8 Card Games Like Uno (and What Each Does Better)

Uno is the card game everyone already knows, and that’s worth something. It’s easy to pull out on a camping trip or with an eight-year-old. We still rate it only 2/5 Pandas, against a perfect 5/5 Bamboo, because the deck makes most of your decisions for you. You play the card that matches, and a Draw Four decides the rest.

The eight games below keep what makes Uno work for families, quick rules, wild cards and a whole table playing at once, and give you more to decide. Every pick is a game we’ve reviewed, with our Bamboo (how easy to learn) and Pandas (how fun) scores, and each says what it keeps from Uno and what it fixes. The history of Uno goes back to 1971, so most families have played it for decades.

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1. Skip-Bo — Uno’s Sibling, With More Planning

Skip-Bo comes from Mattel, the same company that makes Uno, and it feels like the next step up. Everyone works toward emptying a personal stockpile by building shared piles in order from 1 to 12, using Skip-Bo wild cards to bridge the gaps. You can see what your opponents need, so you spend half the game blocking them.

It scored 4/5 Bamboo and 5/5 Pandas in our Skip-Bo review, great at two and easy to take anywhere. It seats 2–6, the box says 7+, and a game runs about 20 minutes. Skip-Bo vs Phase 10 vs Uno compares all three Mattel games.

What it keeps from Uno — a quick, familiar family card game with wilds. What it fixes — you get to plan ahead, and you can see what to block.

Check Skip-Bo price on Amazon →

2. Phase 10 — The One for Long Nights

Phase 10 is Mattel’s rummy-style card game. Everyone races through ten phases in order, things like two sets of three or a run of seven, and you only move on when you complete your current phase. Someone stuck on phase three for five hands is half the drama.

We’ve played it more than 100 times, and it’s a staple when we go camping. It scored 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Phase 10 review. It seats 2–6 and the box says 7+. Phase 10 vs Uno covers the difference in detail.

What it keeps from Uno — wilds, skips and a deck everyone can learn in a minute. What it fixes — your choices about what to keep matter, and a game builds over a whole evening.

Check Phase 10 price on Amazon →

3. Five Crowns — Rummy Where the Wild Card Keeps Changing

Five Crowns is a rummy game with five suits and a twist. The number of cards dealt goes up by one each hand, and whichever card matches that number is wild. A king might be useless one hand and the most valuable card in your hand the next.

We’ve played it at kitchen tables, on camping trips and during a three-hour power outage, and we’ve taught it to an eight-year-old and a seventy-year-old in the same sitting. It scored 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Five Crowns review. It seats 2–7, the box says 8+, and it runs 30–60 minutes. Five Crowns vs Phase 10 compares it with the pick above.

What it keeps from Uno — wild cards and a whole family at the table. What it fixes — real decisions about what to hold, and a game that changes every hand.

Check Five Crowns price on Amazon →

4. 6 Nimmt — Simple Rules, Ten Players

6 Nimmt is the pick for big tables. Everyone picks a card at the same time, and the cards go into rows in number order. Whoever places the sixth card in a row has to take the other five, and the cards you take cost you points. You almost never choose where your card goes, only which card to play.

We’ve taught it to a table of eight people who’d been drinking, and it worked. It scored 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our 6 Nimmt review. It seats 2–10, the box says 8+, and it runs 30–45 minutes, though it’s merely fine with two.

What it keeps from Uno — big groups and a rule set you can teach while you deal. What it fixes — everyone plays at once, so nobody waits.

Check 6 Nimmt price on Amazon →

5. Sushi Go Party — Card Drafting in Two Minutes

Sushi Go Party is a card-drafting game about a sushi restaurant. Everyone takes one card from their hand and passes the rest along, and you score for the dishes you collect. You choose which dishes go in the deck before each game, so it plays differently every time.

It’s a perfect score from us, 5/5 Bamboo and 5/5 Pandas in our Sushi Go Party review. It seats 2–8, the box says 8+, and it plays in 20–30 minutes. Our best menus guide covers which dishes to start with.

What it keeps from Uno — a cheerful card game the whole family can learn fast. What it fixes — every pick is a real decision, and nobody waits for a turn.

Check Sushi Go Party price on Amazon →

6. Cover Your Assets — Taking Each Other’s Stuff, With More Laughs

Cover Your Assets keeps the best part of a Draw Four, taking something away from someone else. You build stacks of matching asset cards, and anyone with a matching card can steal your top stack. The stacks go back and forth all game, and the richest player at the end wins.

It’s our other perfect score, 5/5 Bamboo and 5/5 Pandas in our Cover Your Assets review. It has produced laughter every single time it’s come out, from our six-year-old to the adults. It seats 2–6, the box says 7+, and it runs 20–40 minutes.

What it keeps from Uno — take-that cards and a family-friendly table. What it fixes — the stealing goes both ways, so it’s never one person piling on.

Check Cover Your Assets price on Amazon →

7. Happy Salmon — No Turns at All

Happy Salmon throws out turns entirely. Everybody flips cards at once, shouts the action on their card, and looks for someone shouting the same thing to high-five, fish-bump or swap places with. A round lasts about ninety seconds.

We’ve played it more than 30 times as a family, kids included, and our six-year-old has won several rounds against the adults. It scored 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Happy Salmon review. The current edition seats 3–8, and the box says 6+. It’s a warm-up, not a whole night.

What it keeps from Uno — matching cards and a table full of noise. What it fixes — no waiting, and young kids can win on speed.

Check Happy Salmon price on Amazon →

8. Sequence — Uno Meets a Board, in Teams

Sequence mixes cards with a board. You play a card from your hand, put a chip on the matching space, and try to get five in a row before the other team does. Jacks are wild, and one-eyed jacks let you remove an opponent’s chip.

We’ve seen it played with eight-year-olds and seventy-year-olds at the same table under the same rules, and both generations stayed engaged for the full game. It scored 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Sequence review. It seats 2–12, the box says 7+, and it runs 20–30 minutes. Our how to play Sequence guide covers the rules.

What it keeps from Uno — wilds, blocking and a familiar card deck. What it fixes — you play in teams, so a younger player always has a partner.

Check Sequence price on Amazon →

Which One to Buy

If you want the closest step up from Uno, buy Skip-Bo or Phase 10. Both come from the same company and feel familiar from the first hand. If you want a card game that rewards thinking without getting heavier, buy Five Crowns. For eight or more people, buy 6 Nimmt or Sushi Go Party.

For the youngest players, Happy Salmon and Cover Your Assets both work from about six. If you’re keeping Uno, our Uno house rules guide and our Uno expansion packs ranking make it better. More picks are on our best 2-player card games list.

The Quick Picks Table

All eight, with what each keeps from Uno.

All eight score higher Pandas than Uno’s 2 out of 5, and all eight teach in a few minutes.

Only have a regular deck? Crazy Eights, the game Uno is based on, is on our list of 25 card games you can play with a standard deck, with quick rules and the common other names each game goes by.