Mega Uno Collection

Brad Schultz from Clovis, CA is a massive Uno fan and collector who has created Mega Uno, the most complex game of Uno ever played. As of this writing, Brad currently has 315 Uno games! We connected with him to share his Uno collector story. Read below for more about his Uno journey and his masterpiece, Mega Uno. If you collect Uno games, contact us and share your story. We'd love to hear about and potentially feature you in an article.

Mega Uno's Origin Story

When did you start collecting Uno cards? Why Uno?

I grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and I began collecting Uno when I was 13 years old. I had some Christmas money in my pocket and found myself at a local Walmart making my way through the toy aisle. Here I found Uno Attack. Up until this point in life I had never actually played Uno before. However, sparks fly in my mind when I see variants, versions, sequels, and expansions of games. So what did I do? I Bought Original Uno, Uno Attack, and an Uno Attack refill deck. Little did I know that this would begin a 17 year (and counting) obsession.

How did Mega Uno come about and where has it taken you?

Mega Uno is a game that I created when I was going into my junior year of high school. My collection had grown to include Uno Spin, Uno H2O, H2O Splash, and Uno Flash. We thought it would be cool to combine every game I had into one epic game that ended in two people going head to head in a round of Uno Flash. Throughout high school and college I played Mega Uno with my friends and used it as a way to pull people away from parties and bad crowds. We played most Friday nights and all sorts of people who would usually never hang out became great friends. After I got married, I put the game to rest because I couldn’t bring my collection with me into my tiny little apartment. After a few years went by I became the youth pastor at my church and I began investing in the lives of a group of high school guys. What better way to do this than to introduce them to Mega Uno? I brought the collection over to the church and we ushered in a whole new generation of players. Years went by, the group grew, and more and more people fell in love with the game that I had created. In 2020, my family and I moved away to Clovis, CA and took the collection with me. It was a sad day but I knew the games would continue. Since the move, we have found a new church, a new youth group, and a new group of players to keep Mega Uno alive. There is even a group of committed guys from Huntington Beach who still make the 4-hour pilgrimage up to Clovis every month to play some games. In the past 15 years, over 100 people have played Mega Uno and each one of them will always remember the craziest version of Uno ever created. Beyond playing a game, we have created and facilitated an experience for guys who bond over a card game in my garage. It is more than a game; it is a community of camaraderie and competition that I hope will continue for decades to come.

Mega Uno has played such a huge role in my life that I decided back in 2018 to begin writing a memoir of the history of Mega Uno and how it has impacted the lives of the people around me. Two years and 100 plus pages later, I finished it and was able to give it to my closest friends before we moved away from Huntington Beach.

[Editorial note: Brad has graciously allowed us to share his Mega Uno memoir. If you are interested in hearing the whole story of Mega Uno, we would highly recommend it.]

What Exactly Is Mega Uno?

Mega Uno is a game that I created that consists of 5 rounds. The first round is called Pregame and this takes place at the beginning of the night to seed people for the rest of the games. This is a fast-paced, timed round that is usually very chaotic. The second round is called Core and it consists of hundreds of special edition decks all shuffled together. In each special edition deck there are special cards with unique rules that we have created. An Uno Attack is placed in the center of the table and if a player cannot play they press the Attack instead of drawing cards. When an Uno Spin card comes up, the next player spins the wheel. When a Splash card comes up, the next player spins the whirlpool. When a Tiki Twist command comes up, then the player spins the Tiki man. When a flip command comes up the player flips an Uno man and so on. Core continues until four people go out. Those four people move on to the Wild Card round. This is a double-elimination bracket that is played using randomly drawn card-based Uno variants that cannot be added to Core such as Uno Flip!, Uno Slam, Uno Blast, Uno Reflex, Uno Roboto, and others. Three people move on to Playoffs which is a single-elimination round that is played using one of several non-card based Uno games such as Uno Wild Tiles, Uno Rummy Up, Uno Stacko, Uno Dice, Uno Dominos, and others. Finally two people meet head to head in a game of Uno Flash where each player controls two buttons. The winner forever gets their name on the scoreboard.

[Editorial note: For anyone interested in playing Mega Uno (or a variation of it if you don't own all the necessary Uno games), you can download the Mega Uno rules and the Mega Uno special card rules. If you end up playing it, be sure to contact us and let us know. We'll be sure to pass your experience on to Brad.]

The Life of an Uno Collector

What is in your future for Uno playing and collecting?

I would love to continue collecting and playing Uno as long as I am alive. I am always on the hunt for new and rare games of Uno that I can add to my collection. Few things excite me more than finding a brand new version of Uno hit the shelves.

[Editorial note: If you are also collecting UNO decks, check out our complete list of Uno decks and spinoffs]

What is your total Uno count right now?

I currently own 370 Uno games.

What has been the hardest Uno game to acquire?

At the time I bought it, Uno Hearts was very difficult to find. I remember the bid war happening on eBay. In fact, I had to set a timer on my phone and rush over to the library during high school hours so I could log on and outbid someone in the last 5 seconds.

Favorite Uno Games

What is your favorite Uno deck in your collection? Why?

X Games Uno is my favorite Uno deck because of how many special cards it has. It is one of the few special edition decks that I can play on its own and still have a pretty cutthroat game. You definitely won’t get bored playing Uno with all the surprises built into this deck.

What is your favorite Uno spinoff game? Why?

Uno Flash is my favorite Uno game because it was the game that started it all. Mega Uno truly became what it was when Uno Flash came out. Up until that point we just mixed some decks together and played a few games. When Uno Flash entered the game it upped the stakes because two people had to fight not to be eliminated and face off in a very intense finale. I love Uno Flip!, Uno Triple Play, and plenty of other games that have come out since, but Uno Flash will always have that special place in my heart.

Mega Uno Campaign 2022

What is a Campaign?

After years of playing game after game of Mega Uno and adding more and more decks, it got difficult to shuffle and unshuffle in the same night. Thus, Campaign was born. A Campaign is however many games it takes to play through the thousands of cards all shuffled together. If we play once a month it takes about 30 games which adds up to about a year. The winner of the most games wins the Campaign, gets to wear the belt for the next Campaign, and gets their picture on the "Hall of Champions" wall.

This year I decided to take it a few steps further! I decided that in addition to normal Uno Nights where we would play about 3 games of Mega Uno, we would also compete in 7 special event nights throughout the Campaign. Together these nights would be called "Super Seven Events." Each of these nights we played an entirely new spin on Mega Uno. The winner of each Super Seven received a value of Campaign wins instead of a tally mark on the scoreboard, and an advantage in UnoMania which was the last night of the Campaign. They also got to wear the champ chain until the next Super Seven Event.

Money in the Bank

The first of the "Super Seven" events. This event was the first night of the campaign. One game of Uno Royale was played. Uno Royale is another game I created where you play several rounds and hands of individual Uno Spinoffs. As the game goes on players earn chips that they can use to buy special cards in the shop. After every hand players count points. The player with the most overall points at the end of the night wins.

NOTE: For those interested, here is a link to the Uno Royale rules.

The winner received a briefcase and 500 dollars to spend. Inside the briefcase they had the option to buy one campaign win for $500 or various cards from Mega Uno that they could begin the campaign with.

Royal Rumble

The second of the "Super Seven" events. Everyone began with 25 cards and played at one table. The event began by everyone drawing a random lottery number. The 1 and 2 slot players began the game with each consecutive number entering play every 60 seconds. Once every player was in, then the 10 minute timer began. Every 10 minutes the person with the most cards was eliminated. If there was a tie at the end of 10 minutes, then nobody was eliminated, however two people were eliminated after the following 10 minutes. The winner received two Campaign wins.

Survivor Series

The third of the "Super Seven" events. Survivor Series was a tag team event. Each player was randomly put on a team with another player. Before the round began, each player of a team drew 30 cards, combined them all together and chose 28 cards for the team’s starting hand. The teams had 10 minutes to strategize and select a playing order. At this time players could freely discuss their plan. This was the last time the entire team was able to communicate with each other. The game began by the team selecting one representative to sit at the table. Every 10 minutes the players switched. Three teams moved on to Playoffs and randomly drew an Uno Spinoff game such as Uno Flip!, Uno Reflex, Uno Blast, Uno Triple Play, etc. Finally the last two teams played a team version of Uno Flash. The winning team received two campaign wins each.

Summer Slam

The fourth of the "Super Seven" events. Summer Slam took place over two consecutive days. The goal was to complete a "Deka" - 10 games of Mega Uno. In addition to 10 games of Mega Uno, we played a new round called a Mid-Game. These were mini rounds where players would compete for a Golden Wild which could be used in future games during Summer Slam. The Mid-Games incorporated different ways to play like a Tang drinking round, a game played in the pool using H2O cards, and a round called “Sensory Overload” where all 5 senses were put to the test. The player that won the most games received one campaign win.

King of the Ring

The fifth of the "Super Seven" events. This was a single elimination bracket event. Players would go head to head in rounds of Uno Flash. As the rounds went on, more twists were added to make the game even more difficult. The winner received 2 campaign wins, a crown, and the coveted title of King of the Ring.

Hell in a Cell

The sixth of the "Super Seven" events. This was a double elimination cage match. Each round was a 1v1 match, and began by players drawing 15 cards. In this event jump-ins and stacking were allowed. The winner received 3 campaign wins and chose one player that had to lay in a coffin for the first 20 minutes of UnoMania.

NOTE: Before the final night, a recap video from the whole year was played to set up UnoMania. If you are interested in seeing it, please follow this link: https://youtu.be/WyhJ8uBuYOw.

UnoMania

The seventh and final of the "Super Seven" events. This was a massive game where each player sat at one table and began the game with 70 cards. Every ten minutes the players left the table and competed in a mini Super Seven recap game (Money in the Bank, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Summer Slam, King of the Ring, and Hell in a Cell). The winner of each mini game discarded 10 cards when they returned to the table in addition to receiving a special mini game bonus. The first two players to go out immediately advanced on to Finals. The two finalists competed in a best of 7 series of Uno Flash. The winner received 5 campaign wins.

NOTE: If you are interested in seeing more pictures and more detailed rules, here is the official Mega Uno Campaign 2022 Recap.

Mega Uno Campaign 2023

Another wild year has come and gone. In 2023 I expanded on my idea of the Super Seven events. There were a few repeats and a few new events thrown into the mix. Money in the Bank, Summer Slam, Hell in a Cell, and of course Unomania were all played again this year and I added Over the Limit, Elimination Chamber, and Clash of Champions.

Over the Limit

The second of the 2023 "Super Seven" events. Everyone began the game with 50 cards and timers were set for each round. Whenever a timer went off, players had to be below the limit in order to stay in the game. Each round the limit would drop, making the players race against time and each other to drop below the limit before the next timer went off. The winner received two campaign wins and an advantage in Unomania.

Elimination Chamber

The third of the 2023 "Super Seven" events. Everyone began the game with 50 cards and a timer was set. Whenever the timer went off, players had to count their cards. Players would then have to rearrange their seating based on high card count to low card count. Then each player would draw event cards. These cards made players draw cards, discard cards, rearrange seats, sit in the chamber for one round, etc. This would continue until an event card read "Draw One Elimination Card". The player would then enter the chamber and draw a card that would eliminate someone from the game based on what seat they were in. Each round a player was eliminated until there was one left standing. We played three full games of this and then did a fourth game between the winners to determine the ultimate winner. The winner received a campaign win for each game plus one more for the final game and an advantage in Unomania.

Clash of Champions

The fifth of the "Super Seven" events. 2023 marked the 15th anniversary of Mega Uno. To celebrate, I invited players from all three eras that have played since 2008. The Legends Era was made up of guys from when I was in high school and college, the Legacy Era was made up of guys from my old church's youth group, and the Epic Era was made up of the current players. Two entire games of Mega Uno were played within each era. The winners of those two games made up the championship team for that era. The final game was a tag team match between the champion teams. The final two teams battled it out in a round of Uno Flash inside the ring for two campaign wins and an advantage in Unomania. This event pulled 27 players from the last 15 years which set a new attendance record by 11 people!

Takeover

The Takeover event was not a Super Seven event but it was a surprise I threw into the mix in September. Right before we were about to play the first game, I turned the lights off and sounded an alarm. The dads of the guys that were there that night (including my own for the first time) entered into the game and crashed the party. I pitted the dads against their sons for the rest of the night. For the first time, a father and son won their first wins back to back and are forever next to each other on the scoreboard.

Unomania

2023 was another great and crazy year for Mega Uno. I still have years' worth of ideas so make sure to check back in next year.

NOTE: A final video was made that recapped the entire year. If you are interested in seeing it, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHb_D1IbWpg.

Acknowledgements

Any final words?

I would like to thank the Uno Men, past, present, and future, for participating in the world's most epic version of Uno. I may be the driving force behind Mega Uno but without all the people willing and excited to play, it would just be a cool idea in my head. Mega Uno and my collection would not be what it is today without the many people that have participated in some way shape or form. Whether it be faithfully showing up ready to play, helping me invest financially in my collection, or spending hundreds of hours making rules and making Mega Uno more epic; I owe a lot to the friends I've made over the years. I would just be some guy with a mountain of games if it wasn't for committed guys like Andy Grunbaum, Aj Libunao, Jonathan Brooks, Grant Phillips, Jay Markham, Dan Carter, Jason and Steven Ezzat, Craig Fast, Freddy William, Oriel Dominguez, Josh Surico, Alex Collins, Sam Heinrichs, Evan Harris, Eli Borsch, Tyler Hawkyard, Micah Carpenter, Tony Hernandez, Ivan Brainard, Josh Dildine, and Adolph Vizcarra who have turned out ready for Uno nights over the past 15 years. Beyond that, there are specific individuals that deserve my greatest thanks because without them there would be no Mega Uno:

• First, to the guys who helped start it all, Nate Stoltz, Adam Rodriguez, and Spencer Davis. We were the forefathers, or pioneers if you will, who came up with the concept of Mega Uno and launched more than a decade's worth of Uno nights. Without these three guys, I am sure that the original Uno Attack I bought would be collecting dust on a shelf somewhere.
• Second, to the guys who further helped mold Mega Uno and shape it into what it is today: Phillip Sheffield, Tom Wise, and Ryan Mearig. These three have spent hundreds of hours and dollars fine tuning the game and growing it into what it is today. Mega Uno would be nowhere near as epic if it weren't for these committed three.
• Third, to the guys who make the 4-hour drive every month to usher in the next generation of Mega Uno players: Will Faris, Jacob Hackett, and Austin Pennella. These guys have gone above and beyond to continue the legacy and keep Mega Uno relevant. These guys have shown a commitment beyond anyone else, and to that I am beyond thankful.
• Finally, to my amazing wife Heidi who puts up with me and my addiction and allows me to turn our entire garage into a man cave dedicated to Mega Uno.

A special thanks to Brad for being willing to share Mega Uno and his collection with us! If you'd like to reach out to Brad, you can contact him at bradschultz1991@gmail.com.