I have officially been inducted into the secret realm of Bunko. Can we say WHEEE?!?!
I have to admit, I had never heard of Bunko before moving to Kentucky, but since moving here it appears to be this quietly moving underground that is slowly taking over the world. Now the game itself is anything but quiet, actually loud and a bit obnoxious is a good description. In the 5 years I have been here, I was constantly coming across people who played, but there always seemed to be this shroud of mystery surrounding it.
“Where ya going”
“Off to play Bunko”
“Play what?”
“Bunko”
“What’s that?”
“A game... see ya” and runs away
You could never really get a description of the game, not even something as simple as “it’s a dice game” Like there was something worth hiding in this silly pastime. Invites weren’t an open thing... not like “Hey, we’re off to play Bunko, wanna come?” After playing I know it’s because invites must come in fours so as to keep balanced tables. So when I finally got my official invite, curiosity got the better of me and I jumped at the chance.
“Off to play Bunko honey”
“Oh good lord, my life has ended!”
Apparently Bunko is a female dominated game. Actually, come to think of it, I’ve never met a man who played it. The male species assumes Bunko is some sort of Hen roosting party in where women spend the whole time bashing men. If you ask me, I think a woman got the myth started just to keep the men out, but why... I have no idea!
I know have to wonder though, what the whole big deal is about this game. It doesn’t take any skills what so ever. The game has a fast enough speed, that socializing isn’t really an easy task. The only thing I can think off, and why it’s probably popular among women, is that it’s sort of mind numbing. As long as you aren’t the sucker stuck keeping track of points at the table, you can pretty much shut off the brain and just go to town. Maybe that’s the other draw, especially for older, overweight country bumpkins. Anybody can win it. I think more thought, time and energy goes into the whole selecting of gift prizes, so as to make the endeavor even more rewarding.
But personally, I didn’t really get the whole attraction thing of it. Maybe with alcohol things would have been different, but at least a game of quarters takes a bit of thought and talent and gets more interesting the drunker one gets. I just don’t see how much harder rolling dice while completely inebriated could really get. It was all well and fine for a time killer/ party breaker, but it’s not something I could ever do habitually. Personally I’d rather waste my time in front of the TV instead!