Unlike other more traditional games of UNO, the UNO Stacko rules state that players simply need to avoid knocking over the tower to become the winner.
You may be thinking, ‘that sounds more like Jenga than it does UNO?’Â
And you would be correct, as UNO Stacko is a hybrid of both the UNO rules and the Jenga rules to create a strategic game where patience and dealing with pressure get rewarded.
Are you ready to learn exactly how to play UNO Stacko, the ultimate hybrid board game?Â
Then dive into our guide to read about all the rules and how to set up today’s game.
What is UNO Stacko?
UNO Stacko is the same concept of UNO that we all love, turned into a Jenga-like game so that not only do players need to match numbers or colors, they’ll need steady hands too.
Related – Monopoly Jenga rules
Players pick blocks that match the previous block that the previous player places on top of the tower, meaning that players have limited choice when it’s their turn to pick a block out.
Think of it as a more advanced version of Jenga alongside a viable alternative to other UNO games such as the Spicy Uno rules.Â
Number of Players Required: 2-10 players.
Who Can Play It: Recommended for ages 7+.Â
Difficulty: Easy.Â
Length of Play: 10 – 20 minutes.Â
Similar to: UNO Flip; Phase 10; Skip-Bo; Jenga
Main Objective: Avoid being the player to make the tower fall; the winner is the person who manages to avoid knocking the tower over.Â
Why We Love It: Combining the rules of UNO with the tense gameplay you usually find with Jenga, Uno Stacko gives players the best of both worlds.Â
Playing UNO Stacko – What You’ll Need.
To be able to play UNO Stacko, players will first need to get themselves the unique UNO Stacko game set which comes with:
- 8 Blue Blocks
- 8 Red Blocks
- 8 Green Blocks
- 8 Yellow Blocks
- 4 Draw two Blocks
- 4 Reverse Blocks
- 4 Skip Blocks
- 1 Wild Block
You won’t need any existing UNO cards you may have from other game sets for this one, but for a smaller version of the same game, take a look at the UNO Stacko travel edition instead.
How To Set Up UNO Stacko
Use any metric that usually works for you and your group to decide who stacks the blocks – it’s usually polite for the host to do the honors, but anyone else can do this part.
On a flat surface, gather 3Â blocks at random to make the base which is 3 blocks lined in a row.
Going the opposite way, lay another 3 blocks on top of your initial 3, and keep going until you’ve used up all of the blocks.
UNO Stacko comes with a leveling tray to ensure that your tower is straight; use this to straighten up your tower if needed.
Once the tower looks similar to the tower on the game box, your game can begin.Â
UNO Stacko Rules
Although UNO Stacko doesn’t use any cards, a large part of the game still uses the same classic UNO rules, including action blocks for players to change the course of the game.
Starting the Game
Gather all players in a circle; play starts with the player on the left of the player who stacked the tower and continues round in a clockwise fashion.Â
The starting player can pick any block that they would like that sits under the top 3 rows of blocks. They carefully draw the block out from the tower and place it on top if they’re successful.
How to Play UNO Stacko
Once the starting player has made their move, the UNO elements to the game also begin as well.
If a number block was the block that got placed on top, then the following player must pull another block from the tower that either matches the first block’s color or displayed number.Â
Players can only draw blocks from the levels that are below the top level.
If that player manages to pull a block, then they must place it on the top of the tower, all 3 blocks must get placed before a player can start a brand new top level.
Occasionally, a player may draw an Action Block, and one of several effects will take place, which either affects the game or the player whose turn is next.
These Action Blocks include:
- Draw 2 Block – Signified with 2 rectangles – The next player must draw 2 blocks that are the same color as the Draw 2 Block.Â
- Reverse Block – Signified with 2 arrows pointing opposite directions – Play goes from clockwise to counter-clockwise or vice versa depending on the direction of play.Â
- Skip Block – Signified with the stop symbol – The player whose turn is next has to skip their go.Â
- Wild Block – Signified with a + symbol – The player who pulls this gets to pick the color of the block that the next player has to pull.Â
Players must successfully pull an Action Block and place it on top of the tower before its effect takes place.
If a player is drawing 2 blocks as part of the ‘Draw 2 Block’ scenario, they cannot pull any Action Blocks as part of this.Â
Scoring In UNO Stacko
As UNO Stacko doesn’t use cards, then it doesn’t use the same scoring system that you would find in other versions of UNO, such as the UNO Spin rules.
Instead, UNO Stacko works on an elimination basis, meaning that when a player knocks the tower over, they are out, and the game restarts with 1 less player.
The winner is the player who is the last person standing, but if you’re planning on playing a series of UNO Stacko matches, you can create your own scoring system.
Award 1st place 5 points, 2nd place 3 points, and 3rd place 1 point.
Tally up scores at the end, and crown the ultimate UNO Stacko champion at the end of the play.
UNO Stacko Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
What can you add to the UNO Stacko rules to make the game harder?
There are 2 rules which make the game harder or easier depending on whether you enforce them or not.
The first rule is that players must only use 1 hand to move the blocks; the second rule is that players must move the block that they touch first.
If someone breaks the first rule, another player can yell out UNO to point this out, and the offending player must pull out an additional block as punishment.Â
What are the UNO Stacko rules for just 2 players?
If playing UNO Stacko with 2 people, treat the Reverse and Skip blocks like draw 2 Blocks as these 2 Action Blocks don’t really work as well with just 2 players.
When did UNO Stacko come out?
UNO Stacko came out in 1994 and considering that regular UNO came out in 1971, it took quite a long time for the developers to come up with this concept.
Regular Jenga came out in 1986, which explains where the inspiration from UNO Stacko came from.Â
Alternative Games to UNO Stacko
Whether you are a UNO lover or simply looking for more great UNO games to play, be sure to stick around and read up on our extensive list of all things UNO.
Have a look at the following games to see what your next game of UNO could be:
- 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 Spin
- UNO Tiki Twist
- UNO Tippo
- UNO Wild Jackpot
- UNO Wild Tiles
