Bunco / Bunko Dice

Bunco - also spelt Bunko - is a popular dice game that originated in England, probably in the 19th century. It is a skill free game that is played with a dozen people and is very popular social event. The game has the players constantly switching tables and partners, thus making it an excellent ice breaker.

How To Play Bunco

There are numerous slightly different variations on the game, here is one basic set of rules.

The game is played with twelve people. Each is competing individually and keeps their own score, however at any one time players will be paired up in teams of two.

There are three tables with four players seated at each table. At each table are three dice. One table is designated "High" and also has a bell. The others tables are "Middle" and "Low". Players are initially seated at random by drawing lots.

A set of Bunco consists of six rounds. A Bunco session can consist of any number of sets.

Each round in a set is numbered from 1 to 6. During each set the two players sitting opposite each other at each table are working as a team.

The High table rings the bell and play starts on all tables. One player on each table initially takes the dice. One player should also keeep the round score - perhaps the current dice roller's partner.

The players with the dice roll them and score accordingly. There are four possible outcomes:

- The player throws three of the round number (eg three 2s in round 2). They shout "Bunco" and score 21 points. They then roll again.
- The player throws three of any number other than the round number. They score 5 points. They then roll again.
- The player rolls one or two of the round number and anything else (eg two 3s and a 5 in round 3). They score for the number of dice showing the round number (2 in the example here). They then roll again.
- They do not roll three of a kind and they do not roll any of the round number. They score nothing and pass the dice to the person on their left.

Note that the scores above are round scores. These are used only to determine the winners of each round and are not accumulated.

The round ends when either team at the High table reaches 21 points. When this happens, they ring the bell and play stops on all tables. Note that it is entirely possible for teams at the lower tables to have scored far more than 21 points.

On each table, the team with the most points in that round is the winning team. Every individual player now marks on their scoresheet whether they were a winner or loser.

Players now move table. The two players in the winning team from the High table move to the Low table, the winning players from the Low table move to the Middle table, the two winning players from the Middle table move to the High table. During the move, one of the two players who remains at each table moves seat. This ensures that partners will change in the next round.

The game continues with this way with six rounds forming a set. Once the predetermined number of sets has been completed, each player adds up how many times they were on the winning team and the person with the highest score is declared the winner.