How to Play UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy: Rules and Instructions

Objective of UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy

The objective of UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy is to play all of the cards from your hand or eliminate the rest of the players from the game.

Setup for UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy

• Choose a dealer who shuffles all of the cards. If you can’t shuffle all of the cards together, you can split the deck into multiple piles and shuffle them separately.
• The dealer deals seven cards facedown to each player. You can look at your own cards, but you shouldn’t show them to the other players.
• Place the rest of the cards facedown on the table to form the Draw Pile.
• Flip over the top card from the Draw Pile and place it next to the pile. This forms the Discard Pile. If the card you flipped over is an Action card (any card that isn’t a number card), you will ignore its effect and flip over another card.
• The player to the left of the dealer starts the game. Play passes clockwise to start the game.

Playing UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy

On your turn you will try to play a card from your hand to the Discard Pile. To play a card it needs to match one of the following attributes from the top card from the Discard Pile:

• Color
• Number
• Symbol

If you have a card that matches one or more of these attributes, you may play the card. If there are two or more cards that match the attributes, you can choose which of the cards that you want to play. You can only play one card on your turn.

If you play an Action card, a special action will occur. See the corresponding section below for more details.

As the instructions specifically say that you may play a card if you have one that matches, I assume you can choose not to play a card from your hand even if it matches. Most UNO games specifically say this, but this version of UNO does not. If you choose not to play a card, I assume you will treat the rest of your turn like if you didn’t have a card that you could play.

After you play a card, your turn ends. Play passes to the next player in turn order.

Drawing Cards

Should you have no cards in your hand that you can play, you will have to draw cards from the Draw Pile.

Unlike normal UNO, in UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy you will have to keep drawing cards until you draw one that you can play. When you draw a card that you can play, you will play it to the Discard Pile. You will then add the rest of the cards you drew to your hand.

If the Draw Pile ever runs out of cards, you will shuffle the Discard Pile to form a new Draw Pile.

After you have played a card, your turn ends. The next player in turn order takes the next turn.

UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy Card Meanings

Numbers (Except for 0’s and 7’s)

Number cards have no special action in the game. A number card can only be played if it matches the color or number of the top card on the Discard Pile.

0 Pass

When you play a 0 card, all of the players will pass their hand to the next player in the current direction of play. If play is currently moving clockwise, each player passes their hand to the player on their left. If play is moving counter-clockwise, each player passes their hand to the player on their right.

After all of the players swap their hands, play passes to the next player in turn order.

7 Swap

The 7 card is different from other number cards because it has a special action. When you play a 7 card, you must swap your hand with another player. You choose which player you want to swap your hand with.

After you swap hands, play passes to the next player in turn order.

Discard All

When you play a Discard All card, you will discard all of the cards from your hand that match the color of the Discard All card. Place all of the cards you discard underneath the Discard All card.

You can play a Discard All card on top of another Discard All card, or a card that matches its color.

Draw Two

When you play a Draw Two card, the next player in turn order has to draw two cards and will lose their turn. The one exception to this is if the player is able to use stacking (see the section below for more information).

You can play a Draw Two card on top of another Draw Two card, or a card that matches its color.

Draw Four

Whenever a Draw Four card is played, the next player in turn order has to draw four cards and loses their turn. The next player can avoid this by stacking (see the corresponding section below).

You can play a Draw Four on top of another Draw Four, a Draw Two (using stacking), or a card that matches its color.

Reverse

The Reverse card changes the direction of play. If play was moving clockwise, the Reverse card changes it to counter-clockwise. If play was moving counter-clockwise, it will now move clockwise.

Should there only be two players in the game, when you play a Reverse card the other player is skipped so you can take another turn right away.

You can play a Reverse card on top of another Reverse card, or on a card that matches its color.

Skip

When you play a Skip card, the next player in turn order loses their turn.

You can play a Skip card on top of another Skip card, or a card that matches its color. If your turn is skipped due to a Skip card being played on you, you cannot play a Skip card to avoid losing your turn.

Skip Everyone

The Skip Everyone card skips all of the other players. When you play the card, you will immediately play another card.

You can play a Skip Everyone card on top of another Skip Everyone card, or a card that matches its color.

Wild Color Roulette

After a Wild Color Roulette card is played, the next player in turn order chooses a color. The next player then keeps drawing cards from the Draw Pile until they draw a card that matches the color they choose. Wild cards do not count as matching the color. The player adds all of the cards they draw to their hand. They also lose their turn.

Since the Wild Color Roulette card is wild, you can play it on top of any other card. The player that plays the card chooses the color for the Discard Pile.

Wild Draw 6

When you play a Wild Draw 6, the next player in turn order has to draw six cards. They also lose their next turn. You can avoid this punishment by using stacking (see the Stacking section below).

Since the Wild Draw 6 card is wild, you can play it on top of any other card. The player who plays it also chooses the color of the Discard Pile.

Wild Draw 10

When you play a Wild Draw 10 card, the next player in turn order has to draw 10 cards and loses their turn. You can avoid this punishment by using stacking (see the Stacking section below).

The Wild Draw 10 is wild so it can be played at any time. When you play a Wild Draw 10, you will choose the color for the Discard Pile.

Wild Reverse Draw Four

The Wild Reverse Draw Four card is wild so you can play it on top of any other card.

When you play the Wild Reverse Draw Four you will start by reversing the direction of play like a normal Reverse card. The player who is now the next player has to draw four cards and loses their turn. You can use the stacking rules to avoid the punishment from a Wild Reverse Draw Four (see the Stacking section below).

If there are only two players, the other player is skipped. This forces the player who played the card to draw the four cards.

Since the card is wild, you will choose the color for the Discard Pile.

Stacking

When a player plays a Draw Card (any +2, +4, +6, +10 card), if the next player in the turn order has their own Draw Card they can stack it on top.

For example, a player plays a Draw Two card on you. Normally you would have to draw two cards and lose your turn. If you have a Draw Card in your hand, you can play the card (if you want to) instead of drawing the cards and losing your turn. Then the next player in turn order has a chance to play a Draw Card as well. This continues until a player is unable to play a Draw Card. The player that is unable to play a Draw Card has to draw cards equal to all of the stacked Draw Cards. For example, if the previous players played a +2, +2, +4, and +6 cards, the player that was unable to play a Draw Card has to draw 14 cards and loses their turn.

When stacking Draw Cards, you can only play a Draw Card that is equal to or higher than the previous played Draw Card. As an example if the previous player played a +4 card, you can only play a +4 or higher Draw Card. You aren’t allowed to play a +2 card.

Elimination Mercy Rule in UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy

If you ever have 25 or more cards in your hand at a time, you are eliminated from the game.

You will set your cards aside. Whenever you have to shuffle the Discard Pile, you will also shuffle the cards that players set aside when they were eliminated.

Calling UNO

When you only have one card left in your hand, you must say “UNO” as quickly as possible. You have to do this to alert the other players that you are close to winning the game.

If you do not say UNO and another player catches you, you must draw two cards. They must catch you before the next player takes their turn.

Winning UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy

UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy can end in one of two ways.

When someone plays the last card from their hand, they win the game.

Otherwise the game can end if all but one of the players have been eliminated. The last remaining player wins the game.

Scoring in UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy

If you would like to play a couple of rounds, you can choose to keep score. The winner of the round collects all of the cards left in the other players’ hands. They will score points for each of the cards as follows:

• Number cards – face value
• Discard All, Draw 2, Draw 4, Reverse, Skip, Skip Everyone – 20 points each
• Wild Color Roulette, Wild Draw 6, Wild Draw 10, Wild Reverse Draw Four – 50 points each

The winner does not score points from the cards left in a player’s hand that was eliminated. Instead they score 250 points for each eliminated player.

Keep track of the points that the players score each round.

The first player to score 1,000 or more points wins the game.

UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy FAQs

If you have any questions about how to play UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.

Components

• 20 Blue Number Cards (2 each of 0-9)
• 20 Green Number Cards (2 each of 0-9)
• 20 Red Number Cards (2 each of 0-9)
• 20 Yellow Number Cards (2 each of 0-9)
• 12 Discard All Cards (3 of each color)
• 12 Draw Two Cards (3 of each color)
• 8 Draw Four Cards (2 of each color)
• 12 Reverse Cards (3 of each color)
• 12 Skip Cards (3 of each color)
• 8 Skip Everyone Cards (2 of each color)
• 8 Wild Color Roulette Cards
• 4 Wild Draw 6 Cards
• 4 Wild Draw 10 Cards
• 8 Wild Reverse Draw Four Cards
• Instructions

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Year: 2023 | Publisher: Mattel | Designer: Nick Hayes

Genres: Card, Family, Party

Ages: 7+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 15-30 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate-High

Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.

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