"Place your order." In the time it took you to read that sentence, another deck of Uno was sold.
The family-favourite card game has been around for 52 years 鈥 but it may be more popular than ever. Almost everyone seems to play it, and by one measure it鈥檚 the top-selling game in the world.
Almost one set of Uno was sold in the U.S. every second last year, according to Mattel, its publisher. That鈥檚 almost 60 Uno decks each minute 鈥 up from in 2021.
Its popularity is due to the game鈥檚 broad appeal, says Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, a curator at in Rochester, New York.
鈥淜ids can play against adults without being overmatched, and adults can play it together and still have fun,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he gameplay is simple and easy to understand, and playing a round moves quickly.鈥
More than 600 editions of Uno are available, but the game鈥檚 core mechanics remain mostly the same with each new version. Players draw a handful of cards and then take turns trying to discard them; the first player to get rid of all their cards wins.
A player can put down a card if it matches either the color or number of the previous card at the top of the play pile. Or to switch things up, players can put down an action card 鈥 requiring the next player to draw more cards or skip a turn.
Uno makes frequent cameos in popular culture. The as far back as 2007. The game has appeared in many , from Joe Jonas to Kylie Jenner. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen once . And last July, Questlove threw a star-studded attended by Taylor Swift and Jason Sudeikis.
The game was recently featured in of the TV series 鈥淗acks,鈥 when lead character Deborah Vance joins some old friends for a card game in Las Vegas, only to learn that instead of poker they鈥檙e playing Uno. In 2021, Mattel announced it was creating based on Uno, starring rapper Lil Yachty.
The shelf life of Uno
Uno was , a barber from Ohio. Robbins and his wife printed 5,000 copies of the game and traveled around the U.S. selling them at campgrounds. It grew in popularity in the 1980s after the Robbinses . And then, in 1992, Mattel acquired it.
Uno, it seems, is one of those games that has remained popular through multiple generations. It鈥檚 often there in the background in people鈥檚 homes 鈥 stacked on a shelf with other board and card games or stored in a drawer, ready for game nights and camping trips.
The game is 鈥渞elatively inexpensive and portable,鈥 says Parnett-Dwyer. The cheapest versions go for . This makes it easy to replace a 鈥渨ell-loved version (that) has one too many creases and bent edges鈥 with a new deck, she says.
Uno currently holds the top spot in the traditional games category 鈥 which includes everything you would find in the games aisle at a Walmart or Target, including board games (with the exception of trading card games such as and !) 鈥 according to retail tracking service Circana. It has held this title for two years globally, and three in the US.
The card game is now for sale in over 80 countries. Its many editions range from a to a , where the usual red and blue cards are swapped for orange and purple to avoid associations with American politics.
This year alone, Mattel has released 27 new Uno decks. These includes the launch of , a category that 鈥渃elebrates fandoms big and small across TV, film, sports teams and pop culture,鈥 Mattel鈥檚 Vice President and Global Head of Games, Ray Adler, tells CNN. These decks, commemorating everything from Harry Potter to the NFL, include special rules and collectible foil cards.
鈥淭he original Uno has staying power because of its broad appeal,鈥 says Parnett-Dwyer. 鈥淏ut different editions and variations have certainly helped with attracting new audiences and getting kids excited about playing their first round.鈥
How new versions of Uno factor into the game鈥檚 popularity
Mattel has seen over a long period of time that these new Uno versions are 鈥渁dditive and non-cannibalistic,鈥 says Adler, meaning the fresh editions contribute to the game鈥檚 overall growth and do not hurt sales of existing products.
In one of its biggest departures from the traditional playstyle of Uno, Mattel released a version called Show 鈥榚m No Mercy in October 2023. It quickly , and Mattel continues to struggle to meet demand, Adler says.
Show 鈥榚m No Mercy is an extreme edition of the game and comes with a slew of new rules and new cards (an additional 56 on top of the 108 in the traditional game). This includes a 鈥淒raw 10鈥 card and a rule that once you reach 25 cards in your hand you鈥檙e out.
It also allows , a move in which a player can put down multiple cards 鈥 yes, even Draw 10s. Stacking is a hot Uno topic that has led to many debates, both and , for not being an official rule. It鈥檚 only addressed in the rulebooks of a few versions, such as Uno Attack Mega Hit.
Show 鈥榚m No Mercy was, in part, inspired by consumer insight and social media feedback, says Adler.
鈥淧eople love playing action cards against their friends and family 鈥 and those get some of the best reactions, especially when there are lots of action cards,鈥 Adler says. 鈥淎nd so we said, 鈥榃hat if we just took that and went to the next level?鈥 鈥 the design team did an incredible job of really saying, 鈥榃hat are the brutal elements of Uno, and how do you accentuate them?鈥欌
Show 鈥榚m No Mercy has resonated with players and gone due to its . (Mattel itself has , posting a fake Draw 100 card on April Fool鈥檚 Day.) In the first quarter of 2024, it was the second-most popular game in Circana鈥檚 traditional games category, right behind traditional Uno.
By the end of 2024, Mattel will release 鈥渨ell over鈥 50 new editions of Uno, Adler says. Most of these will be variants, with only two or three each year having significant changes to gameplay.
Parnett-Dwyer says the game was inducted into her museum鈥檚 in 2018.
鈥淕reat toys and games get passed on from generation to generation. Many of today鈥檚 grandparents played Uno with their kids, and then those next parents play it now with their kids,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly a 鈥榗lassic.鈥欌
