How to Play UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy (Plus Special & Optional Rules)

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Expert tips on playing the UNO variant with stacking
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A regular game of UNO is lots of fun—and turning up the heat with UNO No Mercy (or ‘Show ‘em No Mercy’) can be even more exciting! No Mercy is very similar to the original game, with a few extra rules and mechanics tossed in. Specifically, it adds stacking (which lets you overload players with “Draw” cards) and the Mercy rule (which knocks players out of the game when they have 25 cards in their hand or more). Read on for a complete guide to UNO No Mercy, with added advice from board game expert and reviewer Derek Pederson.

UNO Show ‘Em No Mercy Rules Overview

  1. Shuffle the deck and deal seven cards to each player.
  2. Flip over the top card of the deck, turning it into the discard pile.
  3. On your turn, play a card matching the color, number, or symbol of the top card.
  4. Draw cards from the deck until you find a matching card if you don’t have one already.
  5. Call “UNO!” when you’re down to one card in your hand.
  6. Win by getting rid of all your cards first or eliminating all other players.
  7. Eliminate players by forcing them to draw cards until they have over 25 in their hand.
Section 1 of 4:

How to Play UNO No Mercy

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  1. 1
    Shuffle and deal 7 cards to each player. Thankfully, the game’s setup is simple, just like the original UNO. “Shuffle up the deck of cards and deal seven to each player,” Pederson explains. “From there, you flip the top card over of the main deck, which becomes the discard pile.” The rest of the deck is laid facedown between the players, becoming the draw pile.
    • The flipped card must be a number card. If it’s an action card, just leave it and flip another card until you get one that’s a number.
    • With that, the setup is complete! From there, the player left of the dealer normally goes first, and play continues clockwise.
  2. 2
    Play cards from your hand that match the top card on the discard pile. Show ‘em No Mercy plays a lot like the original UNO , too. On your turn, look for a card in your hand that matches the one at the top of the discard pile. “You’ll want to lay down one card of matching color, number, or an action card,” says Pederson.
    • Action cards can be played if their color or symbol matches the one on the discard pile; they have a special effect on gameplay (detailed below ).
    • After you play a card, your turn is over, and it becomes the next player’s turn.
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  3. 3
    Draw a card if you can’t play one on your turn. You can’t play a card if nothing in your hand matches the card on top of the discard pile. In that case, draw cards from the draw pile (which are all facedown) until you get one you can play. Once you get a card that matches the top of the discard pile, play it to end your turn. [1]
    • If you run out of cards in the draw pile, simply reshuffle the discard pile (leaving the card on top to play off of) and make a new draw pile.
  4. 4
    Call “UNO!” when you have one card left in your hand. This rule also works just like the original game; when you’re down to one card, you must let the other players know by yelling, “UNO!” If you don’t and another player catches you, you must draw two cards instead.
  5. 5
    Aim to get rid of all your cards or eliminate other players. The main goal of UNO Show ‘em No Mercy is to be the first person who has no cards left in your hand. However, there’s another way to win: by getting all the other players knocked out of the game according to the Mercy rule (also detailed below ). Basically, you can win by either being the first player out or the last one standing! [2]
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Section 2 of 4:

Special UNO No Mercy Rules

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  1. 1
    Stacking In the Show ‘em No Mercy edition of this game, the “Draw” cards (+2, +4, and so on) can stack . That means if one player lays down a Draw card, the next player can play another one—and instead of having to draw cards, the total penalty passes to the next player instead. The player unable to continue stacking must draw cards equal to the full value of all stacked cards. [3]
    • So, if one player lays down a Draw 2 card, the next plays a Draw 6, the third plays a Draw 6, but the fourth can’t play another Draw card, that fourth player would have to draw 14 cards total!
    • Stacking can continue as long as players keep laying down Draw cards equal to or greater than the value of the previous card played.
    • For example, if someone plays a Draw 4 card, you can’t play a Draw 2 on top of it—but you could play another Draw 4, 6, or 10.
  2. 2
    Mercy The Mercy rule is simple: anytime a player gets 25 or more cards in their hand, they’re eliminated from the game. That’s why there’s an additional win condition in Show ‘em No Mercy—if you can eliminate every player by making sure they end up with 25 or more cards, you can win the game. [4]
    • When a player gets eliminated this way, their hand can be set aside. If the draw pile eventually runs out, reshuffle their cards and add them back to the new pile.
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Section 3 of 4:

UNO No Mercy Cards

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  1. 1
    Number cards Number cards (except for 0s and 7s) don’t have any unique function. They can be played as long as they match the color or number of the card atop the discard pile. However, 0s and 7s both have a special purpose in Show ‘em No Mercy: [5]
    • 0 cards - When these are played, all players must pass their cards to the next player according to the current direction of play. So, for example, if play moves clockwise around the group, players must pass their cards to the left.
    • 7 cards - When a 7 card is played, the person playing it has to swap their hand with a player of their choice.
  2. 2
    Actions cards There are six types of Action cards in UNO Show ‘em No Mercy, each causing a unique action to occur that can change the game somehow. Those cards are: [6]
    • Draw 2 - The player whose turn is next draws two cards (and can’t play any on their turn).
    • Draw 4 - The player whose turn is next draws four cards (and can’t play any on their turn).
    • Skip - The player whose turn is next loses that turn.
    • Discard All - This card allows the player who uses it to discard all the cards in their hand that are the same color as the Discard All card.
    • Reverse - The direction of gameplay reverses—so if the game was going counterclockwise, it’d switch to clockwise, for example. In a two-player game, this card skips the other player’s turn.
    • Skip Everyone - All other players lose a turn, and the person who plays the card gets to go again.
  3. 3
    Wild cards Wild cards don’t have specific colors assigned to them; they can be played regardless of the color and number or symbol of the card atop the discard pile! [7]
    • Wild Reverse Draw 4 - Not only does the next player have to draw four cards and lose their turn, but the direction of play is reversed. The “draw 4” effect applies to the next player in the newly reversed direction.
    • Wild Draw 6 - The player whose turn is next draws six cards (and can’t play any on their turn).
    • Wild Draw 10 - The player whose turn is next draws ten cards (and can’t play any on their turn).
    • Wild Color Roulette - The player whose turn comes next must choose a color, then uncover cards from the Draw pile until they find that color—and add all drawn cards to their hand. They also lose their next turn.
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Section 4 of 4:

UNO No Mercy Optional Rules

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  1. You can optionally keep score and award points to players. This rule mainly exists if you’re going to play a few rounds of UNO. Each time a player wins, you can award them points based on the cards left in every other player’s hand. Write down the points acquired in each round—and the first player to reach 1,000 points is the final winner! To keep score: [8]
    • Number cards are worth their face value (a 2 is two points, a 5 is five points, and so on).
    • Color Action cards are worth 20 points each. This includes Skip, Reverse, Draw 2, Draw 4, Discard All, and Skip Everyone cards.
    • Wild Action cards are worth 50 points each, according to Pederson. This includes Wild Reverse Draw 4, Wild Draw 6, Wild Draw 10, and Wild Color Roulette cards.
    • Eliminating players from the game is worth 250 points per player—but you don’t count the cards in their hand once they’re out of the game.

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      References

      1. ↑ https://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/HVW18-Eng.pdf
      2. ↑ https://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/HVW18-Eng.pdf
      3. ↑ https://officialgamerules.org/game-rules/uno-show-em-no-mercy-2/
      4. ↑ https://officialgamerules.org/game-rules/uno-show-em-no-mercy-2/
      5. ↑ https://officialgamerules.org/game-rules/uno-show-em-no-mercy-2/
      6. ↑ https://officialgamerules.org/game-rules/uno-show-em-no-mercy-2/
      7. ↑ https://officialgamerules.org/game-rules/uno-show-em-no-mercy-2/
      8. ↑ https://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/HVW18-Eng.pdf

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