UNO scoring: card values and the 500-point game

This guide follows the Mattel Classic 112-card instructions used on our UNO rules page. It covers scoring after a round, not extra points for making individual plays. Special UNO editions can assign other values.

Score the cards left in opponents’ hands

Under the main method, the player who empties their hand receives the combined value of all cards the other players still hold. Only that round’s winner adds points.

Card left in hand	Points
Number 0–9	Printed number
Draw Two, Reverse or Skip	20
Wild or Wild Draw Four	50
Wild Shuffle Hands or Customizable Wild	40

Colour makes no difference. Two red cards and two blue cards use the same values. A zero is worth zero; a Draw Two is worth 20, not two. Include the Shuffle Hands and Customizable cards only if they are part of the deck and rules you are using.

Resolve the final draw penalty first

If the last card is Draw Two or Wild Draw Four, the next player still draws the required cards. Add those cards to their hand before counting the round’s score. Nobody gets another ordinary turn after the final card.

Suppose the winner’s final card is Draw Two. The next player has a 4 and a Skip, then draws a 7 and a Wild. Their hand contributes 4 + 20 + 7 + 50 = 81. Counting before the forced draw would wrongly record only 24.

Ordinary stacking is not part of these printed rules: the penalised player does not avoid drawing by playing another draw card. See common UNO mistakes for legal draws and challenges.

Worked example: three opponents

Alex goes out. The remaining hands are:

Player	Cards remaining	Points
Bea	2, 8, Reverse	30
Cam	Wild, Draw Two	70
Dee	0, 5, Customizable Wild	45

Alex adds 30 + 70 + 45 = 145 to their running total. The other players add nothing under the main method. If Alex began the round on 380, their new total is 525, so they win the game.

Keep one score column per player and enter a round total only in the winner’s column. If nobody has reached 500, reshuffle and deal the next round.

Mattel’s alternative: lowest total wins

The printed instructions also offer a different system. Each player adds the value of their own leftover cards after each round. When one player’s running total reaches 500, the player with the lowest total wins.

For the same example, Bea adds 30, Cam 70 and Dee 45; Alex adds zero. This method makes points penalties, whereas the main method makes them rewards. Choose one before the first deal and do not switch mid-game.

What does not create a separate score?

Calling UNO, changing the colour, skipping someone and successfully playing a Wild do not earn additional points. Those plays affect who gets out and what remains in other hands. The score is calculated from the final hands.

A one-round casual game can simply end with the player who goes out, but that is different from the printed 500-point game. For managing expensive cards before scoring, see UNO beginner strategy.