How to Play the UNO Flex Card Game

Uno Flex Game Setup

Give each player a Power card with the green side face-up. Power cards have a green and red side, and they’re important for playing special Flex cards during the game. Separate the 8 Power cards from the rest of the deck and give one to each player. Keep the Power cards on the table with the green side face-up at the start of the game. You can play UNO Flex with up to 8 players.

Deal 7 cards to each player. Choose someone to be the dealer for the round. Shuffle the deck of cards thoroughly and give out 7 cards to each person for their starting hand. Place the remaining stack of cards face-down in the middle of the table for the draw pile. You can look at your hand, but keep them hidden from other players so they don’t know what cards you have.

Flip the top card of the deck to start the discard pile. Take the top card off the draw pile and set it face-up next to the deck. This card is the first card of the discard pile and shows the starting color or number. If the card is an Action card, flip over the next card from the deck until a Number card is on top of the discard pile.

How to Play UNO Flex

Play a card matching the color, number, or symbol of the discard pile’s top card. The game starts with the player who’s sitting to the left of the dealer. During your turn, you can only play a card from your hand if it has the same number, color, or symbol as the card on top of the discard pile. Wild cards show all 4 colors, so you can play them on top of any card. If you play a Number card that has the flip icon (a rectangle with an arrow), then flip your Power card over to the other side. At the start of the game, this means flipping it from the green side to the red side. When you play an Action card, you also trigger a special ability right away. To learn more about the abilities, jump to our section on Action cards. The new Flex cards in the game show 2 different colors or actions. Go to our section on Flex cards to learn how to play them.

Draw a card if you’re not able to play a card from your hand. If you don’t have any playable cards in your hand, take the top card from the deck. If you draw a card that matches the color, number, or symbol of the top card in the discard pile, you can play it right away. Otherwise, it’s the end of your turn. You can choose to draw even if you have a playable card in your hand, but you’ll usually want to get rid of your cards instead of drawing new ones.

Take turns going clockwise around the table. After a player plays 1 card or draws a card from the deck, the next person in clockwise order starts their turn. Keep going around the table taking turns until the game ends. Some action cards will change the direction in which players take turns later on, so keep track of which player is taking their next turn. Jump to our section on how to win to learn how the game ends.

UNO Flex Card Rules

Flip your Power card to use the “flex” side of a Flex card. Flex cards have a regular side at the top of the card that can be played like any other Number card. The “flex” side at the bottom has a different color for Number cards or a new ability for Action cards. To use the flex side, flip your Power card from the green side to the red side and set the flex card on the discard pile. Example: If the top card of the discard pile is blue, you could play a green card that has a blue flex side. The color in the center of a Flex card is its “regular” color. The next person taking a turn has to play a card that matches the regular color even if you used the flex color. You can only use the flex side of a card if the green side is face-up on your Power card. If the red side is face-up, then you can only play the regular side of the card. Power cards can flip back to the green side if you play a card with a flip icon on it, if someone uses a Wild Flip card, or if every player has the red side face-up.

Action & Flex Action Card Options

Draw Two The next player draws 2 cards from the deck and they lose their next turn.

Reverse The direction of play gets reversed. If you were taking turns going clockwise, then it switches to counter-clockwise. If you were taking turns in a counter-clockwise direction, it switches back to clockwise.

Skip Skip the next player’s turn.

Wild All Flip All players flip over their Power cards to the opposite sides, including you. Then, you get to choose which color players need to play next.

Flex Draw Two When you play this card on the regular side, the next player draws 2 cards and loses their turn. If you use the flex side, then all other players draw 1 card but the next player doesn’t lose their turn.

Flex Reverse When you use the regular side, the direction of play switches from clockwise to counter-clockwise, or vice-versa. When you use the flex side, it still reverses the direction of play, and the next player loses their turn.

Flex Skip When you play the regular side, skip the next player’s turn. When you play the flex side, skip all the players so you can take another turn.

Flex Wild Target Draw 2 For the regular side, simply choose the next color that players have to play. When you use the flex side, choose any player to draw 2 cards and then choose the next color.

Flex Wild All Draw When you use the regular side, just pick which color players will have to play to the discard pile. When you use the flex side, all other players have to draw 2 cards but the next player does not lose their turn.

Flex Wild Draw Four When you play this card on the flex side, choose any player to draw 4 cards from the deck and choose which color people need to play next. If you play this card on the regular side, then the next player has 2 options: Draw 4 cards and lose their turn OR Challenge: If the player thinks you have a card that matches the color of the top card in the discard pile, they may challenge you. If you do have a matching color card (or Wild), then you draw 4 cards instead. If you do not have a matching color card, then the other player draws 6 cards and loses their turn.

How to Win UNO Flex

Win the game if you’re the first person to get rid of all your cards. When you only have 1 card left in your hand, say “UNO!” out loud for everyone to hear. If you’re able to play the last card from your hand, then you’ve won the game! If you forget to say UNO and another player catches you before the next person takes their turn, then draw 2 cards as a penalty.

Optional Scoring Rules

Score points based on your opponent’s card values if you win the round. If you’re the first person to play all of their cards, all the other players reveal the cards they still have in their hands. Tally up the total points from their cards and write it down on a piece of paper. The point values are: Number cards: Face value (1-8 points) Action cards: 20 points Wild cards: 50 points

Continue playing rounds until a player earns 500 or more points. Choose a new person to be the dealer and have them shuffle and deal a new hand of cards to each player. Play another round the same as before, and keep a running tally of the points each player earns. As soon as someone reaches at least 500 points, they’ve won the game! For a shorter game, play until you reach 250 points. If you want a longer game, play until someone gets 750 or 1,000 points instead.

Winning Strategies

Save your Flex cards for later in the game. Flex cards let you play cards to a different color or give you powerful actions, so wait to play them until you need them. Having a couple of Flex cards gives you more flexibility and options, so you’re less likely to draw more cards into your hand.

Make your opponents flip their Power cards to stop big plays. If you notice another player has fewer cards than everyone else or hasn’t used a Flex card in awhile, use a Wild All Flip card to make their Power card red. That way, they won’t be able to use the flex sides of their cards and have more limited plays.

Target players with fewer cards with Draw action cards. Keep an eye out for how many cards people have or if someone says “UNO!” To keep the game still going, use a Draw 2 of Wild Draw so they have more cards in their hand.

Play a Flex Wild Draw Four even if you have a matching color card. Some players are too nervous about being wrong and having to draw 6 cards, so they won’t challenge you. While it can be risky if you are challenged, this play can help you get ahead and put another player behind.