Card game
UNO Show 'em No Mercy
UNO with stacking, hand swaps, Wild Draw 10s and knockouts
- Set-up
- Under a minute
- Reading
- None
The quick verdict
Full verdict ↓Great for Teenagers and adults who find classic UNO too tame
Think twice if Someone at your table hates being ganged up on: piling draw cards on one player and swapping hands are the whole point
How we rate it
Learning curve. Still UNO underneath, but with about ten new card types and three extra rules (stacking, 0/7 swaps, the Mercy Rule). Anyone who knows UNO picks it up in one hand.
Luck & skill. The draw decides a lot, and a big stack can land on anyone. Holding your largest draw cards for the right moment and choosing whom to swap with give a little more say than classic UNO.
Interaction. Almost every action card targets other players, stacks of draw cards pass around the table, and 7s let you take someone's hand.
Set-up. Shuffle, deal seven cards to each player and turn over the top card to start the discard pile (set an action card aside and turn another).
Reading. Play is by colours, numbers and symbols; only the rule sheet has text.
Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.
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Is UNO Show 'em No Mercy right for you?
Great if
- Teenagers and adults who find classic UNO too tame
- Noisy evenings with cousins at Diwali or a family get-together, when everyone already knows UNO
- Quick, dramatic hands: a round can end suddenly when players get knocked out
- A small gift for an UNO-loving friend; the pack fits easily in a bag for trips
Skip it if
- Someone at your table hates being ganged up on: piling draw cards on one player and swapping hands are the whole point
- You're playing with young children who get upset when they lose; reviewers suggest calmer games for short tempers
- You want a game where your choices matter more than the luck of the draw
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards, Game of the Year (The Toy Association, USA), 2025 (Finalist)
How UNO Show 'em No Mercy plays
Set-up is the same as classic UNO. Shuffle the 168 cards, deal seven to each player and turn one over to start the discard pile; if it's an action card, set it aside and turn over another.
- Time to teach: about 10 minutes (less if everyone knows UNO).
- Reading and language: The cards work with colours, numbers and symbols, so nobody needs to read during play. Only Mattel's rule sheet has text, in English. Anyone who knows classic UNO can explain the new cards in Hindi or any language at the table.
How to Play UNO No Mercy: Prepare for CARD CHAOS! · Game Rules
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
A turn, step by step
- 1Match
Play a card that matches the top card by colour, number or symbol. If you can't, keep drawing until you can, then play that card.
- 2Stack
Hit by a draw card? Answer with one of equal or higher value to pass the growing total on; if you can't, you draw the lot.
- 3Swap
A 0 makes everyone pass their hand along; a 7 makes you swap hands with a player of your choice.
- 4Win
Play your last card, or be the last player left after everyone else has hit 25 cards and been knocked out.
The full explanation: how a game of UNO Show 'em No Mercy goes
On your turn, match the top card by colour, number or symbol. The first big change: if you can't play, you keep drawing until you find a card you can play, and then you must play it. In classic UNO you draw just one card.
Draw cards stack. When someone hits you with a Draw Two, Draw Four, Wild Draw 6 or Wild Draw 10, you can answer with a draw card of equal or higher value, and the total passes to the next player; whoever can't answer picks up the whole lot. The other new cards are just as rough. Skip Everyone gives you another turn, Discard All lets you throw away every card of its colour, Wild Reverse Draw 4 turns play around and hits the player who is now next, and Wild Color Roulette makes the next player name a colour and turn over cards until that colour appears, keeping every card they turned. A 0 makes everyone pass their hand along, and a 7 makes you swap hands with a player of your choice.
You win a hand by playing your last card (shout 'UNO' when you're down to one, or draw two if someone catches you), or by being the last player left: anyone who reaches 25 cards is knocked out under the Mercy Rule. Mattel's optional scoring plays to 1,000 points, with a 250-point bonus for every player you knock out.
Tip: save your Wild Draw 6 and Wild Draw 10 for when someone stacks on you, so you can send a big pile onwards instead of picking it up. With younger players, many families play single hands rather than going for 1,000 points.
What's in the box
- 80Number cards
20 in each of the four colours: two each of 0 to 9 - 12Draw Two cards
three per colour - 12Skip cards
three per colour - 12Reverse cards
three per colour - 12Discard All cards
three per colour; throw away every card of that colour - 8Draw Four cards
two per colour (coloured, not Wild) - 8Skip Everyone cards
two per colour - 8Wild Reverse Draw 4 cards
- 8Wild Color Roulette cards
- 4Wild Draw 6 cards
- 4Wild Draw 10 cards
- 1Instruction sheet
English
Box: 11.5 × 9 × 4 cm, 0.24 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
Mattel lists 168 cards and instructions for item HWV18. The split by card type comes from a published rules guide and adds up to 168; Mattel's rule sheet names every card but doesn't print the counts. The Wild cards are all attack cards: the guide lists no plain Wild. Mattel's US, Canadian and Indian listings for HWV18 all describe the same 168-card deck.
Where to buy
Paid link · We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.
What reviewers and players say
Reviewers describe No Mercy as UNO with the brakes taken off. The Toy Insider calls it 'short on the mercy and heavy on the fun', and singles out the stacking rule, the hand swaps on 0s and 7s and the Mercy Rule as what makes it wilder than the original. The same review warns that it is ruthless, so children with short tempers may do better with a calmer game. Rules guides show how a stack of draw cards can hand one player a big pile at once, and they differ on details such as what can be stacked on what, so it's worth agreeing house rules before you start. It was a finalist for Game of the Year in the US Toy of the Year awards for 2025.
What people love
- Stacking draw cards, so a +2 can snowball into a +20 for the unlucky player who can't answer
- Hand swaps on 0s and 7s, which can turn a hand around in one go
- The Mercy Rule: knockouts at 25 cards add tension and can end a hand fast
- Plenty of new surprises for groups who know classic UNO by heart
Common complaints
- Ruthless by design: players who hate being ganged up on, or children with short tempers, may not enjoy it
- Rules guides disagree on stacking details, so groups need to settle house rules first
- Luck of the draw still decides most hands
Based on 5 reviews and discussions
- Review UNO Show 'Em No Mercy review (Madison Patterson, April 2024) · The Toy Insider
- Reference How to Play UNO Show 'Em No Mercy: Rules and Instructions (Eric Mortensen, October 2023, updated August 2025) · Geeky Hobbies
- Reference UNO Show 'Em No Mercy (Alan Lemus, April 2024, updated January 2025) · GameRules.com
- Award Game Awards, Toy Side: 2025 Toy of the Year finalists (November 2024) · ICv2
- Reference UNO Show 'em No Mercy instruction sheet (Mattel, 2023) · Mattel
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why consider it | This game UNO with stacking, hand swaps, Wild Draw 10s and knockouts | A different fit Mattel's other big UNO twist: double-sided cards and a harsher Dark Side, but no stacking | A different fit The classic 112-card original: draw one card when stuck, no stacking, no hand swaps, no knockouts | A different fit Another quick take-that card game where one bad draw can knock you out |
| Players | 2–6 | 2–10 | 2–10 | 2–5 |
| Best with | 3-5 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 4-5 |
| Play time | 15–30 min | 10–30 min | 10–30 min | 15–20 min |
| Age | 7+ | 7+ | 7+ | 7+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Imported | Imported | Imported | Available |
| On this page | Explore UNO Flip! | Explore UNO | Explore Exploding Kittens |
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Questions people ask about UNO Show 'em No Mercy
What is the difference between UNO and UNO No Mercy?
No Mercy has 168 cards instead of 112, with new cards such as Skip Everyone, Discard All, Wild Draw 6, Wild Draw 10 and Wild Color Roulette. Draw cards can be stacked, 0s and 7s swap hands, you keep drawing until you can play, and anyone holding 25 or more cards is knocked out. Classic UNO has none of these rules.
Can you stack +2 and +4 cards in UNO No Mercy?
Yes. Mattel's rules let you answer a draw card with one of equal or higher value from your hand, so a +2 can be met with a +2, +4, +6 or +10. The total keeps growing until someone can't add to it, and that player draws the whole pile and misses their turn.
What is the Mercy Rule in UNO No Mercy?
If you ever hold 25 or more cards, you're knocked out of the hand, and your cards are set aside until the draw pile runs out and is reshuffled. The last player left wins the hand, even without emptying their own.
How many players can play UNO No Mercy, and what age is it for?
Mattel rates it for ages 7 and up. Retail listings give 2 to 6 players; some rules sites say more can play, but hands get long with a big group. Seven cards are dealt to each player, as in classic UNO.
Is UNO No Mercy made in India?
We couldn't confirm it. Mattel doesn't say where the No Mercy packs sold in India are made, and store listings disagree. What we do know is that Mattel's Indian company, Mattel Toys (I) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, sells it here. Check the country of origin and the ISI mark printed on the pack. Our link goes to Mattel's own box.
Game facts
- Publisher
- Mattel (Mattel Games)
- In India
- Mattel Toys (I) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai (named as manufacturer/importer on an Indian store listing)
- First published
- 2023
- Players
- 2–6
- Barcode
- 194735220809
- Language
- No reading – The cards work with colours, numbers and symbols, so nobody needs to read during play. Only Mattel's rule sheet has text, in English. Anyone who knows classic UNO can explain the new cards in Hindi or any language at the table.
- Box size and weight
- 11.5 × 9 × 4 cm, 0.24 kg
- Awards
- Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards, Game of the Year (The Toy Association, USA), 2025 (Finalist)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Mattel Shop (US) - UNO Show 'Em No Mercy, item HWV18
- Mattel Shop (Canada) - UNO Show 'em No Mercy, item HWV18
- Mattel consumer service - UNO Show 'em No Mercy (HWV18) product page and instruction sheets
- Mattel - UNO Show 'em No Mercy instruction sheet (English)
- Toycra - Mattel Games UNO Show 'em No Mercy Card Game
- Hamleys India - Mattel Games Uno Show 'Em No Mercy Card Game, 7Y+
- FirstCry - Mattel UNO Show 'em No Mercy Card Game
- The Toy Insider - UNO Show 'Em No Mercy review (Madison Patterson, April 2024)
- Geeky Hobbies - How to Play UNO Show 'Em No Mercy (Eric Mortensen)
- GameRules.com - UNO Show 'Em No Mercy rules
- ICv2 - Toy of the Year 2025 finalists (November 2024)
- John Lewis (UK) - Mattel UNO Show 'Em No Mercy (specifications)