Friends Board Games: card game

UNO Friends: The Friends Card Game, Rules and Special Card

By Updated

UNO Friends is Mattel's friends card game, with a standard UNO deck, show artwork, and one new Wild card. It works for 2 to 10 players, ages 7+, who know UNO and want a quick game with a Friends twist.

  • 2023
  • 2-10 players
  • Ages 7+
  • card game
  • Mattel

UNO means you have one card left. The One Where You Draw means someone else has a problem.

A stack of standard UNO cards lying face down, showing the red and black UNO card back
Photo of the classic editionA standard UNO deck, card backs up. UNO Friends uses the same rules with Friends-themed card artwork.Photo: Henry Burrows from Winchester, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ratings and Geek Level

Difficulty1 out of 5
Time to explain1 out of 5about 2 min
Player experience1 out of 5
Geek Level2 / 10Watched it once on a flight
How we rate

Geek Level 2 is for the fan who watched it once on a flight. That's plenty, since the Friends cards are mostly decoration.

If you know UNO, you know almost all of this game. The steps below cover one hand. Later sections explain the Friends-specific card and the Wild Draw Four challenge. For a Friends game with a board, the Friends Monopoly page covers a longer evening.

In a hurry? Race to Central Perk takes about 30 minutes.

Quick guide: one round of UNO Friends

A hand of UNO Friends plays like any UNO hand, with one extra Wild card in the deck.

For classic rules, Monopoly and Clue stick to the standard format.

  1. Step 1:

    Deal 7 cards to each player, then flip one card to start the discard pile.

  2. Step 2:

    Play a card that matches the top card by colour, number, or symbol.

  3. Step 3:

    Can't match? Draw one card and play it if it fits.

  4. Step 4:

    Action cards have special effects: Skip, Reverse, Draw Two, Wild, and Wild Draw Four.

  5. Step 5:

    The One Where You Draw is a Wild. Pick a Friend, and the next player draws until they find that Friend.

  6. Step 6:

    Say UNO when you have one card left, or draw 2 if someone catches you first.

  7. 7Step 7:

    Play your last card to win the hand.

Mattel's instruction sheet gives the full standard UNO rules and adds one special rule card. That card is the only change to play, so the key rules section below covers it. The rest is familiar UNO, and Friends Clue is the pick if your group wants a longer game afterward.

How to play UNO Friends: the full rules

Setup

  1. Choose a dealer, then shuffle the cards.

  2. Deal 7 cards to each player.

  3. Place the rest face down in the middle to make the draw pile.

  4. Flip the top card to start the discard pile. If it's an action card, ignore it and flip the next one.

  5. The player to the dealer's left starts, and play moves clockwise.

Turn by turn

  • Play or draw

    Play one card that matches the top discard by color, number, or symbol. No match? Draw one card and play it if you can. You can also draw instead of playing a match.

  • Call UNO

    As soon as you have one card left, say UNO. If another player calls it before the next turn starts, draw 2 cards.

  • Refill the pile

    If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to make a new one.

End of the game and scoring

Play your last card to win the hand. With optional scoring, earn points for cards left in opponents' hands: number cards score face value, Skip, Reverse, and Draw Two score 20, and any Wild scores 50, including The One Where You Draw. The first player to reach 500 points wins the match.

Key rules

  • The One Where You Draw

    Play it, then choose Monica, Chandler, Joey, Ross, Phoebe, or Rachel. The next player draws until they get a card showing that Friend. This is also a Wild, so choose the color.

  • Skip, Reverse, Draw Two

    Skip makes the next player lose a turn. Reverse changes the direction of play. Draw Two makes the next player draw 2 cards and lose their turn.

  • Wild

    A Wild matches any card. Choose the color that continues play.

  • Wild Draw Four

    Play this only if you have no card matching the discard color. The next player draws 4 and loses a turn, or challenges. If you were bluffing, you draw 4 instead; if not, the challenger draws 6.

Tips for your first game

  • Hang on to Wild cards for when you're stuck. They match anything.
  • Check how many cards opponents hold before choosing The One Where You Draw. That draw can get big.
  • Say UNO in time. A quick opponent can make you draw 2.
  • Use the 500-point scoring option for a longer game.

Gathering a big group? UNO Friends plays up to 10 players.

UNO Friends is part of the friends card games lineup, and its special card borrows the sitcom's episode-title style. It's easy to bring to a party since most players know the basic rules. See the Friends board games page for the rest of the lineup.

The game and the sitcom

Scene It? has been discontinued, so check for secondhand copies.

The game

  • Design and release

    Mattel makes UNO Friends as product HRF43. Mattel's product page is dated 2023, while the instruction sheet has a 2022 copyright line.

  • Editions and reprints

    The card game comes in a collectible tin. We found no other UNO Friends editions.

The film or series it covers

The whole series, with character artwork inspired by the show.

The deck features character artwork from the series. Its special rule card borrows the show's episode-title style: Friends episodes start with The One Where or The One with, a format co-creator David Crane said began as an easy way to talk about episodes.

Scenes and story beats in the game

  • 1

    Character artwork of the six main friends

  • 2

    The One Where You Draw, a rule card named in the style of the episode titles

What’s in the box

  • 112 cards, including one special rule card
  • Collectible tin

Editions and versions

  • UNO Friends in a collectible tin (HRF43) 2023

    The card game sold in a tin, dated 2023 by Mattel's product page.

UNO Friends questions answered

Is there a Friends card game?

Yes. Mattel’s UNO Friends is a card game with Friends artwork and a special Wild card. It comes in UNO Friends in a collectible tin (HRF43).

What does The One Where You Draw card do?

It’s a Wild card. Pick one of the six friends, and the next player draws from the pile until they find a card showing that character. You also pick the color.

How many cards does UNO Friends include?

It has 112 cards, including the special rule card.

How many people can play UNO Friends?

2 to 10 players, ages 7+.

How do you win at UNO Friends?

Get rid of all your cards first to win. With the optional scoring method, the first player to reach 500 points wins.

Is UNO Friends one of the friends card games?

Yes. Mattel’s UNO Friends is the main licensed friends card game. Aquarius also sells Friends Card Scramble, a board game, and a licensed playing-card deck.

In a hurry? Race to Central Perk takes about 30 minutes.

For classic rules, Monopoly and Clue stick to the standard format.

Sources

  1. Mattel: UNO Friends shop.mattel.com
  2. Mattel instruction sheet HRF43 service.mattel.com