Play Human Bingo
Human bingo is the best icebreaker at any party. Socializing with people is the first step, and after the game is over, you'll know more about each other in interesting ways. Here is how to play human bingo.
Steps
- Prepare the cards. Use a standard 5 x 5 square grid (as used in the regular bingo games). Create one card for each person attending the gathering.
- Also have pens or pencils for each card.
- Fill in the bingo boxes. Think of interesting human characteristics, personalities, and life facts for the bingo matches. Some examples could be:
- owns or has owned a pet
- commutes to school/work
- has never smoked before
- has gone to a sporting event
- has visited another country
- has tried a different cuisine outside of their own
- has ever won something
- has more than two pets
- has worked in another state
- has a social networking account, etc.
- Distribute the cards and pens or pencils to each person as they arrive to the party.
- Announce the game rules to everyone. You could do this either as you hand out the cards or once everyone has arrived and is ready to get to know one another.
- Tell the players that they must interview each other. Have each player go around the group and ask other people to check off one box that applies to them. Names or signatures on multiple boxes won't count.
- If your party has a very small amount of people, the signature rules are more lenient and can be signed upon if any trivia applies to the person.
- Reinforce that socializing is a must! This entire game is based around getting to know each other, so encourage chatting and getting to know one another.
- Tell the players that they must interview each other. Have each player go around the group and ask other people to check off one box that applies to them. Names or signatures on multiple boxes won't count.
- Declare the winner with a full or completed signed card. Let the players know to come to you when their card is full and you can call out the winner.
- Alternatively, you could declare winners when a row (across, up, down or diagonal) has been checked off; this depends on whether you want to speed things up or not.
- Offer a small door prize such as a chocolate bar, or a cake, to the winner.
Tips
- If you want people to find potential romantic matches, angle some of the bingo matches to reveal this, such as "arrived with a platonic friend" or "came here alone", or "looking for love".
- You can make human bingo as complex or as simple as you'd like. It depends on who you've invited and how much of a game you want to turn this into.
- Human bingo works best with larger groups. Ensure that everyone keeps circulating after a few minutes of getting to know one another though.
Warnings
- If there are some party goers who don't want to participate, ask them to help fix the dips and chips or wash some dishes. That might help to change their minds!
- Be aware that some people will make up accomplishments. It's up to you how strictly you view this. After all, if the guests are mingling properly, questions will be asked!
Things You'll Need
- Cards or standard 8 x 11" paper
- Pens or pencils
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