What exactly is Bunco?

According to Wikipedia, Bunco originated as a confidence game in 19th-century England that was eventually popularized as a parlor game in the US during the Civil War.  I was first introduced to Bunco by a friend of a friend who came from Michigan who brought the Bunco party concept with her.  Before the evening was over I offered to host the next party!  Bunco is a super-fun evening when you and your mommy-friends can get together to drink some wine, roll some dice, and maybe even win a prize.  If you aren’t currently part of a Bunco group now is the time to start your own, and here is your Ultimate Bunco Party Planner to get you started!

 

Let’s Bunco

Bunco ideally is a periodic (monthly, quarterly) traveling event that is hosted by a different person each time.  Playing Bunco requires no skill whatsoever, just luck and the ability to count to 21.  Players are divided into groups (tables) of four, if you are missing a person play with a “ghost”.  Each person is partnered with the person sitting opposite of them and their scores are pooled for the round they play together.  At the designated “head table” a player rings a bell to indicate the start of play and then rings again yelling “bunco!” when the table hits 21.  To get started you’ll need a bell, 3 dice for each table, a pen or pencil and Bunco score sheet for each person.

 

#1. HOW TO PLAY

• A player at the head table rings a bell to start.
• During the game players at each table take turns rolling three dice to try and earn points, all tables play simultaneously.
• During each round players attempt to roll the same number as the number of the round.
• For every number rolled that matches the round number, one point is awarded to that player and her partner (for example, rolling two 4’s in round four would get you 2 points, rolling two 5’s in round five would get you two points, etc.)
• If you roll three of the same number (except 3) you get 5 points.
• If you roll three of the same number of the round you are in (except 3) you get 21 points.
• If you roll three 3’s in any round you and your partner loses all of your points for that round.
• We never roll around for 3’s, we skip that number.
• A player keeps rolling until she scores no points, the dice are then passed to the player on the left.
• When the head table has earned 21 points the round is over.  The head table lets everyone know this by ringing the bell and yelling “bunco!”
• At the end of every round, the winners stay at their table but switch seats so they have new partners. The losers have to get up and go to another table, and also must sit with new partners.
• At the end of the game (you can chose how many rounds to play, we are lucky if we make it through two) everyone tallies their cumulative points and a prize is given for the highest scorer and for the lowest scorer.

 

#2. THE MENU

For Bunco entertaining I like to present a range of snacks that cover salty to sweet, with one featured item that is served hot.  Here is my most recent menu, recipes will follow in later blog entries:

 

 

• Hummus and flat pretzels
• Candied pecans
• Sour cream and onion dip with fresh vegetables
• Fancy mixed peanuts
• Brownies with Peppermint Frosting
• Spinach and Artichoke dip with baguette

I’ll normally have everything out when the guests arrive except for the hot item – that I hold until about an hour into the night so that everyone has arrived, is settled in and ready to enjoy a few solid bites before we start to Bunco.

#3. THE PLAYLIST

A good background music mix sets the tone and is critical to the success of your party’s ambiance.  My favorite source is Pandora, where I’ve discovered that the best mix is generated by cultivating individual stations and then setting your account to shuffle.

 

A good mix will have a little something for everyone, work well together and continue to pleasantly surprise everyone.  My recommended list of individual stations has includes:

• Missy Elliott (this can get explicit so you might not want to be careful when the kids are around)
• The Ramones
• Hotel Costes Radio
• Jamiroquai
• Pet Shop Boys
• Zero 7

 

#4: PRIZES!

One of the best parts about Bunco are the prizes – one for the top scorer and one for the bottom scorer – so no matter how you play you still have a chance to win something!  Prizes can be anything from a fancy chocolate bar, some lip gloss, a scarf from H&M – something inexpensive to give, fun to receive and cute to own.

 

SPECIAL BONUS:  THE PERFECT WINE

The only thing better then Bunco with your friends is Bunco with your friends and a perfect glass of wine.  While the Mommies always bring a great variety of wines that are fun to taste and work our way through, I like to always have on hand at least a couple of bottles of my all-time favorite wine, Tablelands.  Tablelands is a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand that is so dry and so crisp that it is almost effervescent in your mouth, it is unbelievably delicious and best of all affordable ($12.99/bottle).

 

 

What are you waiting for?  Get out your list of contacts, go to Evite.com where they have a couple of pre-designed Bunco invites, and schedule your first Bunco party.  The holidays are upon us but that is no excuse, schedule it for January and make starting a Bunco tradition your New Year’s resolution!