by Lisa Hudson

Created on: July 21, 2010

You are new to a neighborhood and want to meet some ladies for socializing.  You are home all day with young kids and want some adult stimulation in the evening with a night with the ladies.  You have a stressful career and after a long day's toil, you look forward to a carefree evening with the ladies, combined with good food, drink and conversation.  All of these occasions are perfect scenarios for a Bunco Party.

What the heck is "Bunco"?

Bunco is a simple dice game akin to Yahtzee.  You can build your own Bunco kit, you need not buy the board game/kit.  The kits are available for about $10-15 at most game and Big Box stores.  You play with a bell, whistle or noisemaker, three dice, a pad of paper, pens or pencils, and a group of ladies (in multiples of four).  Presumably men or couples can play, but this author has only experienced Bunco for females.  Also, because it is played at night usually, and involves alcohol for the refreshments often, children rarely, if ever, play in Bunco groups.  The supplies are simple.  

You can add on optional "extras" like prizes for the winners, prizes for the losers, appetizers, snacks, wine and beer, prizes for the most "Bunco" rolls (a roll of three of a kind except for all 1's).  The game involves little skill and concentration, and as a result, is the perfect game for mixed groups of old and new friends because it facilitates mingling and conversation.  The ladies who play usually have plenty of time and concentration for play, gossip, and the enjoyment of food and drink. It is an easy game to play while multi-tasking which has contributed to its vast recent popularity. 

How exactly do you form a Bunco group and host a Bunco party? Let's break it down. 

Invitations and Calendaring the Party:

To host a Bunco party, you start with paper invitation or Evite and invite a group of ideally at least 12-16 ladies, with the hopes of having 4-8 players show up for the party, at a minimum.  You can have as few as 4 and there is no maximum, although, you need sufficient room for play in the hostess' house.  This writer has played with as few as 4 and as many as 16.

In this writer's experience, week nights work the best for the least conflicts.  It is ideal to give at least two weeks' notice to attendees, especially if the night for the party is not a predetermined day of the month each month and if attendees are being asked to bring food or drink

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