Bunco Rules: How to Play Bunco and Keep Score
Bunco is a dice game made for a crowd. There is no strategy and very little to learn, so the game never gets in the way of the conversation. Twelve people, three tables and nine dice are all it takes.
Here is how to play Bunco, step by step, from setting up the tables to keeping score across the evening.
What you need
- Twelve players. Bunco works with other numbers too, see below.
- Three tables of four, with partners sitting opposite each other.
- Three dice for each table, nine in all.
- A score pad for each table and a tally sheet for each player.
- A bell for the head table, or anything else that makes a noise.
The tables are ranked. The head table is the top one, then the middle table, then the low table.
The aim
Each round has a target number, and teams score points by rolling it. Over the evening, try to win as many rounds as you can. The player with the most rounds won is the winner.
Six rounds, six targets
A game of Bunco has six rounds. In round one the target is 1, in round two it is 2, and so on up to round six.
How to roll and score
Players take turns rolling all three dice. Each roll scores:
- 1 point for every die that shows the round number.
- 5 points if all three dice show the same number, but not the round number.
- 21 points if all three dice show the round number. That is a Bunco.
If your roll scores, roll again. Keep rolling until a roll scores nothing, then pass the dice to the player on your left. Your points count for your team, and so do your partner's.
How a round ends
The head table controls every round. As soon as a team there reaches 21 points, they ring the bell, and every table stops after the roll in progress.
At the other tables, the team with more points wins the round. If two teams are tied, each team rolls once more to decide it.
Moving tables
After each round, players move:
- At the head table, the winners stay, and the losers move down to the low table.
- At the other tables, the winners move up one table, and the losers stay.
Then partners change. The two players who stayed at each table split up, and each one pairs with a player who has just arrived.
Keeping score across the evening
After every round, each player marks a win or a loss on their own tally sheet, and notes any Buncos they rolled. After round six, start again at round one. Many groups play four sets of six rounds, 24 rounds in all.
At the end of the evening, the player with the most wins is the winner. Many groups also keep count of who rolled the most Buncos.
Bunco with fewer than twelve players
- Eight players: use two tables. The winners at the low table move up, and the losers at the head table move down.
- Four players: one table and two teams of two. The first team to 21 wins each round.
- One player short: play with a ghost. The ghost's partner takes the ghost's turns as well as their own.
House rules
Bunco rules change from group to group, so agree on them before the first roll. The most common change is the wipeout: in some groups, rolling three 1s, when 1 is not the round number, wipes out your team's points for that round.
No dice? Use a dice roller
If you are short of dice, our online dice roller rolls three dice at once, so a phone can stand in for a set of dice at any table.
Frequently asked questions
How many people do you need to play Bunco?
Twelve is the classic number, at three tables of four. Eight players can use two tables, and four can play at a single table.
What is a Bunco worth?
21 points. You roll a Bunco when all three dice show the round number, for example three 4s in round four.
What do you score for three of a kind in Bunco?
5 points, as long as the three dice do not show the round number. Three of the round number is a Bunco, worth 21.
How many rounds are in a game of Bunco?
Six, one for each number on a die. Many groups play four sets of six rounds in an evening.
Who wins at Bunco?
The player who has won the most rounds by the end of the evening.