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Historical Narrative Photo Gallery Current Players How We Play (Rules)
PAGE UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 2000
September 2000
New compound "Bunconium" discovered at Andrea Davis's house, after her dog's saliva disintegrates one of the dice. Though extensive testing continues, Bunconium may prove to be the elusive ingredient that makes Bunco enjoyable.
(Behold . . . Bunconium!)
August 2000
Anonymous Bunco Guy, along with the entire Bunco crew, wishes Cheryl Payton a very happy birthday . . . and again encourages her to stop cheating at Bunco. It's only a game, Cheryl.
July 2000
The Bunco group haughtily flouts tradition, incorporating a thirteenth player into the regular twelve-chick roster. Verily, this baker's dozen is a sign of the apocalypse, and the end of the world is nigh.
June 2000
American astronauts play Bunco in orbit aboard the Space Shuttle, citing the Bunco Page as "an inspiration to technological advancement, as well as a beacon for world peace." Lack of gravity renders the game disastrous yet comical.
May 2000
Abraham Lincoln returns from the grave, having heard about Bunco in the afterlife. "We didn't have wacky fun like this four score and seven years ago," says the perforated president, not realizing he's been dead even longer than that.
![[Image]](bunco_pict1.jpeg)
"I may be the Great Emancipator, but this Bunco game kicks ass."
-- A. Lincoln
Thanks for checking out the Bunco Page; we've continued to have lots of Bunco fun, including our Third Annual Couples Christmas Bunco in December 1999 (see directly above). We've added some more recent photos, the latest of which was taken March 2000 (see directly below). Keep grabbin' those dice!
This group began when Carolyn Murray decided she didn't see enough of her friends from UT Austin and the Ursuline Academy, even though many of them lived in Dallas. She invited eleven of her friends to gather once a month to play a game called BUNCO. The point of playing this silly game is to get together and talk, and not have to pay attention to the game or have it involve anything too terribly cerebral (especially after a long day at work!).
We alternate houses every month and everyone pays five dollars to play. The hostess buys three prizes; one worth $20, one worth $10, and one worth $5. At the end of the evening, the prizes are awarded to the most "BUNCOs," the most games won, and the least games won, respectively. If there are any ties, there are "roll offs" of one die between the tied players, with the highest number winning for the "BUNCO" and highest game categories, and the lowest die winning for the least game category. The hostess also provides light snacks, wine, and other beverages.
The group meets to play on the second Tuesday of every month, at 7:00 p.m. Around 8:45 p.m. we usually estimate how many more games we should play (around three) so that we can play the last game and call it an evening around 9:00 p.m.
(March 1999)
(More Bunco madness, 1998.)
(Photo from March 1998 gathering.)
(Another entirely candid, totally unstaged Bunco-Pic, circa 1997.)
Our Current Players are:
(Okay! Okay! So we've got thirteen players! Big deal!)
Our Current Alternates are:
Version 1
The version of Bunco we currently play (and we have heard of many ways of playing it) involves three tables of four players each; the players take turns rolling three dice. The tables are numbered one, two, and three, with table number one being the lead table. A game is played by pairing the players who are across from one another as a team and each team attempts to roll (in a counterclockwise order) as many sixes as possible. Each six rolled counts as a point and if one or more sixes is rolled or if three of anything is rolled, the player rolling rolls again. Score can be kept on a tally; however, true BUNCO aficionados claim that keeping track of score must occur in a player's head or on her fingers (and, of course, the more wine consumed, the more challenging this method proves to be!). When one team at the lead table (table number one) reaches exactly twenty-one (21) points (no more, no less), the game is stopped (table one must make a loud ruckus) and each table determines who won the game. If a team at the lead table scores more than twenty-one (21) points, the team score is zeroed out and they must start over. (Thus, it is conceivable that a game may go on indefinitely!) When the game ends (after the ruckus, refilling beverages, and consuming food), each winner tallies the games won on her individual tally card (provided by the host and carried around for the duration of the evening). The players who win move up to a higher table, the players who lose move down to a lower table. Of course, if a player is already at table number one, she cannot move up; likewise, if a player is at table number three, she cannot move down. When the next game starts, the players who were partners for the previous game are not partners for the next game.
A player rolls a "BUNCO" when she rolls three sixes (and when this happens an even louder ruckus is made), and that player tallies a "BUNCO" on her card. Players keep track of their "BUNCOs" on their same individual tally, but separate from the "GAME" category. When a "BUNCO" is rolled, each player attempts to grab as many dice as possible, and scores twice the number of sixes she picks up. For example, if a any player picks up all three dice, she adds six points to her team's tally of sixes; if she picks up two of the dice and another player picks up the other die, she will add four to her tally and the other player will add two to her tally. (Of course, a team at the lead table with a score of 20 would not want to pick up any of the dice or they would have to start over at zero!)
This version (and really any other version) of BUNCO can be played with any group in a multiple of four. If you don't have a multiple of four, it can be played by forming the most even groups possible (say four at the lead table, three and three at the other tables) and at the tables with less than four, each player plays on her own rather than on a team and the two players with the highest scores of sixes move up and one player moves down.
Version 2
This version of Bunco (the way we first started playing it) involves three tables of four players each; the players take turns rolling three dice. The tables are numbered one, two, and three, with table number one being the lead table. A game is played by pairing the players who are across from one another as a team and each team attempts to roll (in a counter clock-wise order) as many "sixes" as possible. Each "six" rolled counts as a point and if one or more "sixes" is rolled, the player rolling rolls again. (A player also rolls again when she rolls a "BUNCO," which will be discussed later.) Score is kept on a tally. When one team at the lead table (table number one) reaches twenty-one (21) points, the game is stopped and each table determines who won the game. Each winner tallies the games won on her individual tally card (provided by the host and carried with her during the duration of the evening). The players who win move up to a higher table, the players who lose move down to a lower table. Of course, if a player is already at table number one, she cannot move up; likewise, if a player is at table number three, she cannot move down. When the next game starts the players who were partners for the previous game are not partners for the next game.
A player rolls a "BUNCO" when she rolls three of any kind. However, the player who scores a "BUNCO" is the player who first picks up all three dice at the same time immediately after the "BUNCO" is rolled. If different players pick up the dice, then no "BUNCO" is scored. Players keep track of their "BUNCOs" on their same individual tally, but in a separate category.
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