Bunco

Bunco

Bunco (also Bunko and Bonko) is a parlour game played in teams with three dice. A winning throw in Bunco is to throw three of a kind of a specified number.

According to the World Bunco Association [ [http://www.worldbunco.com/history1.html] World Bunco Association] , Bunco began as a progressive dice game in England, later being imported to the American West as a gambling activity. It was not until after the Civil War that it evolved to a popular parlor game. The Association states that during Prohibition, Bunco as a gambling game was re-popularized and the term "Bunco-Squad" was born, referring to law-enforcement groups that busted up Bunco Gaming. Bunco as a family game saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s. Although re-released in 2005 with a tagline reading "The game that's sweeping the nation," sales were initially low though senior citizens and young adults alike have found interest in the gameFact|date=July 2008.

In recent years, the game has seen a resurgence in popularity in America, particularly among suburban women. As it is played today, Bunco is a social dice game involving 100% luck and no skill (there are no decisions to be made) [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/03/AR2007020301274_pf.html "Suburban Moms Forge Bonds Over Bunco"] , "washingtonpost.com", Feb 4th, 2007] , scoring and a simple set of rules. Women who are part of a Bunco club take turns as the Bunco hostess, providing snacks, refreshments and the tables to set up the games. The hostess may also provide a door prize. Small amounts of money can be involved as well. The object of the game is to accumulate points and to roll certain combinations. The winners get prizes (provided by the hostess or pooled from the club resources) for accomplishments such as the highest score, the lowest score, or the most buncos. Prizes frequently center on themes associated with the game such as fancy dice, dice embedded in soap, t-shirts featuring illustrations of dice, etc.

Rules

Rules can have house variants. But the standards widely recognized nationwide are: Players alternate turns. A turn consists of rolling 3 dice aiming to obtain the specified number. Players gain one point for each of the specified number. If the player gets three-of-a-kind of the specified number they get twenty-one points. The round stops when a player obtains twenty-one points. Then the next round starts. There are six rounds. They progress in order from one to six, inclusive. Note who wins each round. Whoever wins the most rounds is the total winner and usually receives a token prize.

Popularity

A Press Release issued by Procter & Gamble who feature the game in a 2008 advertisement for their Anti-Heartburn medicine Prilosec OTC, stated in 2006 that over 29 million people play Bunco regularly [CINCINNATI, Feb 10, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network [http://www.pginvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104574&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=815622&highlight

References

External links

* [http://www.worldbunco.com/ World Bunco Association] - has a good, brief history which mentions the Chicago connection and provides, consequently, perspective on the film, [http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22the+sting%22+newman+redford+official+site&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8/ The Sting] .
* [http://www.buncorules.com/ Bunco Rules] - game instruction and printable materials
* [http://www.buncospace.com/ Bunco Space] - Find local Bunco players
* [http://www.gamecabinet.com/rules/Bunko.html Bunko Rules]
* [http://www.ledgaming.com/BuncoNight/html/index.shtml Bunco Casino Game]
* [http://bunco.kewlbox.com/ Online Bunco Game] Built by Blockdot Games


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bunco — Bun co, n. see {bunko}. [Written also {bunko}.] [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bunco — ☆ bunco [buŋ′kō ] n. pl. buncos [c. 1875 < Sp banca, card game < It, BANK1] Informal a swindle, esp. at a card game or lottery; confidence game vt. buncoed, buncoing Informal to swindle; cheat …   English World dictionary

  • bunco — [“barjko] 1. n. a scheme to swindle people. (From banca, the name of a card game in Spanish.) □ He’s been fiddling with bunco on the West Coast. □ All the stuff relating to bunco comes across this desk. 2. tv. to swindle someone. □ They buncoed… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • bunco — Bunko Bun ko, n. [Sf. Sp. banco bank, banca a sort of game at cards. Cf. {Bank} (in the commercial sense).] A kind of swindling game or scheme, originally by means of cards or by a sham lottery, but now used for any swindling tactic. [Written… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bunco — or bunko noun (plural buncos or bunkos) Etymology: perhaps alteration of Spanish banca bench, banking, bank in gambling, from Italian more at bank Date: 1872 a swindling game or scheme • bunco transitive verb …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • bunco N. Amer. — bunco N. Amer. informal noun (plural buncos) a swindle or confidence trick. verb (buncoes, buncoing, buncoed) dated swindle or cheat. Origin C19: perh. from Sp. banca, a card game …   English new terms dictionary

  • bunco game — noun a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property • Syn: ↑bunco, ↑bunko, ↑bunko game, ↑con, ↑confidence trick, ↑confidence game, ↑con game, ↑gyp, ↑hustle …   Useful english dictionary

  • bunco steerer — noun or bunko steerer : a confidence man : swindler * * * bunco steerer, U.S. Slang. a decoy or shill for a bunco …   Useful english dictionary

  • bunco-steerer — noun A swindler; a cheat or con man. Reef need act as no more than bunco steerer, all the research chores and assumptions of risk to be borne by Archie as principal party …   Wiktionary

  • bunco artist — Synonyms and related words: bunco steerer, cardsharp, cardsharper, carpetbagger, con artist, con man, confidence man, crimp, horse coper, horse trader, jackleg, land pirate, land shark, land grabber, mortgage shark, pettifogger, pitchman, shark,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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