Woman’s Literary Union to host bunco party

AUBURN — The Woman’s Literary Union will host a bunco party event from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Foss Mansion, 19 Elm St., Auburn, as part of Auburn’s Winter Fest.

Bunco is a popular game played with dice. No knowledge or experience is required.

Bunco originated in 19th-century England and was imported to San Francisco as a gambling activity in 1855, where it gave its name to gambling parlors or “bunco parlors.” After the Civil War, the game evolved into a popular parlor game.

During the 1920s and Prohibition, bunco was repopularized as a gambling game, often associated with speakeasies. Law-enforcement groups raiding those parlors came to be known as “bunco squads.”

As it is played today, bunco is a social dice game involving 100 percent luck and no skill, as there are no decisions to be made. The object of the game is to accumulate points and to roll certain combinations. The winners get prizes for accomplishments such as the highest score, the lowest score or the most buncos.

Doors open at 1:30 p.m. with the game starting at 2 p.m. Suggested donation of $10 per person will go to the Horatio and Ella Foss Mansion Restoration Fund.

For tickets, call Carol Mashaw 207-713-5888. Reservation deadline is Friday, Jan. 27.