Bunco Game Rules for 12 Players

Score a roll

In round 1 the target is 1, in round 2 it is 2, and so on through 6. Roll all three dice each time. Add the result to your team’s round tally:

• One or two target dice: 1 point per matching die.
• Three target dice: 21 points for a Bunco, not 24. Shout Bunco and add one Bunco only to the roller’s personal record.
• Three of the same non-target number: 5 points, with no personal Bunco.
• Anything else: zero points.

Continue, pass and hear the bell

After any scoring roll, roll all three dice again. After a zero, keep the points already earned and pass clockwise. When a head-table team reaches 21 or rolls a Bunco, the head table rings the ending bell. At the other tables, the current roller finishes their current turn; everyone does not get another circuit. A secondary table reaching 21 or rolling a Bunco does not end play at all tables.

Worked example: target 5 at table 2

The teal team starts at 9. Nora rolls (5, 5, 1), adding 2 for 11; then (2, 2, 2), adding 5 for 16. She rolls (1, 3, 6) for zero, keeps the 7 points earned and passes clockwise. Later her partner rolls (5, 5, 5), shouts Bunco and adds 21 for 37; only that partner records one personal Bunco. This is the score immediately after that roll, not the final round score: the scoring roller continues, and table 2 does not ring the ending bell.

Check the boundary

With target 5, a head-table team on 20 rolls (5, 1, 3), reaches 21 and rings the bell. A roll of (5, 5, 2) scores 2, not a triple; (2, 2, 2) scores 5 but is not a Bunco.

Record the round and rotate

After the bell and any current turns are finished, the higher-scoring team at each table wins that round. Both partners record a personal W; the other pair each record L. Start the next round with fresh team tallies. Rotate as follows:

• Table 1: winners stay; losers go to table 2.
• Table 2: winners go to table 1; losers go to table 3.
• Table 3: winners go to table 2; losers stay at table 3.
• At each table with a pair staying (tables 1 and 3), one of that pair changes chairs so that both receive new partners.

Optional house convention for ties — agree before play

The WBA page calls for a roll-off but does not specify all its mechanics. This guide’s original optional house convention is: each tied team selects one player to roll three dice; compare the dice totals, and repeat on a tie until they differ. The higher total wins. For tied individual awards, each tied player rolls the same way. These roll-off totals add no round points or personal Buncos. For example, at 18–18, totals of 10 and 12 give the team rolling 12 the W. This procedure is a house convention, not a WBA mandate.

Finish four sets

After all 24 rounds, compare each player’s personal Bunco count and wins as separate categories; losses are also on the personal record. The basic guide does not treat accumulated team points as a universal party championship.