Uno Dominoes Rules

SUMMARY

AGES: 7 and up
PLAYERS: 2 to 6
OBJECT:

To score the highest number of points by ridding yourself of all domino playing pieces before your opponents.

• 81 UNO dominoes (see below)
• 6 playing racks

Each player in turn lays dominoes end to end in any one of four directions (as in traditional dominoes) matching the colour or kind on the face of the domino. For example, if the open end of a domino on the table is a blue 7, a domino with a 7 on it or one that is blue can be laid next to it. The first player to play all all her dominoes wins.

EQUIPMENT

There are 81 dominoes in a set of Uno dominoes, and 6 playing racks in order to hide your dominos from the view of other players. On each of the dice there are two ends labelled from one of four colours, red, green, yellow and blue. The possible markings in these suits are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9; D2; S; and R. In addition there are three special markings which appear on some dominoes: DE, W and WD4.

As there are two markings on a domino, there are 162 markings on a set of Uno dominoes. The probabilities of drawing a domino with a particular marking are given in the following table. The numbers in the table correspond to the number of dominos carrying that marking.

       Probability of drawing a domino with a marking
                   (multiplied by 1/81)

SYMBOL  Red     Green   Yellow  Blue    Total
1        2       2       4       4       12
2        4       2       2       4       12
3        5       0       3       3       11
4        2       4       2       3       11
5        3       2       2       5       12
6        3       5       2       2       12
7        3       4       3       2       12
8        3       3       4       2       12
9        2       4       3       2       11
D2       3       2       2       2        9
S        2       2       2       3        9
R        2       3       2       2        9
        34      33      31      34

DE                                        6
W                                         1
WD4                                       3

HOW TO PLAY

How To Start: Shake the dominoes and place them face down to form a large DRAW PILE. Each player selects six to put in her rack. Make sure no one peeks. The player with the highest DOUBLET (a Doublet is a domino with the same marking on each end) goes first. Start by asking if anyone has the Doublet 9, Doublet 8, etc., until the person with the highest Doublet is found. If no one has a Doublet, draw in turn (from the Draw Pile) until one is drawn.

Starting Doublet: This domino is the highest numbered Doublet drawn by a player at the beginning of play. A special action Doublet (i.e. D2, S, R, W or WD4) cannot be used to open play. The Starting Doublet is the only doublet that can be played from four directions- the sides and the two ends (see Figure A).

What The Special Action Markings Mean:

D2- The next player must draw two dominoes and lose her turn.

S- The next player loses her turn.

R- The direction of play is reversed. Instead of play proceeding from right to left, it proceeds from left to right, and vice versa.

DE- No other domino can be played on this domino.

W- This will match any other marking. A wild domino may be played even if a player has other playable dominoes. If this marking is left exposed, then its colour must be called by the player playing it.

WD4- The absolute best marking to have. It not only functions as a wild, but also foces the next player to draw four dominoes and lose her turn. This domino can only be used when a player has no domino on her rack that matches the colour of any exposed domino. If this marking is left exposed, then its colour must be called by the player playing it.

Matching Dominoes: In general, dominoes are matched by UNO rules and arranged domino style. Match by colour or kind. A Doublet can never be played onto another doublet. Doublets are played at right angles like a "T" (matching along its side.) (See Figure B.)

• A player may match a number. e.g. a yellow 7 matches a blue 7.
• A player may match a colour. e.g. a green 6 matches a green 1.
• A player may match a special kind. e.g. a red 6 matches a blue 6.

If at the time of play you are unable to match by colour or kind, you must draw one domino from the Draw Pile. If the domino drawn is playable, you may play it immediately. If it is not playable, it is added to your rack and play passes to the next player. Play normally proceeds to the left unless an odd number of active Rs have been played.

Activation Rules For Action Dominoes: Action markings on dominoes may be ACTIVE or INACTIVE, depending on their placement in play. Activated markings are matched to open dominoes already on the table. These activated markings then determine play.

Example: If a red 6 is on an open end (on the table) and a red S/red 3 domino is played onto it with the red S marking making the match (and being active), the next player is skipped. However, if a red 6 is open and the red S/red 3 is played onto it with the red 3 making the match, then the red S is inactive for the remainder of that game. Remember that the inactive red S could be matched, but it is the end matching it that would be active. (See Figure C.) Always try to use action markings strategically.

Going Out: When a player only has one domino left, she must yell UNO. That warns everyone that she may "go out" on her next turn. If the player forgets to yell UNO, other players can catch her. If caught, the player has to draw two dominoes. Play then continues. A player who forgets to yell UNO must be caught before the next player plays her domino. If a player is not caught before this time, no penalty can be imposed. When a player has no more dominoes, the round is over. Points are then scored (see the next section). If the last active marking played was a D2 or a WD4, then the next player must draw two or four dominoes to be counted in the total.

Scoring And Winning: All the players with dominoes on their racks add up the points and the total is awarded to the person who went out. The first person to reach 500 points wins. Or choose a lower goal for a faster game.

Points: Each marking on a domino is scored separately. All numeric markings (1 through 9) score as their numerical value. The R, S and D2 each score as 10 points. The DE and WD4 each score as 20 points. The W marking scores as 25 points.

Penalties: If a player uses a WD4 when she has a playable colour, and gets caught, she must draw four dominoes. The way a player gets caught is by being "challenged" by the player who would normally draw four. If challenged, the player must show her hand in order to confirm the correctness of play.

Reneging: A player in any turn may choose not to play a domino. If so, then she must draw a domino.

Dead End Game: This is a situation in which all directions of play are blocked by a DE. If this happens, then the player who played the last DE may "go out". Any dominoes left in her rack are not scored.

Game Variations:

Agree before play begins if a game variation is to be used.

Re-Opening A Dead End Game: If any player holds W/W when a Dead End Game is declared (see above), then this player (not necessarily the last player that played) can re-open play by placing the W/W beside any Doublet, leaving its remaining side and two ends open for play. The player may name the colour of the domino.

All Doublet Version: In the All Doublet Version, play can be made in all four directions (the two sides and the two ends) of any and all Doublets. In this version, there are far more opportunities for play and far fewer chances to be blocked from play (see Figure D).