Bunco

American social dice game — four tables of four, rotating partners, and lots of shouting when you roll a triple.

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What is Bunco?

Bunco is an American social dice game with a colourful history: it started as a 19th-century swindling scheme (giving 'bunco squads' their name) before being repurposed as a parlour game. Modern Bunco is played in weekly women's Bunco groups across suburban America. Twelve players at three tables of four roll three dice trying to match a target number that increases each round. Rolling three-of-a-kind of the target is a 'Bunco!' worth 21 points.

Quick facts

Category

Dice Games

Type

Team sport

Players

8–16

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

1855, San Francisco — swindling game repurposed as parlour dice game

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified