How to Play UNO Dare (with Fun Dare Ideas)

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Learn the purpose of each Action card & how to dare your opps

Co-authored by Elaine Heredia, BA Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: January 9, 2026 Fact Checked

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Setup

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Rules

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Scoring & Winning

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Example Dares

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Other UNO Variations

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Video

You may never be able to go back to the original version of UNO after you play UNO Dare. This simple card game is still fun and easy to play, but there's a twist to it: when you're given a Dare card, you have to do what the dare says, or you'll face a penalty! Read on to learn the rules of UNO Dare, including setting it up, playing on your turn, scoring, and winning the game. We'll also share example dares you can add to your UNO Dare House Rules list!

How do you play UNO Dare?

Pick a Dare List card and a player to go first.
Deal each player 7 cards.
Set the rest of the cards facedown on the deck and flip one over.
Match a card from your hand to the card on the Discard pile on your turn.
Say "UNO!" when you have one card left in your hand.
Be the first player to discard your whole hand to close out the round.

Section 1 of 5:

UNO Dare Setup

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1
Pick a Dare List card for the game. A Dare List is a list of dares that players can choose to fulfill during gameplay. Alternatively, they can pay a penalty and draw 2 cards instead. The UNO Dare card deck comes with 4 Dare List cards in different themes: Family, Showoff, Daredevil, and House Rules. The House Rules list is blank, so you and the other players can fill in your own dares.^{[1]
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- An example of an UNO Dare is, "Talk like a mouse until your next turn." Another is, "Show your best dance moves until your next turn."
- If you use the House Rules list and make up your own dares, make sure they're appropriate and doable for the ages of the players.
- For adults: Try UNO Dare Adults Only edition if you want Dare Lists that are spicier and less family-friendly!
2
Draw cards to decide who goes first. Traditionally, the player who draws the highest value card gets to go first. But you can also customize the selection process however you want. For example, you could let the player who draws the lowest value card play first. Regardless of which player goes first, gameplay always moves clockwise (to the left of the dealer) around the play area, at least at the start of the game.
- You can also determine who goes first by age, hair color, or any other arbitrary value. Just make sure you and the other players agree to the terms.
- This game works best for 2-10 players.
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3
Shuffle the deck and deal each player 7 cards. Set the rest of the deck facedown on the play area and flip the top card over. The facedown deck is now the Draw pile, and the face-up card next to it is the bottom of the Discard pile.^{[2]
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- The UNO Dare card deck comes with 108 cards total. It consists of 19 blue cards, 19 green cards, 19 red cards, and 19 yellow cards, 8 Reverse cards, 8 Skip cards, 8 Dare cards, 8 Wild Dare cards, and 4 Dare List cards.

Section 2 of 5:

Gameplay Rules

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1
Match a card from your hand to the card on the top of the Discard pile. On your turn, add a card to the Discard pile that matches the number value, symbol, or color of the card on top of the pile. For example, if the top card on the Discard pile is a red 7, you can either play a 7 in any color or any card in the color red. Below is a breakdown of the different cards you can play and how they affect the gameplay.^{[3]
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- Number cards: These cards are valued 0-9. They don't perform any special action.
- Reverse card: This card reverses the direction of the gameplay. For example, if the first card the dealer flips over to start the Discard pile is a Reverse card, the player to the dealer's right goes first instead of the person to the left.
- Skip card: This card skips the next player's turn. For example, if the first card the dealer flips over to start the Discard pile is a Skip card, the player to their left loses their first turn. Then, the player to that person's left goes first.
- Dare card: This card requires the next player to do one of 2 Actions: perform the dare on the Dare List corresponding to the number on the Dare card, or draw 2 cards. If the player chooses to perform the Dare, they must fulfill it completely or draw 2 cards as a penalty.
- Wild Dare card: This card performs the same function as the Dare card, but it also lets you change the color that will continue gameplay. For example, if the card on top of the Discard pile is a blue 4, you can lay down a Wild Dare card on top of it and change the gameplay color to yellow. The next player must either lay down a yellow card or another Wild Dare card.
If the card you draw matches the top card on the Discard pile, you can play it immediately. If not, your turn ends.
If you have a card in your hand that you could play, you don't have to play it if you'd rather save it for another turn. If you decide to keep it in your hand, you must draw a card from the top of the Draw pile. You're free to play that card if it matches the top card on the Discard pile. But if it doesn't match, or if you decide to keep it, you can't play any other card from your hand, and your turn ends.^{[4]
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Section 3 of 5:

Scoring & Winning

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When you've played all your cards but one, call out "UNO!" If you don't, and the other players notice before the next player starts their turn, you must pay a penalty by drawing 2 cards.^{[5]
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As soon as one of the players lays down the last card in their hand, the round ends. Then all the players must tally up the value of their cards and add the totals to the round winner's overall score.^{[6]
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3
The first to call UNO receives all the points from the other players' cards. Each player with cards still in their hand must add up the values of all the cards they're holding. Add each player's total points together to get the winner's score for that round. Here's a breakdown of all the UNO Dare cards and their values:^{[7]
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- Number cards: Face value (0-9 points)
- Reverse cards: 20 points
- Skip cards: 20 points
- Dare cards: 20 points
- Wild Dare cards: 50 points
4
The first player to score 500 points wins UNO Dare! Play as many rounds as needed for one of the players to win enough rounds and score enough points to reach 500 points total.^{[8]
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Research source} The more players in your game, the less time it will take to determine a winner, and vice versa.
- For a shorter game: Lower the total number of points needed to win the game to 200 or 300 points.

Section 4 of 5:

Example UNO Dares

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Dare the other players to talk funny, stay frozen, or do other fun things. If you decide to abide by the rules of the game, then the player who accepts the dare must perform that action until their next turn. Whatever the action is, it should be something they can realistically keep up for a few minutes. The other players can make it harder for them by asking them questions and teasing them.^{[9]
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Research source} Here are some other UNO dares to add to your House Rules list:
- Balance an object on the tip of your finger.
- Talk like Mickey Mouse.
- Do jumping jacks.
- Answer questions in Pig Latin.
- Pat your head and rub your belly at the same time.
- Eat a whole raw clove of garlic.
- Yell out the first word that comes to mind.
- Hold your nose while you sing the chorus of your favorite song.
- Call your dad and say you got engaged.
- Read the last 5 text messages on your phone.
- Post your oldest selfie to your Instagram story.

Section 5 of 5:

Other UNO Card Game Variations

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UNO Dare is not the only way to spice up card night. If you can't get enough of UNO, we're here to help you shake things up without straying too far from familiar territory. Check out our other articles about different variations of UNO that will keep you, your family, and your friends entertained for hours!

Join the Discussion...

Uno Card Game Variations Explained

Ashton Wu
Board Game Expert

The most "quick" silly fun UNO product is UNO Attack, where instead of drawing cards as a penalty, you press a button on the given machine instead! Sometimes 1-6 cards will shoot out, sometimes nothing will shoot out! It adds randomness to UNO, but also doesn't add too much complexity or time length, with a fun gimmick and some new take-that cards and ways to discard cards.

The most thoughtful UNO product is UNO Golf, where you have a 2x3 grid of facedown UNO cards in front of everyone, and the goal is to remove them to score the least amount of points when the game ends. You play multiple rounds, like "multiple holes' for golf. There's a surprising amount of new ways to think about clearing cards, because sometimes you want to wait to clear them before your opponent(s) clear, because you can clear on anyone's turn, and clearing may trigger an effect.