“Who are we kidding?” one of them calls out, as they dive into the make-your-own mini Italian sandwiches, potato salad and fresh fruit. “This is what Bunco night is all about!”

All of them laugh with an understanding that only a group together for a long time can share, as they also share shrimp dip and chips. Some members of this Bunco group have been playing together every month for more than three years.

“A bunch of us were working at the Balloon Festival one year,” recalls Patti LeBlanc. “My sister-in-law, Karen Gaetani, started talking about this game called Bunco. I remember thinking, ‘Who would want to do that?’ But, then, the more we talked, the more we decided to give it a try. Right there, there were 12 of us willing to play. We picked a place and the rest is history!”

Now, they look forward to their friendly – albeit competitive – games. This night, eight regulars – Rosaria Chantrill, Mary Curtis, Patti LeBlanc, Debbie Littleton, Pat Pelliccia, Denise Scammon, Louise Whalen and Terri Whalen – were on hand, plus subs Linda Morin, Lil Barnett, Jen Chantrill and Dana Scammon. Regular Lisa Poulin stopped in a little later.

On this comfortably warm Wednesday evening, they’ve been sharing stories about children’s first year of college, admiring one woman’s new Harley-Davidson and comparing their workdays.

Terri Whalen sums it up best: “It’s just nice to get together. We don’t see each other too often, and it’s a great way to catch up.”

That seems to be one of the reasons that this old game that goes back to the 1800s is enjoying such new popularity. It’s easy, it’s fun and the get-togethers usually involve friends and food.

There’s even a World Bunco Association that formed eight years ago in California. Its Web site, www.worldbunco.com, has postings from people in various states who are looking for others to start a Bunco group in their area.

Watch the chaos

In this local group, Mary Curtis reminds everyone of her feelings about the game.

“I love to win!” she announces with a grin. Even when reminded by a fellow player about her recent losing streak, Mary doesn’t break her stride. “All right, I may not win very often, but I still love it!”

After about 40 minutes of great conversation and even better food, the ringing of a small silver bell breaks up their discussions. The 12 women disperse to three tables throughout the house and suddenly, what was a simple social get-together becomes quite different.

The best way to describe a Bunco game is that, to the untrained eye, it looks like chaos.

A bell rings, dice are thrown, there is laughing, talking and even shouting. Then, with a second ring of the bell, people from all three tables get up and shift seats, much the way a group of children moves about in a game of Musical Chairs.

Jen Chantrill is a first-time player who attended with her mother, Rosaria, one of the regulars. As Jen looks around at all the activity, she quietly confesses, “I’m not sure of what to do, but I guess I’ll just follow my mom and we’ll see what happens.”

In spite of the constant movement and apparent confusion, Bunco is a simple game to learn and play. There is little skill required. Bunco is more a game of luck.

For Bunco beginners, here’s what you’ll need to play the game:

• 12 people.

• Three tables that can seat four people each. One table is the head table, where the game’s play begins and ends.

• Four sets of three dice.

• Pads and pencils for 12 people.

• A small bell.

• Prizes.

Time to shout

Denise Scammon says another requisite for this group is bowls of chocolate candies.

To play, two two-person teams sit at each table. Any player sitting at the head table rings the hand bell and play at all tables begins. Each player takes a turn rolling the set of three dice. There are six rounds to each game, and the player tries to roll the number of each round.

For example: If it’s Round 1, the player’s goal is to roll ones on the dice. A player lucky enough to keep rolling those ones gets up to three rolls of the dice for that turn. But if a matching number isn’t rolled, the dice are passed to the next table member.

Scoring Bunco is also easy. For each matching number (Round 1/ones, Round 2/twos, etc.), each team gets one point.

If a player rolls three of the matching numbers at once, it’s a Bunco. This is worth 5 points, as well as allowing another roll. Players shout out “Bunco!” when this roll turns up.

A Half Bunco is when a player rolls three of the same number, but the dice don’t match number of the round (such as three 4’s rolled during Round 2). These aren’t worth any points, but they do earn another roll. Players note their Buncos and Half Buncos on their scorecards since these points count for prizes at the end of the evening.

Play continues until one team at the head table has a combined score of 21. Then, the bell is rung once more and play at all tables stops. Winners remain at the head table, but take new partners there. The others switch around so that they end up with new partners also.

Prizes, too

Most Bunco games go through two or three six-round games.

“We don’t usually get to three games anymore,” admits Pat Pelliccia. “We’re too busy talking to get to a third game.” Even during the games, there is animated chatter and lots of laughing across the tables.

At the conclusion, prizes are awarded to the players with most wins, the most losses and the most Buncos. Prizes are provided by the hostess, paid for with money from the players. Each month at the start of the game, the ladies in the group contribute $5 to the pot. Half of that is used by the next month’s hostess to purchase prizes.

This group decided more than a year ago to donate the other half of the money to a charity. They save the money for a few months, then write a check to the charity of their choice.

“Last year, we donated to the Abused Women’s Advocacy Program,” explains hostess Denise Scammon. “We just decided that we wanted to do something worthwhile. So, we thought this is a great way to have fun and help others.”

When the points were all counted this evening, newcomer Jen, who wasn’t even sure she’d be able to follow what was going on, ended up as one of the winners.

“I can’t believe this!” she marveled as she received her prize of a woven bag stuffed full of summer goodies. Also smiling was Mary, who lived up to her winning declaration at the start of play.

The evening ended much as it began, with 12 women chatting and sharing decadent desserts of cheesecake and chocolate pie. The question now is, “When and where are we playing next month?”