UNO has been a household name for decades, captivating players with its simple rules and colorful cards. This popular game works on many skills such as turn taking, color matching, fine motor, and social skills to name a few. Get ready to learn some fun and creative ways change it up for your kiddos! See how to incorporate movement, mindfulness, memory, emotional regulation, and awareness with these new twists and adaptations with this classic UNO game.
1 Stretching/yoga UNO
Incorporate some yoga moves. Designate each color in the UNO deck to correspond with a yoga pose:
- Red: Tree Pose – to promote balance and concentration.
- Blue: Warrior Pose – for strength and focus.
- Green: Downward Dog – to encourage flexibility and calmness.
- Yellow: Child’s Pose – for relaxation and reflection.
When a player puts down a card, have everyone perform the pose. This teaches body awareness and control, as well as offering a calming break between turns.
2 Exercise UNO
Incorporate exercise movement into UNO. Each color or number can correspond to a different physical activity:
- Red: Jumping jacks for cardiovascular health.
- Blue: Squats to strengthen the lower body.
- Green: Arm circles for shoulder mobility.
- Yellow: Sit-ups or other core exercises.
Additionally, Wild Cards can call for 10 seconds of jogging in place and Draw Two or Four cards can mean double the exercises. Be creative in adding your own twist.
3 Memory UNO
Who doesn’t love a good game of “Memory” or “Concentration!?” Place the UNO cards face down and take turns flipping two cards at a time like in the traditional memory game. If a player flips over a matching pair (by number or color), they keep the cards and go again. This variation hones memory skills and reinforces color/number recognition.
4 Emotional UNO
Work on emotional regulation and associate each card color with an emotion or a breathing exercise:
- Red: Discuss times when you’ve felt angry and how to deal with anger (e.g., taking deep breaths).
- Blue: Talk about sadness and how to comfort oneself or others (e.g., thinking of happy memories).
- Green: Share experiences of feeling calm and how to maintain calmness.
- Yellow: Express times of happiness and what activities contribute to it.
Whenever a card is played, have a brief discussion or practice a breathing exercise that correlates with the color’s emotion. You can also show facial expressions or actions during your turn for others to guess the emotion. Categorize the emotions into high, medium, low, and “just right” based on the colors.
5 UNO Freeze
To work on impulse control and self-regulation, include a “Freeze” component. When a Reverse or Skip card is played, everyone must freeze in their current position until their next turn. Pick any card to act as the “Freeze” card. Make sure to set the ground rules and “Freeze” cards beforehand. This tests and improves inhibition and self-control.
6 Sensory UNO
Play UNO utilizing the senses by integrating sensory experiences tied to colors:
- Red: Taste – Have a healthy red snack, like apple slices, to focus on the sense of taste.
- Blue: Sound – Listen to calming sounds (like water or wind chimes) associated with blue.
- Green: Touch – Hold something textured, like a stress ball, to connect with the sense of touch.
- Yellow: Sight – Look at a picture of a sunny landscape, to be present in the moment visually.
Correlate a sense to a specific color or card. Have your kiddos touch something green, say something they hear, tell what they see, or taste something red. Throw some regulation tools into the mix. Playing a Draw card could mean taking a moment to practice deep breathing, emphasizing the breath and slowing down.
7 Positive Reinforcement UNO
Use this adaptation to encourage positive behavior. Assign a good deed or act of kindness to each color:
- Red: Give someone a compliment.
- Blue: Help someone with a task.
- Green: Share something with a friend or family member.
- Yellow: Express gratitude for something.
When someone plays a certain color, they must perform the specified positive act before their next turn. Provide options to say a positive thing about yourself, something you are looking forward to, or to share a fun experience that has happened. These are important to help your kiddo build a positive self-concept and worth. This can be difficult for some kiddos to do. Positive Reinforcement UNO can help reinforce and work on social behaviors and empathy toward others and toward yourself.
Conclusion
Uno is a fun game in itself, but it can also be versatile and valuable to help your kiddos learn and work on developmental skills. You can work on sensory integration, exercise and movement, social and self-awareness, self-regulation, and cognitive skills to name a few. Take these adaptations and adjust them to meet your kiddo’s needs. Don’t be afraid to mix and match these ideas or add new ones to create the ultimate UNO experience! You don’t have UNO? Get it here! Remember, be creative and have fun!
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