Bingo is one of the most popular games of all time, and people all over the world love playing it in person or online, at casinos like Slingo.
If you fancy hosting your own bingo night, it’s pretty straightforward and can be a great way to have some fun with friends, or raise some money for charity.
Read our blog for our top tips on how to make sure your bingo night is a hit, from picking the right venue to inviting a bingo caller and more.
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Pick a venue
If you’re only planning a small bingo game for friends, you’ll probably be fine doing it in someone’s house. However, if you’re expecting a bigger turnout you will need to find a suitable venue. You may be able to hire a church or village hall for the event, and if you work out the costs accurately you should be able to cover the venue hire and still have plenty of money left over for your chosen charity.
When you’re deciding on a venue, make sure that there are enough tables and chairs for everyone, and think about where you’ll source extra from if necessary.
Choose a charity
If you’re playing a very small game at home with friends, it’s possible that you might just play for cash. However, most organised bingo events (other than those in dedicated bingo halls) are for charity. Decide on a charity that is close to your heart, or one within the local community.
When you’re promoting the event be sure to explain how buying a ticket and attending the event will benefit the charity, to encourage people to support the cause.
Consider food and drink
Although there’s no requirement to serve food and drink at a bingo night, it could be a good way to raise more money for charity. You could ask people to bring homemade cakes to sell, or see if any local cafes would be interested in donating some food.
You could also sell soft drinks for a bargain price, or include a drink in the price of the ticket.
Familiarise yourself with the game
Bingo is a pretty straightforward game, but it’s important to familiarise yourself with the rules first – and to make sure the players know what to do too. Standard bingo games have 90 balls and award three prizes, for one line, two line and full house. However, there are other bingo variations that involve fewer balls and different winning patterns; for example, four corners or an L shape on the bingo card.
Find a bingo caller
It’s great if you know an experienced bingo caller who can help – but we know that’s pretty unlikely! This isn’t a problem, since anyone can play the role of bingo caller. All you’ll need is a loud voice (or a microphone!), an understanding of the rules, and a list of common bingo calls to read out.
Get the right equipment
To host a bingo game, you’ll need enough bingo cards for everyone. You will also need bingo daubers (or simply felt-tip pens) for people to mark off numbers with, and if you want to keep it traditional you’ll also need to buy a bingo cage with balls. However, this isn’t strictly necessary these days as you can use a computer to generate bingo numbers and even call them out if required. This is a good way of keeping costs down – all you’ll need is a laptop and an internet connection.
Organise the prizes
We know it’s the taking part that counts, but it’s always exciting to have a chance to win something! Cash prizes are traditional, but many bingo games offer a physical prize instead so that it is a bit more similar to a raffle. Prizes could include gift vouchers for local shops or restaurants, hampers of food, bottles of wine, or anything else you can think of.
Advertise your event
It’s all well and good organising a great bingo night, but if no-one knows about it your efforts will all be in vain! Advertise your bingo night with posters, on social media and maybe even in the local newspaper. Get your friends to spread the word and hopefully you’ll have a fantastic turnout.
Make sure to include the date, time, location and price on your adverts, as well as if the price includes any food or drink. Let people know if it will be cash only, and if there are any age restrictions.
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