If your friends group enjoys a game of UNO but is looking for a fresh twist that doesn’t overcomplicate the game, look at the UNO Spin rules for a great alternative.
At random points throughout the game, players will need to spin the wheel, which can either help them out and turn the tide of the game – or ruin their chances of victory.
It’s also a good version of UNO to introduce to younger kids and beginners as the wheel evens up the game, making it more balanced for everyone involved.
So continue reading to learn how to play UNO Spin, including all of the new additional rules and how the wheel impacts the game.
What is UNO Spin?
UNO Spin is essentially Classic UNO with an element of random chance mixed into the gameplay as well with the introduction of the Spin Wheel.
The Spin Wheel has various different outcomes which players can sometimes trigger while playing, with some positive outcomes and some not so positive.
UNO Spin doesn’t change the game as much as the Spicy UNO rules do but is more similar to the UNO Flash rules in terms of how you would play the game if you’re familiar with those rules.
Number of Players Required: 2-10 players.
Who Can Play It: Recommended ages 7+.
Difficulty: Easy.
Length of Play: 20-30 minutes.
Similar to: UNO Flip; Phase 10; Skip-Bo
Main Objective: Become the first player to score 500 points across multiple rounds to win the game.
Why We Love It: By spinning the wheel on UNO Spin, each round can change in an instant. This version of UNO is definitely the one that keeps players on their toes the most.
Playing UNO Spin- What You’ll Need.
Like every other edition of UNO, to be able to play, you’ll need to get the correct game set, and UNO Spin is no exception to this.
The official UNO Spin set has:
- 19 Blue cards and spin cards;
- 19 Green cards and spin cards;
- 19 Red cards and spin cards;
- 19 Yellow cards and spin cards;
- 8 Skip cards;
- 8 Reverse cards;
- 8 Draw 2 cards;
- 4 Wild cards;
- 4 Wild Draw 4 cards;
- 4 Blank Cards;
- 1 UNO Spin wheel.
And that’s also everything you’ll need to have before you begin playing.
Make sure you’re also playing in a place that has plenty of space for the wheel and players to gather around it as well.
How To Set Up UNO Spin
Separate the number cards from the wild cards in the UNO deck and give the number cards a really good shuffle.
Have each player randomly draw a card from the numbered pile – who even draws the highest number needs to collect all the cards and give them a good shuffle again.
The dealer will now need to deal out 7 cards to each player face down. The remaining cards get placed in the middle of the UNO Spin wheel in one of the gaps to form the draw pile.
Overturn the top card on the draw pile and place it in the other gap in the middle face up; this is the discard pile and is where players will put their cards throughout the game.
If this top card is a wildcard that doesn’t have a colored background, draw the next card on top until you reach a card that does have a colored background.
UNO Spin Rules
If you’re already familiar with the Classic UNO rules, then a lot of the gameplay is broadly similar, but be sure to continue reading so you know exactly how the wheel works.
Starting the Game
Whoever is on the left of the dealer starts the game by laying one of their cards on top of the card that is currently on top of the discard pile.
The player can only play a card if it matches in 1 of 3 ways:
- Color
- Number
- Symbol (if Wild Card)
If that player cannot go, they must draw a card from the draw pile, but if they can play the newly drawn card, then they can do so.
Play continues around the circle 1 at a time in a clockwise fashion.
How to Play UNO Spin
The gameplay for UNO Spin continues throughout, just like in other versions, except with the introduction of Spin Cards.
The regular Action Cards are here too, which includes:
- Wild card – Displays a circle with 4 of each color displayed – lets a player pick what color the rest of the circle has to follow.
- Reverse card – Background in 1 of the 4 UNO game colors with 2 arrows pointing away from one another – Switches which way round the circle the game plays.
- Skip Card – 2 of these per color with a stop sign symbol on the card. The player whose turn is supposed to be next skips their turn.
- Draw 2 – Background in 1 of the 4 UNO game colors with a +2 in the corners. The next player to the left or right misses a turn and picks up 2 cards from the draw pile.
- Wild Draw 4 card – Displays a circle with 4 of each color and +4 in the corners. The next player to the left or right misses a go and picks up 4 cards from the draw pile. The player who plays the card also gets to pick the next color.
Various number cards display a swirling pattern in the corner around the number, which signals that the wheel can get spun when a player puts down these cards.
Once a player spins the wheel, the arrow can land on 1 of 9 different outcomes:
- Almost UNO – The player who spun gets rid of all but 2 of their cards.
- Discard Number – The player who spun chooses a number and gets rid of all of that number they have in their hand.
- Discard Color – The player who spun chooses a color and gets rid of all their cards in their hand of that color.
- Draw Red – The player who spun keeps drawing from the draw pile until they get a red card.
- Draw Blue – The player who spun keeps drawing from the draw pile until they get a blue card.
- Trade Hands – All players trade their hands with the player on their left.
- Show Hands – The player who spun needs to show all players the cards in their hand.
- War – Everyone picks a random card from their hand. Whoever has the highest card wins the war and gets rid of that card. If there’s a tie, any one part of the tie redraws until there’s only 1 winner. Whatever cards were used in the War get discarded.
- UNO Spin – All players shout out UNO Spin as soon as the arrow lands on this segment; whoever calls it out first can discard 1 card.
As always, when a player has just 1 card left, they must call out UNO; otherwise, they get penalized by having to pick up 2 cards from the discard pile.
Once a player manages to get rid of all their cards, the round is over, and the scoring phase of the game begins.
Scoring In UNO Spin
Individual rounds of UNO Spin are over relatively quickly, so scoring gets introduced to bolster the game.
The remaining players need to hand over the cards which are remaining in their hands to the winning player so they can work out their score for the round.
Each card has a different value, and these are:
- Numbered cards – The value displayed on the card.
- Draw 2; Reverse; Skip cards – 20 points.
- Wild; Wild Draw 4 cards – 50 points.
The first player who accumulates 500 points across multiple rounds wins UNO Spin.
UNO Spin Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
Who spins the Wheel in UNO Spin?
The player to the left of the player who played the Spin card is the person who spins the wheel and also abides by whatever segment the arrow lands on.
How many cards do you start with in UNO Spin?
Players start with 7 cards, and this doesn’t change regardless of the number of players playing.
When can you play an Action card in the UNO Spin rules?
Players can play a Wild card during their turn if their card matches the color of the topmost card on the discard pile.
The exception to this is when a player has a wild card, which can get played no matter what color is on top of the discard pile.
Alternative Games to UNO Spin
If you’re a lover of all things UNO, then make sure you check out other games to play with UNO cards alongside our guides to a variety of different UNO games.
All other UNO games:
- Classic UNO
- DOS
- Spicy UNO
- UNO Attack
- UNO Bingo
- UNO Blast
- UNO Blitzo
- UNO Choo-Choo
- UNO Colors Rule
- UNO Dice
- UNO Disney
- UNO Dominos
- UNO Flash
- UNO Flip
- UNO Hearts
- UNO House Rules
- UNO Madness
- UNO Master
- UNO Moo
- UNO Power Grab
- UNO Reflex
- UNO Roboto
- UNO Royal Revenge
- UNO Rummy-Up
- UNO Stacko
- UNO Tiki Twist
- UNO Tippo
- UNO Wild Jackpot
- UNO Wild Tiles
