Most people are familiar with the game of bingo. Even those people who have never played bingo, probably do know how the game is played. However, just in case you are one of those rare few who don’t know how to play, he are instructions:
1. One person acts as the bingo caller (and referee), the others act as players.
2. Each of the players is given a bingo card containing a grid of squares (normally 5 by 5, but other sizes may be used), with each square containing a different number.
3. The bingo caller calls out the numbers in a random order, and players mark off the squares containing that number from their cards.
4. The player’s objective is to get a row, column or diagonal of squares marked off (or in some variants, other shapes or all the items on the card). When a player achieves this he shouts “Bingo!”, and the first who shouts this is the winner.
There are of course many variants of the game, and it is these variants that are bringing bingo to the attention of a much wider audience. Some examples of these include:
- Baby Shower Bingo – Played as a baby shower game, using bingo cards printed with items related to babies.
- Wedding Shower Bingo – Played at wedding and bridal showers, this time using bingo cards with items related weddings.
- Holiday Bingo – Bingo played on special occasions such as Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day, July 4th, Halloween or Thanksgiving – however themed for the day by using bingo cards containing items relating to the particular holiday.
- Educational Bingo – Bingo is also as increasingly popular activity with teachers and educators. Educational variants of bingo are commonly played in schools, colleges, Sunday schools, and in ESL classes. Once again specially printed bingo cards are used, be it with words student must learn to read, math problems, names of countries or cities, chemical elements, or anything else.
The common thread running through all these different variants of bingo, is that non-standard bingo cards are used. In some cases, it may be possible to order preprinted cards from a specialist publisher, although this can get expensive fast! In other cases, preprinted cards may simply not be available. As a result, usually the best option is for the game organizer to prepare the bingo cards – fortunately with the help of a computer and suitable bingo card maker software, this can be a quick and easy job.
By: Sunil Tanna
If you want to play bingo, of course you need bingo cards – one for each player. However, as far as traditional bingo (the game played using bingo cards printed with numbers) is concerned, there is probably no desperate need to create the cards yourself. However these days, the traditional game is not the be all and end all of bingo. More and more people are taking to playing themed versions of the game, and these versions of bingo require custom cards printed with words or phrases relating to the particular theme, rather than the traditional numbered cards.
Perhaps the most popular themed versions of bingo are those based around holidays and seasonal events. For example, you could play versions of bingo tying in with any secular or religious occasion, be it Christmas, July 4th, President’s Day, Columbus Day, Easter, Halloween, St. Valentine’s Day, or for that matter, any other day too. Whatever the occasion, all you need is bingo cards printed with items relating to the theme, so things like “Egg” and “Resurrection” for Easter, “Black Cat” and “Witch” for Halloween, and “Nativity” and “Silent Night” for Christmas.
Themed versions of bingo are also popular in educational environments, especially K-12 and English as Second Language. In this situation, the teacher picks a theme based on the subject and lesson plan, and students play bingo in class. Game play can also be varied to enhance the educational content of the game, so in a math class, the bingo cards might be printed with math problems and the students required to write in the answers rather than simply mark off squares, and in a foreign language class, these could be made in one language which students must match against cards printed in another language.
Regardless of the theme or the reason for playing, the main thing that is needed to play is of course the custom bingo cards. The best way to prepare custom ones is to get your computer to do the work – using bingo card maker software, you can print an unlimited quantity of cards, on any topic you like, with consummate ease.
By: Sunil Tanna
