Playing Bunco with a crowd is such fun!  It’s a fast-paced game that require absolutely no strategy, so everyone has the same odds of winning as everyone else.  This makes it a great game for a mixed crowd, as a 10-year-old has the same odds of winning as a 50 year old.

Each table has for 4 players.  On each table, have 3 dice.  Each player will need a bunco card and a pen.

The tables will be numbered 1, 2, 3, etc, with the #1 table being the “head table.”  The head table starts and stops each round of play.

Players will be working in teams, with the players opposite each other at the table being a team.

When everyone’s ready, the head table rings the bell, and play begins at all of the tables (at the same time).

One player per table rolls all three dice at once.  During round #1, they are trying to roll 1’s.  If they get one or more 1’s, they roll again, and each 1 rolled counts as a point.  So if they roll two 1’s, they get 2 points and roll again, until they don’t roll any 1’s.  Then they pass the dice to the next person.  The second player will now roll for 1’s, until they don’t get any.

If at any point a player rolls three 1’s at once, they yell “Bunco!” and make a mark in the Bunco spot on their card.  A bunco counts as 21 points towards the round.

Each team will keep track of their score, and try to get as many points as possible during the round.  The head table will end the round when one team gets to 21 points.  At this point, they will ring the bell again, and play at all of the other tables will stop.  If a person is in the midst of rolling, they can continue to roll until they don’t get any 1’s to end the round.

Once the round ends, players will tally up their points, and the winning team will advance to the next highest table, while the losing team will go down a table.  You will circle either W (win) or L (loss) for that round on your bunco card.

For instance, at table 2, the winners will advance to table 1, while the losers will go down to table 3.  Each “team” will also split up, and take a different seat than before, so the teams are completely different every time.

The only exception to this is at the head table and the last table.  The winners from the head table will both stay at the head table, but one of them will move seats so they aren’t on the same team again.  The losers at the last table will also stay at their table, and one will switch spots as well.

For the second round, you’ll be rolling to get the most 2’s.  For the third round, 3’s, and so on.

Prizes will be given out for the most buncos, the least buncos, the most wins, and the most losses.