seasonal Rewards

1. Invite Friends: Get 500 coins for each new friend added with your referral code. There is also an invitation bar for an extra bonus after inviting up to 10 friends.

2. Push Trophy: If you have fewer than 20 trophies from unranked matches, you can win matches and get higher trophies (up to a maximum level of 50,000) to unlock rewards like New Gameplay Modes, Coins, Mode Shields, portals like UNO Universe, UNO Cup, Grand Prix, and bonus trophy awards.

3. Gift Code: You can get gift codes from UNO’s official social media pages like Facebook or Instagram, and also from the UNO sub-reddit, but most codes last for only 24-48 hours and have a limited number of redemptions.

4. Seasonal Events: You can claim 400,000 UNO coins after completing all the card collections of a seasonal event. The current ongoing event is “Pet Stories,” and every event lasts around 64 days.

5. Card Adventure: You can claim one free ticket every day to complete the card adventure puzzle (one ticket per puzzle round, even if you fail) and claim completion rewards like Diamonds, Coins, and different Star Card Packs (for the card collections in seasonal events like “Pet Stories”). The remaining amount of tickets will automatically reset to zero once the season ends every 30 days, as per the game rule.

One-Time Rewards

1. Connect Social: If you connect your UNO mobile account with Facebook, you will get an additional 200 coins bonus in your wallet.

2. Complete Tutorials: Play practice matches and complete the in-game tutorials up to the 8th step to get coin rewards (50 coins per win).

3. Complete Survey: Complete the user survey to claim an additional free 200 coins, but this is a one-time offer.

4. Complete Achievements: You can get additional rewards like Coins, Quick Phrases, Diamonds, Scratch Cards, Profile Frames, and Profile Medals Badges.

5. Follow Community: If you follow the official community channels or visit them once, you can get a reward of 50 coins each.

How to Use the Shield in UNO Mobile

In the UNO Mobile game, Shields act as protective features that let players compete in matches without losing their in-game coins if they lose. If you win, you keep all the coins, but if you lose, the Shield will cover your loss. Here is how it works:

1. Shield Types and Purposes:

• Gold Shields: Primarily used in solo modes like Classic or “Go Wild” matches. These allow entry into high-multiplier games even if you don’t have enough coins, letting you play without worrying about losing your existing coins if defeated.
• Green Shields: Exclusive to 2v2 team modes, these protect both teammates’ coins during losses, promoting teamwork without penalizing players harshly for defeats.

2. How to Get Shields:

• You can earn different match multiplier shields from the UNO Roadmap by pushing trophies in unranked matches. On the way to reaching each milestone (new leagues), you can get up to 2 shields as mentioned in the game. These Shields will expire after 7 days from the day you earned them.
• UNO Mobile gives you 2 Free Shields every weekend (Saturday): one x4 multiplier shield & another x8 multiplier shield, and both can be redeemed for 2v2 Classic & Go Wild matches.
• You can also purchase Shields for both Single and 2v2 mode in exchange for Diamonds from the in-game store. The purchasing cost can be different for both gameplay modes and depending on the match multiplier you choose.

3. How to Activate Shields: If you have a shield that is not expired (not more than 7 days), you can activate it in two simple ways:

• Click on your “Profile Avatar,” and then you will find an option named “Bag.” Click on it, and there you will find all the available Shields in your bag. Just click on the “Shield” icon and then click on the “Apply” button. This will directly take you to the Go Wild mode matches with the same gameplay mode (single or 2v2) and the match multiplier shield you have.
• You can also use that shield for Classic matches too. For example: Suppose you have a Green Shield (2v2 mode) for x20 multiplier matches. To apply it manually to the Classic mode matches, directly go to the Classic mode and make sure you have already switched the mode from Single to 2V2 if it wasn’t the default. Then, go to the x20 multiplier mode (which you have a shield for), and you will see the option named “Choose items” where your shield icon is visible with other items you have in your “Bag.” Now click on it to activate the shield and then start the match.

UNO Mobile Gameplay Rules & Strategies

In this guide, we’ll cover only essential gameplay rules and tips for Classic and Wild modes. For deeper insights into specific modes (e.g., Ranked, UNO Universe), check out our dedicated article. Here are some easy tips to get you started:

Basic Card Play

• Matching Cards: Play cards from your hand by matching the previous card’s color, number, or symbol.
  • Example: If the discard pile shows a Blue 3, you can play any Blue card or any 3 (regardless of color).

Core Rules for Classic & Wild Modes

• Starting the Game:
  • The player to the left of the dealer begins.
  • Match the top card on the discard pile by color, number, or symbol (Action Cards).
• Match Time Limits:
  • Match Duration: 3 minutes per round.
  • Final Minute: Turn time drops to 5 seconds per player.
• Drawing Cards:
  • If you can’t play a card, draw from the deck.
  • If the drawn card is playable, you may use it immediately or save it.

Action Card Mechanics

• Wild Draw 4 Challenges:
  • Challenge a player if you suspect they illegally played a Wild Draw 4 (e.g., they had a matching color).
    • Guilty: They draw 4 cards.
    • Innocent: You draw 6 cards (4 + 2 penalty).
• Reverse Cards:
  • Switches the direction of play (clockwise ↔ counterclockwise).

UNO Call & Penalties

• Calling UNO: Always tap “UNO” when playing your second-to-last card. Failure to do so results in a 2-card penalty if caught.
• Challenging UNO:
  • If an opponent forgets to call UNO, tap the blinking hammer icon as soon as possible (top-right of their profile avatar) during the challenge window.
  • Successfully challenging forces them to draw 2 extra cards.

2v2 Mode Strategies

• Teammate Support: Use Wild cards to help teammates.
  • Example: Change colors to match your teammate’s last card, even if challenged (you’ll draw 4 cards, but your teammate may finish their hand, helping your team win).
• Coordination: Track your teammate’s cards to plan strategic plays.

Trophy System & Progression

• Earn minimum of 8 trophies per win (also depends upon the match multiplier you’re playing) in Classic, Wild, and Ranked modes.
• Milestone Protection: Once you reach a trophy milestone (e.g., 100, 140, 200, 300, 400, 500 etc.), you cannot drop below it, even with losses.
• UNO Roadmap Rewards: Unlock coins, shields (up to x80 multiplier), and exclusive medals by collecting trophies.

Pro Tips for Winning

• Card Play Strategy:
  • Prioritize High-Value Numbers: Play larger numbers first (e.g., 10, 9, 8) to reduce your hand’s point value.
  • Special Cards: Save Wild or +4 cards for critical moments.
• Catching Opponents:
  • UNO Call Vigilance: Tap repeatedly near an opponent’s profile if they forget to call UNO. Successful catches force them to draw 2 cards.
• Hand Management:
  • Color Dominance: If holding multiple cards of the same color, use the “Discard All” card (Go Wild mode) to clear your hand instantly.

Custom Matches & Room Mode

• Create custom rooms to play with friends (Facebook or in-game).
• Adjust rules for Single or 2v2 matches.

Types of Cards in UNO Mobile

UNO has lots of fun cards! A whole bunch of them – like 108 cards in total! There are 76 Number cards (the ones with 0 to 9). Then there are 24 Action cards (the ones with symbol that make things change!). And there are also 8 super special Wild cards. You see some of these cards all the time when you play the normal games (like Classic or Go Wild), and some are like special surprises you can find when there are fun events in the game or in different modes! Let’s learn about them!

1. Number Cards

These are the common cards with numbers on them, like 0, 1, 2, all the way to 9. There are 19 of these cards for each color. They come in four colors: red, yellow, blue, and green. This type of cards can be found in every gameplay mode like Classic, Wild, Fun Pack, UNO Contest and Room Mode.

• How to play: You put down a number card if it has the same color or the same number as the card on top.

2. Action Cards

There are two of each of these cards in every color. They have symbols on them instead of just numbers.

Draw +2:

This card has a +2 on it. But here’s where it gets a little different depending on how you’re playing:

• For Classic Mode: When you put down a Draw +2 card, the next player has to pick up two cards from the pile, and they will miss their turn! It’s like a little penalty for them.
• For Wild Mode: This mode has a cool twist! If you play a Draw +2 card, the next player can put down another Draw +2 card on top of it! And if they do, the next person after them might have to pick up four cards! This can keep going, with the number of cards to pick up getting bigger and bigger, until someone can’t put down a Draw +2 or a Wild Draw +4. That player has to pick up all those cards!

So, the Draw +2 card can be a small delay in Classic, but in Wild, it can lead to someone picking up a whole bunch of cards!

Reverse:

This card has a curved arrow on it. It changes the way you take turns. If you were going in a circle to the right, now you go in a circle to the left! It can trick people!

Skip:

This card has a circle with a line through it. When you play it, the next person doesn’t get to play! It’s like saying, “Your turn is skipped!”

Wild Action Cards:

There are 8 of these cards in the deck. They are black and can do cool things.

Wild (Change Color):

There are 4 of these cards in the deck. This type of cards can be found in every gameplay mode like Classic, Wild, Fun Pack Mode, Contest Mode and Room Mode. This card has four colors on it. When you play it, you get to choose what color everyone has to play next! It’s like saying, “Now we’re playing with blue!”

Wild Draw +4:

This type of card can also be found in every gameplay mode like Classic, Wild, Fun Pack Mode, Contest Mode and Room Mode. There are also 4 of these cards in the deck. This card has four colors and a +4 on it. When you play it, you get to choose the next color, AND the next person has to pick up four cards and miss their turn! It’s a really powerful card!

But here’s how it’s a little different in different ways to play:

• For Classic Mode: When you put down a Wild Draw +4 card, you get to pick the color that the next person has to play. Then, that next player has to pick up four cards from the pile, and they don’t get to take their turn! It’s a big penalty for them.
• For Wild Mode: This mode also lets you choose the next color when you play a Wild Draw +4. And just like in Classic, the next player has to pick up four cards and miss their turn. Plus, in Wild Mode, a Wild Draw +4 card can be stacked on top of a Draw +2 card, and other Wild Draw +4 cards can be stacked on top of it! This makes the number of cards someone has to draw even bigger if players keep stacking!

Wild Draw +6:

This is a super special Wild card that you can only see during special in-game events and only in Go Wild mode, not in Classic matches! It’s a really powerful card, even stronger than the Wild Draw +4!

The rule is just like the Wild Draw +4: When you play a Wild Draw +6, you get to choose the color that the next person has to play. Then, that next player has to pick up six cards from the pile and miss his/her turn!

Just like the Wild Draw +4 in Wild Mode, the Wild Draw +6 can also be stacked on top of Draw +2 cards and other Wild Draw +4 or even Wild Draw +6 cards! This can make someone draw a HUGE number of cards if players keep stacking them!

Special Cards

Discard All:

This is one of the special type of cards can be found in every gameplay mode like Wild, Fun Pack Mode, Contest Mode and Room Mode but except the Classic mode. Imagine you have a bunch of cards that are the same color. This card lets you throw all of them down at once! It also changes the color to that color.

Double Discard All:

This is like the Discard All card, but even cooler! If you have some cards of another color right next to it in your hand, you can throw those down too! You can only use this special power once in a game.

Wild Trick:

This is a sneaky card! When someone plays a “Wild Trick,” it makes the next person who has to pick up cards draw even more! This card can be seen only in special Go Wild in-game events or in Room Mode.

Here’s how it works:

• If a “Wild Trick” card is played, the next time someone needs to take cards from the pile (because he/she doesn’t have a matching card), he/she has to take 3 extra cards!
• If someone plays another “Wild Trick” before anyone has to draw, then he/she will draw even more extra cards! Each “Wild Trick” adds 3 extra cards to the draw.
• Once the extra drawing happens (the “trick” is triggered), those “Wild Trick” cards don’t work anymore in that round.

Example: Imagine you have only 3 cards left. The person before you played a “Wild Trick” and changed the color to yellow. The next person played a yellow card. Now it’s your turn! Uh oh, you don’t have any yellow cards, any cards with the same number, or any Wild cards!

Normally, you would just pick up one card from the pile. BUT because that “Wild Trick” was played earlier and hasn’t made anyone draw extra yet, you have to pick up 1 card (like normal) PLUS 3 extra cards! That’s 4 cards in total!

Time Balloon:

These are special balloon cards that can be red, green, blue, or yellow, and they have a timer shown on them! The main rule is like the Wild (color changing) card – you can play it to change the color. But here’s the exciting part: each Time Balloon has a random timer that can burst at any time before the match ends!

If a balloon pops, the player whose turn it stopped on last has to draw 2 extra cards. These Time Balloon cards can even be stacked on top of each other! After some time, once the timer on a balloon stops and it bursts, the player whose turn it is will have to draw a number of cards equal to all the burst balloons (each costs 2 extra cards). And that player could even be you!

This is a special card that you only see during special in-game events or in Room mode, and it can appear in both Classic and Wild matches. In general, the more balloons that are played, the more extra cards someone might have to draw. This can even include the extra cards from Draw +2 or Wild Draw +4 cards sometimes! You have to play your cards quickly because a balloon can burst at any moment – there’s no fixed timer.

Example: Suppose the Classic gameplay is going from Player A to Player D.

• Player A puts down a “Yellow 4” card.
• Player B puts a “Yellow Time Balloon” card on it.
• Player C also puts a “Red Time Balloon” card on it and changes the color to Red.
• Player D then puts a “Green Time Balloon” card on it and changes the color to Green.
• Player A now puts a Wild +4 card on it and changes the color to Yellow to play next.

Here, Player B took some time (like 4 seconds) to think about whether to challenge the Wild +4, wondering if Player A had a Green card. Player B decided to challenge and was wrong, so he/she should have drawn 6 extra cards. But because Player B took some time to think and play, a Time Balloon burst on him/her! So, instead of just drawing 6 cards, he/she will end up drawing all the cards from the Wild +4 challenge plus the extra cards from the Time Balloons that were played.

There were three Time Balloon cards played, and each one that bursts adds 2 extra cards. So, Player B draws 6 (for the challenge) + (3 balloons x 2 extra cards each) = a total of 6 + 6 = 12 cards!

Wild Punch:

This is like a superhero card that lets you hit back those mean Draw +2 or Wild Draw +4 cards! But you can only use it against the person who just played it on you! So, instead of you having to pick up all those cards, he/she has to pick them up instead! And as a bonus, it also changes the direction the game is going!

Here’s how it works:

• If someone right before you plays a +2 or +4 card on you, and you have a “Wild Punch,” you can play it right away! Then, the person who played the +2 or +4 has to draw those cards instead of you. It’s like saying, “Nope, back to you!” Plus, if the game was going clockwise, now it will go counter-clockwise, or vice versa!
• If no one has played a +2 or +4 on you, you can also use the “Wild Punch” card just to change the color of the game, just like a regular Wild card. When used this way, it also reverses the direction of play.
• You can even stack “Wild Punch” cards on top of each other, but only between you and the player who played the draw card. If either of you runs out of “Wild Punch” cards to bounce it back, that player will have to draw all the cards that were part of the stack, and the direction will reverse with each “Wild Punch” played.

Example: Imagine you’re playing a Go Wild game, and the turns are going Player A, then Player B, then Player C, then Player D.

• Player A puts down a green card.
• Player B puts a Green +2 on top (targeting Player C).
• Player C stacked a Wild +4 on it (targeting Player D) and changes the color to blue. Now Player D is supposed to draw 6 cards!
• Luckily for Player D, he has a “Wild Punch”! He plays it to punch back at Player C (the person who played the Wild +4 on them), so Player C has to draw those 6 cards instead! And now the turn direction changes to Player D <- Player C <- Player B <- Player A! Player D also changes the color to yellow.
• Now it’s Player C‘s turn, and guess what? He also has a “Wild Punch” left! He/She plays it to punch back at Player B (who played the +2 on Player C earlier), so Player B has to draw those 2 cards! And the turn direction reverses again to Player C -> Player B -> Player A -> Player D! Player C also changes the color to blue again.

Color Challenge:

This is a tricky card that you can only find in the Go Wild game! When you play it, you get to say what color everyone has to play next!

Here’s how it works:

• When you play a “Color Challenge,” you first say a color – like “Now everyone has to play blue!”
• Then, the next person has to try and play a card of that color. If he/she doesn’t have any cards of that color (and no Wild cards!), guess what? You get to play another card! It’s like getting a free extra turn!
• But even though you get to play again, the way the turns go (left or right) stays the same. It doesn’t change direction.
• If the next person does have a card of the color you called, he/she just plays their card, and the game continues as normal.

Example: Suppose you’re playing a Go Wild game, and the turns are going Player A -> Player B -> Player C -> Player D.

• Player A plays a Red Skip, so it’s Player C‘s turn next.
• Player C plays a “Color Challenge” card and says, “Green!” because he/she has many green cards to play rather than other colors.
• Player D looks at his/her hand, but he/she doesn’t have any green cards, no Wild cards, and no other “Color Challenge” cards. So, because Player D couldn’t play green, Player C will get another chance to play a Green card but the rotating direction will follow the previous as it was going.
• Next, Player D can play a card after matching with C’s color/ number or draw a card from the pile deck.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that in UNO Mobile, luck plays a big role! Sometimes the cards just aren’t in your favor. If you find yourself losing several games in a row, it might be a good idea to take a break for a little while to avoid losing all your coins. There are a couple of reasons why you might be on a losing streak. It could be that you’re still learning the best times to play certain cards and accidentally setting yourself up for your opponent’s win. Or, if you’re playing in 2v2 mode, maybe your teammate is still figuring things out or taking some risky chances, like challenging every Wild +4 without thinking carefully!

In this guide, we’ve covered the basic rules of the UNO cards and how to use them. This was especially for all you beginner players who are just starting your UNO Mobile adventure. Now that you know the cards, you’ve officially graduated to being a semi-beginner! In the next part, we’ll dive into more advanced tips and strategies for different UNO Mobile game modes.

Want to connect with other players? Drop your UNO ID tag in the comments below! You can also join our Club for a chance to get free coins daily from our active members. To keep our club active and helpful, players who haven’t been online for more than 15 days will be removed to make room for new members, as UNO Mobile Club can only have 30 players.

FAQs