Jungle Uno

When I was a kid, my sister came home from college at Utah State University and taught me how to play what she called "Jungle Uno". It's an awesome variation on the "Uno" game, with rules that make it much more interesting. Through the years, I've taught it to countless people, some of whom really get into it, others who can take it or leave it. Nevertheless, it's become a staple game to my family (both my own small family, and my parents and siblings) and one that we greatly enjoy. To that end, I've decided to post the rules to it. Here goes!

Standard rules for regular Uno apply.

Rule of “1”s:
-- A player may trade hands with any other player whenever a “1” is played.
-- However, the player who laid the “1” must trade hands before the next player places a card on the deck.
-- The easiest way to ensure that a trade succeeds is to place your own hand on the table upside down in front of the person with whom you are trading as soon as you have played the “1”.
-- If a hand is “inherited” that has only one card (i.e. Uno), the recipient of the hand must proclaim “Uno!” upon touching the card or risk having “Draw 4!” called on them.

Rule of “0”s:
-- When a “0” is played, ALL players must pass their entire hand to the person next to them in the direction opposite the way the cards are being played.
-- The reason the cards are traded opposite the direction of the game play is so the same hand does not play twice.
-- When a “0” is played, all play stops until everybody has passed their hand to their neighbor.
-- If a hand is “inherited” that has only one card (i.e. Uno), the recipient of the hand must proclaim “Uno” upon touching the card or risk having “Draw 4” called on them.

Rule of “Matching”:
-- ANY TIME during play (except after a “0” has been played or if somebody is forced to draw), if you have the same card (same color and number) in your hand as has just been played, regardless of whether or not it is your turn, you may lay that card on the deck, effectively skipping everybody who would have played before you.
-- The player usually says “Match!” when doing so.
-- Gameplay then continues with the person who would be following the player who just matched the card, NOT where the game play was interrupted.
-- At this point, the player’s turn is over, and the player may NOT place another card.
-- However, the player may match with several cards simultaneously, but again, ONLY if they are the same color and number.

Rule of “Building”:
-- If a player has laid a “Draw Two”, and the recipient also has a “Draw Two”, that card may be played, and the third person would then have to draw four cards.
-- This is additive, so if many “Draw Two”s are laid in series, the end recipient may end up drawing many cards.
-- “Matching”, as above, may be applied here, but only if the “Draw Two” is the same color as the one last laid.
-- Similarly to this rule, “Draw Four”s may also be built upon and matched, however, “Draw Two”s and “Draw Four”s may not be interchanged.
-- Once a player is forced to draw, the additive nature of “building” can begin again.

Rule of “Reversing”:
-- If a player places a “Reverse” on the deck, and the person who would have played next before the “Reverse” was laid also has a “Reverse”, regardless of color, that person may use that “Reverse” to effectively cancel the reversal of game play.
-- Doing so ends the turn of the person who cancelled the reverse.
-- “Matching”, as above, may be applied here, but only if the “Reverse” is the same color as the one last laid.
-- Each reverse laid changes the direction of game play.

Rule of “Skipping”:
-- If a player places a “Skip” on the deck, and the person who would have been skipped also has a “Skip”, regardless of color, that player may place the “Skip” on the deck, instead skipping the next person to play.
-- Doing so ends the turn of the person who laid the second skip.
-- “Matching”, as above, may be applied here, but only if the “Skip” is the same color as the one last laid.
-- Each skip does NOT add an additional jump in gameplay – only one person will ultimately be skipped, regardless of how many were played in series.

Rule of “Drawing”:
-- A player is not required to play a card from his or her hand; instead, the player may choose to draw from the deck until a desired card is received to play on the person next to them.
-- If a player draws because they can not play, that player must continue to draw until they can.
-- If a player begins to draw for either of these two reasons, then the game play stops until that person has played, meaning that one may not belatedly “match” the last card played.
-- If a player is forced to draw by receiving a “Draw Two” or a “Draw Four”, that player’s turn is over and game play proceeds to the next player.

There you go. Hopefully you can make sense out of it. Have fun!