Bunco?

I'm in a Bunco group.



There are a lot of things I never imagined myself doing: marriage, childbirth, going to church, keeping a clean house. But Bunco was so far from the possibility of anything in my imagination. Before I was asked to be in a Bunco group, I didn't even know what Bunco was, much less have any desire to play. But, the person who asked me is someone I adore, so I went. I found out after it's this suburban mom thing and the connations associated with all that made me gag. If my 25-year-old self saw me now, she'd disown me.

But, now I play Bunco.

Bunco is this simple dice game that involves no strategy, not much knowledge of anything except the ability to read the dots on a dice. Given that we are aging moms on the verge of bifocals, this part isn't always so easy. Mostly, we drink and chat and eat. When you're not hosting, you get a grown up night in a nice house, eating on nice plates and food appears and you don't have to get up and see about anything if there's a scream or a crash (and usually, screamers and crashers have been handled offsite by cooperative spouses).

The great thing about our group is that we really aren't suburban moms. We live in Oakland in this sort of urban/surburban twilight. And, our organizer has a pretty relaxed approach to it. The commitment is low. No one gives anyone any grief for not showing up. It starts around 6:30 and is over by 9:30. All the women offer up some serious cocktail and food action. I don't have to do any homework like I would on a book club. The game is actually kind of fun. I get to yammer about myself to people who don't know me. And, they let me curse.

What's not to like?

Of course, the thing is, if I were to start a group, there are other things I'd pick over bunco. I get these ideas, ya know, and of course, I have no follow through. But, if it weren't for Bunco, here are the wine-associated activities I'd like to have a group of women meet for:

1) Poker
2) Games of Killer Sorry or Monopoly or Clue
3) Arts and Crafts
4) Nighttime urban hikes
5) Political discussion
6) Movies

My mom belonged to a Po-Kee-No group when I was a kid. When it was her turn to host, I would get so excited watching her pull out the barely used fancy snack dishes that sat on a little merry-go-around. She broke out canned pineapple, cheddar cheese cut into neat cubes and olives and made dips. My job was to pre-toothpick everything so the ladies could just grab and munch. The game itself was so cool, in a dark laminated box with it's tiny playing card images and chips. I would play pokeeno alone when I could get away with it.

Even though I knew most of the women who attended, it felt different knowing they were all coming without their kids or husbands and I never got to see them in that way because we were kicked out of the house and sent to the movies with my dad who used this chance to take us to see many a dying animal saga: Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Flipper, Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, Benji.

In spite of myself, I really enjoy the Bunco gatherings. Our organizer, perhaps unbeknown to herself, pulled together an interesting hodgepodge of women. Some of the women are Catholic school moms of varying degrees of orthdoxy, two are from the preschool community, with a few neighbors and random friends thrown in. Surprisingly, tho, she managed to pick a group of down-to-earth, nonjudgmental types and it makes for a very enjoyable evening.

My luck with Bunco, though, sucks. Twice I've gotten the "booby" prize, which means I had the lowest score and get my ante amount back ($10). I can't even practice to get better. I just have dumb luck.