UNO No Mercy rules: how to play
UNO No Mercy is UNO with the gloves off: draw penalties up to +10 that stack, hands that change owners, and elimination at 25 cards. Here are the full rules in plain English, and you can try them right away in a free game against bots.
- 2 to 6 players. Everyone starts with 7 cards.
- Play a card that matches the top card by color, number or symbol.
- Can't play? Keep drawing until you get a card you can play.
- Draw cards stack: answer a +X with one of equal or higher value and the next player takes it all.
- Mercy Rule: anyone who reaches 25 cards is knocked out.
- The first player with no cards wins, or the last one still standing.
Goal of the game
As in classic UNO, you want to get rid of all your cards. No Mercy adds a second way to win: survive. Every player who reaches 25 cards is out, and if everyone else falls, the last player standing wins.
Setup
- Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player.
- Turn one card face up to start the discard pile.
- The rest of the deck is the draw pile.
The official boxed game has 168 cards. Mercy's base deck has 164 cards, or 188 with the expansion turned on.
Taking a turn
On your turn, play one card that matches the top of the discard pile by color, number or symbol. Wild cards can go on anything and let you pick the next color.
Draw until you can play
This is the first rule that catches people out. If you have nothing playable, you don't draw just one card: you keep drawing, one at a time, until you get a card you can play. A bad streak can hand you ten cards in one turn.
Stacking draw cards (+2, +4, +6, +10)
When someone plays a draw card on you, you can pass it on by playing another draw card of equal or higher value. The penalty adds up and moves to the next player. Example: someone plays +4, you answer with +6, and the next player must answer with +6 or +10, or draw 10 cards and lose their turn.
- On a +4 you can stack +4, +6 or +10, but not a +2.
- If you can't or won't stack, you draw the whole pile-up and lose your turn.
The Mercy Rule: 25 cards
If you ever hold 25 cards or more, you are eliminated and your cards go back into the discard pile to be reshuffled. This is the rule the game is named after: a couple of stacked penalties are enough to knock someone out.
The 7-0 rule
- 7: swap your whole hand with any player you choose.
- 0: everyone passes their hand to the next player in the direction of play.
With 7-0 nobody is safe: the player one card from winning can end up holding fifteen.
The special cards
No Mercy adds cards that don't exist in regular UNO. Each one is explained, with how many are in the deck, in the UNO No Mercy card guide. The short version:
| Card | What it does |
|---|---|
| Skip Everyone | Skip every opponent and play again. |
| Discard All | Discard every card of that color from your hand. |
| Colored +4 | A +4 that is not wild: it has to match the color. |
| Wild Reverse +4 | Reverses direction and hits the previous player with +4. |
| Wild +6 and +10 | The biggest penalties in the deck. |
| Wild Color Roulette | The next player names a color and draws until it shows up. |
Calling out one card
When you are down to one card you have to call it. In Mercy the button is called MERCY: if an opponent is down to one card without calling it and you catch them, they draw 2 cards.
How to win
The first player to empty their hand wins. If the others drop out under the Mercy Rule, the last player left in the game wins.
Optional house rules
In Mercy you pick these when you set up a bot game, or as the host of an online room:
- Jump-in: if you hold a card identical to the top card, play it even when it isn't your turn.
- Combos: play several cards of the same value together, or chain draw cards from equal to higher (+2 → +4 → +6).
- Forced play: if you can play, you must.
- 15-second clock: run out of time and you draw a card and lose your turn.
- Expansion and Chaos cards: extra cards such as Final Attack, Sudden Death, or a card that pools every hand and deals them out evenly.
No Mercy vs. classic UNO
| Classic UNO | UNO No Mercy | |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing to play | Draw 1 card | Draw until you can play |
| Penalties | +2 and +4 | +2, +4, +6 and +10, stackable |
| Elimination | None | Out at 25 cards |
| 7 and 0 | Regular numbers | Swap hands |
Frequently asked questions
How many cards do you deal in UNO No Mercy?
Each player gets 7 cards, the same as classic UNO.
How many people can play UNO No Mercy?
2 to 6 players. In Mercy you can play against bots, or open an online room for up to 6 people and fill empty seats with bots.
Can you stack a +2 on a +4 in UNO No Mercy?
No. You can only stack a draw card of equal or higher value. On a +4 you can play +4, +6 or +10.
What happens when you reach 25 cards?
You are eliminated under the Mercy Rule and your cards are shuffled back into the deck. The game goes on with everyone else.
What does the 7 do in UNO No Mercy?
Playing a 7 lets you swap your whole hand with any player you choose.
What does the 0 do in UNO No Mercy?
Playing a 0 makes every player pass their hand to the next player in the direction of play.
How many cards are in UNO No Mercy?
The boxed game has 168 cards. Mercy's base deck has 164, 188 with the expansion, and up to 200 with Chaos cards.
Can I play UNO No Mercy online for free?
Yes, in Mercy, from a phone or computer browser with nothing to download. Bot games need no account; to play online with friends you sign in with Google. The game's menus are in Spanish for now, but the cards use symbols, so you can play without speaking Spanish.