The Bunko Box - Starting A Bunko Group - What You Need

I have posted a few blogs over the years about my bunko group. I have also posted about how it is a great game for family reunions and camping etc as there isn't much involved in setting up a game. 

The biggest issue for larger groups playing bunko is prizes but you could easily use small amounts of cash, a penny each win or something like that so that you didn't need to take prizes yet still make it competitive and fun for a larger group. I will put links at the bottom of this post to some of those ideas and events if you are looking to host bunko for a large group like a church activity or reunion as it forces people to interact with each other every few minutes as you change partners each round. 

I like it for reunions as the people of similar ages tend to migrate towards each other but with this game, they are forced to interact with all ages yet in a fun and team effort way. 

I started this, as I shared in another post, to make new friends and to get to know some people in my church and neighborhood better. I had just moved across the country and moved to an area when I didn't have family near so I felt a bit lost. I figured there had to be a few other people who were feeling in a similar way and found that most of the women I invited into the group had moved to the area within the past few years and welcomed a group of women in the same stage of life! 

To start a bunko or Bunco group, you basically need a bag or box with a few items. Most are probably things you have already. Usually a Bunko Club or Group has 12 women in it. It works that you have three different groups playing at the same time in three groups of four. 

Each person has a partner for that round. You sit alternating you, your opponent player one, your partner, and opponent player 2 and then you again. So that every you and your partner are scoring points together. You score you and your partners points. The partners that make it to 21 points first in the room calls the game "over" and the team on each table that has the most points, is the winning team. 

In our group, we don't have a head table that has to get to 21 points for the room. We have it that the first team to 21 points or rolling a bunko wins that round. The "round" is rolling for different numbers each round. First round is rolling for ones. As long as you roll a one on that round, your turn continues until you don't roll a one anymore. The next person on the table then starts to roll for ones until they don't get any and then the play passes to your team member and they continue rolling the dice until they don't roll any ones and so on.

If you are on ones and roll all three dice as ones, that is a bunko. If you are on "ones" and you roll three of the same number on the dice at the same time and they aren't ones, it is called an "extra" and is worth five points and you keep a tally of the times you roll extra's as there is a prize for the person who rolls the most of those in the night. 

After someone in the room either rolls a bunko on ones or reaches 21 ones rolled on the team, the game ends in the room and the two winners move to the next table and the losers now stay on that table but are no longer partners for the next round. This makes sure you are continually having a new fresh partner to roll with. The winners mark a "W" on that round an the Losers mark a "L" on that round and then you are now rolling for the number 2 for this round. When a team in the room either rolls all three twos on the dice calling "bunko" or a team reaches 21 twos rolled, the round ends and the winners move and the losers swap partners with the winners coming to the table from the other group so you now have a new partner and are rolling for the number "3" for this round. 

The game is simple and even little children can catch on quickly. If you win the round by rolling a Bunko, you write "WB" on the win section as there is a prize for whoever rolls the most bunkos in a game so you want to keep track of that as well. 

Basically, our group hosts with no cost. We used to have everyone bring $5 each month but in the end, if you host one month a year and buy the prizes out of your own money, it ends up being the same amount a year. This is a much easier way not having anyone pay as in the past we had a few members who didn't come often and would forget to pay the hostess and this way removed any issues with that. 

Each member picks a month to host and for that night, provides a meal, treats on the table and the prizes. The bunko box heads home with the person who is hosting it the next month. Prizes are supposed to add up to $60 which is $5 a person. However, in our group, only six people win bigger prizes and most of us pick a $1 gift for the six loser women so everyone goes home with something. The biggest prize is the "Bunko" prize for whoever has the most bunkos for the night. The next prize is for most wins, then second most wins, then there is a prize for whoever has the most "extra's" which is rolling three of a number in a round other than the number you are rolling for that round. The next prize is for "evens." Whoever has the same number of wins and loses or closest to the same number get the "evens" prize and then the person who has the most losses gets the "Loser" prize. 

We used to have set prizes for each depending on how much we spent on the prizes but found that sometimes the person who won Bunkos didn't want the most expensive prize so we let people pick which prize they would want in order of the prizes won. 

To set up the "Bunko Box" you need: at least 12 pens for people to score, scratch paper to keep scores on, 9 dice which you can usually find at the dollar store for cheap, copies of the bunko score sheet so each person has a way to tally wins and loses for the night and we keep a Sharpie in the box as we write our names on solo cups for the night so we know whose drink is where as we have all walked away leaving our drink on a table. 

The hostess cooks a meal, a dessert and puts out candy on the tables for snacking as we play and then purchases the prizes. We have been doing this for so many years we have seen it all in the prize department. Some get gift cards to local businesses, some make the prizes and others buy them online, or in boutiques etc. However, even if someone didn't have prizes at this point, I think we just enjoy getting together and catching up on life. We have LOVED having these friendships over the years. It is wonderful that 8 of the original 12 women I started the group with are still in the group. 

I have heard of other groups not getting along or back biting but our group is unique and we truly love each other. Most of the women leaving have been people moving out of the town and we really miss those that have moved. I keep thinking I want to do a reunion night where we have all the old friends back with their families but it seems that our lives are a bit busy to get that together as I did try last year. 

I know of other groups that do a potluck each month, just do desserts and play the game instead of a meal, put money in a pot and don't buy prizes etc. The options are endless as you need to gear your group to what fits your needs. This works for our group and we love having a night out once a month. We have ours on the last Thursday night of the month as weekends ran into scheduling issues and that has been "our" night for 22 years or so. 

If you have any questions on things, feel free to ask. I think everyone needs a group of friends like this as we have been through so much together. 

Hopefully this is clear enough to understand. Here are the links to the posts on different bunko ideas. 

Beach Bunko Reunion Part 1
Beach bunko reunion part 2
Beach Bunko Reunion Part 3
A Bunko Thanksgiving
22 Years of Bunko Group
Mother Daughter Bunko Party
16 Years Bunko Sisters 
Last Minute Bunko Night
Bunko Family Reunion Part 2
Bunko Prizes I made

Have a Blessed Day!