How does challenging a Wild Draw 4 work in UNO?
If you think a Wild Draw 4 was played on you illegally, you can challenge. The player who played it shows you their hand. If they had a card of the matching color, they draw the 4 instead of you. If they didn't, you draw 6.
The rule:
In UNO, only the player a Wild Draw 4 was played on can challenge it: the player who played it shows their hand, and if it holds a card of the color in play they draw the 4, otherwise the challenger draws 6.
- Who can challenge: the player the Wild Draw 4 was played on.
- The check: the challenged player shows the challenger their hand.
- The result:
| What the hand shows | Who draws |
|---|---|
| A card of the color that was in play (illegal play) | The challenged player draws the 4 |
| No card of that color (legal play) | The challenger draws 4 + 2 = 6 |
The hand is shown to the challenger.
Example:
Ana plays a Wild Draw 4 on Kai while the color in play is green. Kai challenges and sees her hand: she was holding a green 8, so Ana draws the 4 cards herself. Had her hand held no green, Kai would have drawn 6.
Why players argue about it:
The challenge is easy to miss because it sits in a note under the Wild Draw 4 card. Groups that use it argue about the penalty: 4 cards for a guilty player, 6 for a wrong challenger.