Polish Uno Rules
This variant, of the American card game Uno®, was discovered while travelling in Poland. I use 2 to 4 decks to make things more exciting and to accommodate a large group of players.
Updated 01.25.1999
SLAP:
You can play a card out of turn if you have a card that is identical (i.e., the same color and number/word). An identical card played in-turn is not considered a slap. A player can slap his own play, but he must discard the cards one at a time. When a card is played, and you want to slap your identical card on it, then you must do so before the next person begins their turn (i.e., before their card touches the discard pile or before they touch the draw pile). When a card is slapped, play resumes from the person who slapped the card. The only card that cannot be slapped is a plain Wild card. Wild Draw Four cards can only be slapped on other Wild Draw Four cards.
WILD DRAW FOUR:
When a Wild Draw Four is played a color must be declared. You can defend against the draw penalty by playing any word card of the declared color or a Wild Draw Four. A plain Wild card cannot be used as a defense. A defense shifts the penalty as in normal play. For example if a Wild Draw Four is played and the color is declared as red, the player in jeopardy can play a red Draw Two. The penalty now grows to six cards (4+2) and shifts to the next player in turn. The next player defends with a red reverse which shifts the penalty back (still a six card penalty). Slaps are allowed during the course of play. When a player cannot defend and all slaps have ended, the player who cannot defend must draw the total number of cards accumulated and satisfy the penalty. If more than four cards must be drawn, then the freeze rule is in effect.
TRUMP PLAY:
You do not need to be out of playable cards before playing a Wild or Draw Four Wild card. That is, if the last card played was a red six and you have a red three, you can play your Wildcard first. Also, you are not required to play a playable card if you don't wish (e.g., a zero card). You can choose to draw (and possibly play the drawn card).
DRAW TWO:
When a Draw Two is played in the course of normal play (i.e., not when being used to defend against a Wild Draw Four session) you can defend against it with a draw two of any color. This not only shifts the penalty but increases it by two cards. Wild cards and Wild Draw Four cards cannot be used as a defense. Slaps of the same colored Draw Two cards are allowed during the course of play. When a player cannot defend with a Draw Two card they must draw the total number of cards accumulated to satisfy the penalty.
ZERO:
When a zero is played, the person playing the zero has the option of trading hands with any other player at the table. The Freeze rule is also in effect as well as the Uno rule. That is, you must declare Uno before you let go of your old hand when accepting a new hand of only one card.
[NINE:]
[We do NOT use this rule since people were getting hurt. But it can be included for those brave of heart and tough of skin. When a nine is played, players quickly slap their hand, palm down, on that discard. Keep your hand in place until all players have also done this, one hand upon another. The slowest player, being last to join the pileup, draws two cards. Players should remove any knobby rings, before the game, if this rule is used!]
CUMULATIVE REVERSES:
When two Reverses are played in sequence it creates a double reverse (resume the direction of play as if no reverses had been played). Three Reverses, for example would have the same effect as a single Reverse.
CUMULATIVE SKIPS:
Skips played in-turn are non-cumulative. However, a slapped Skip would skip two players.
“UNO!”
A player must shout "Uno" before releasing their next to last card. Failure to do so, means that you have to draw two cards. You do not have to be caught for this rule to be in effect. If you realize that you didn't declare Uno, then you must draw two cards. Remember, that the Uno rule applies for the Zero rule as well: you must declare Uno before you let go of your old hand when accepting a new hand of only one card.
FREEZE:
All play freezes when a zero is played or when a person must draw more than four penalty cards. This gives the player a chance to organize their hand. The player receiving the extra cards then declares when play resumes.
DEALER BONUS:
Dealer is the person in last place. After shuffling they may cut from the top of the deck the number of cards they estimate it will take to give five cards to each player. If they give exactly five cards to each player, they get 100 points subtracted from their score. A dealer can still get the 100 point bonus if they have only one card left, since it can be used to start the game. If they are one card short, then they get 50 points subtracted from their score. This rule doesn't apply for the first hand of the game.
PEEKING:
Play begins when the dealer turns over the "start" card. No one is allowed to look at their cards until the start card is displayed. The penalty for peeking is to draw two cards. If they look at their cards again after drawing the penalty, then they must draw an additional two cards.
WHINING:
An optional rule where players caught whining (a quorum is needed if there is doubt) must draw a penalty card.
CHAIRS:
At the end of each hand players rearrange their seating from first to last place in a clockwise direction. The winner of the first hand can declare which chair will be considered first place. When players tie in score, they maintain their positions relative to each other from the last hand. It is the responsibility of the last place person to deal each time, and the responsibility of the first place person to play first (unless the card played is a Reverse, in which case it is the turn of the person on the dealer's right). If the card is a Wild or Draw Four Wild then the dealer declares the color.
LATE JOIN:
Anyone joining a game in progress must take the score, plus one, of the last place person.
SCORING:
Numeric cards are their face value, word cards are 20 points, Wild and Draw Four Wild cards are 50 points. The person who went out for that round receives -20.