When I was a teenager I used to babysit once a month for a good family friend so she could go to Bunco.

I never really understood what it was, but she often came home with a prize and a lot to say about how much fun she had.

We’ve since lost her, but I think about her infectious laugh and good humor often. I think about how she used to take me to Taco Bell after preschool so I could get a “taco with no salad,” and she would get a giant Mountain Dew.

Oh how I love and miss her!

As an adult I’ve had a handful of chances to play Bunco and it ALWAYS reminds me of her.

What is Bunco?

Bunco is a simple dice game, and for all you introverts out there, it’s also a low-stakes social gathering. You are forced to mix and mingle with a lot of different people, but you’re playing a game—which means you aren’t required to socialize too much.

Playing the game

1. On round 1 you roll 3 dice and are trying to get 1’s. Round 2 you try to get 2’s, and so on, all the way to 6.
2. If you roll a one, keep rolling until you don’t get a one. Make tally marks on your score sheet next to the 1 die according to how many you rolled on that turn.
   • If you rolled four 1’s, you’ll have 4 tally marks.
3. Then pass the dice to the person on your left. They do the same.
4. The person sitting across from you is your partner, and you’re in this together, so on her turn, if she rolls 3 more 1’s—add those to your tally!
5. First team to 21 yells Bunco.

The real thrill comes when you roll 3 of the number you’re on for that round. So on round 1 if you roll and all three dice are 1’s, then you have an automatic BUNCO and you win!

The winning team stands up and moves to the next table, but you can’t be partners with the same person two times in a row. This means you have to move seats at your new table so you’re paired with a different partner.

You keep track of a few things throughout the game including Wins and Losses, Buncos and Mini or baby buncos. In the end 4 or 5 people get to take home a prize according to winners in these categories! (Usually everyone who plays “buys in” and gives a specified dollar amount to the hostess so she can purchase prizes).

There’s no strategy to it, it’s all about luck and how well you keep track of tally marks! The best part is: there’s even a prize for the biggest loser!

Bunco Score Sheets

I recently taught the game to a youth group at church and it was fun to see them settling in to the easy fun of the game once they got a handle on how to play.

The occasion prompted me to design a year’s worth of Bunco score sheets for all the Bunco regulars out there in the world! And if that’s not you, why not start a group??

My Bunco Score sheet package has a score sheet with a different design for each month according to holidays or seasons! You purchase it once and have all your cute score sheets for monthly Bunco for the rest of the year!

You can’t beat the price, so to all my Bunco girlies: RUUUUN!!!!!

P.S. Bunco is fun: peri-menopause is not! Check out my Peri-Menopause symptom tracker to help you make sense of it all!