Using Simulation to Assess Strategy Effectiveness in UNO

UNO is a popular card game that has entertained players of all ages for decades. It is known for its simple rules, fast-paced gameplay, and strategic decision-making. This project aims to examine the impact of four key strategies (number preference, color preference, use specials, and save specials) in a 2-player and 3-player UNO game with and without special cards. We conducted a large-scale Monte Carlo simulation to replicate the UNO game. We conducted Z-tests to determine the effectiveness of each strategy as compared to a random strategy. We found that several of the strategies were effective at increasing winning probability, although the most effective only increased chances of winning by at most a couple of percentage points. The strategies found to be most effective differed based on the number of players and whether or not special cards were present. Overall, this research contributes to understanding the effectiveness of different strategies in the context of UNO gameplay.

Contributers:

• Rose Porta
• Carrie Feng
• Hiral Gupta
• Ayushi Garg