People bingo is a great ice breaker game for adults because it's fun, easy to organize and almost everyone knows how to play. In as little as 30 minutes, you can energize a classroom or a meeting and help your students or coworkers get to know each other better with just a handful of bingo cards and some clever questions.
Whether your event has three people or 300, it's easy to play people bingo. Here's how to get started.
Create Your People Bingo Questions
Pre-made Bingo Cards you can print with terms Has a pet, Plays a musical instrument, Likes to eat Pizza, Knows how to swim, Can whistle, Was born in same month as you, Is left handed, Wears eyeglasses, Is the youngest in family, Was born in October, Went to the beach this summer, Has blonde hair, Is the oldest child in family, Is missing a tooth, Can ride a bicycle, Went out of state this.
If you know your participants, make a list of 25 interesting traits that describe different aspects of them, things like, “plays the bongos,” “once lived in Sweden,” “has a karate trophy,” “has twins” or “has a tattoo.”
If you don’t know your participants, make a list of more general traits like “drinks tea instead of coffee,” “loves the color orange,” “has two cats,” “drives a hybrid” or “went on a cruise in the last year.” You can make these easy or difficult depending on how much time you want the game to take.
Make Your People Bingo Cards
It's very easy to make your own bingo cards using regular printer paper. There also are lots of places online where you can create customized people bingo cards. Some are free; some are not. One site, Teachnology, has a card maker that allows you to shuffle the phrases on each card. Another site, Print-Bingo.com, allows you to customize with your own words or use their suggestions.
Start Playing People Bingo
You can play this game with up to 30 people. If your group is larger than that, consider dividing participants into smaller teams of equal size.
When you’re ready to play, give each participant a people bingo card and a pen. Explain that the group has 30 minutes to mingle, introduce themselves and find people who match the traits on the card. They must put the person’s name in the corresponding box or have the person sign the appropriate square.
The first person to fill five boxes across or down yells BINGO! and the game is over. For extra fun, give the winner a door prize.
Share Your Experiences
Ask participants to introduce themselves and share an interesting trait they learned about someone else or describe how they feel now that they know their peers better. When we take the time to get to know each other, barriers dissolve, people open up and learning can take place.
Don't have 30 minutes to spare for games at your meeting or class? Check out some other games from this list of top ice breaker party games for adults. Whatever game you choose, remember to have fun. Who knows who you'll meet?
Almost everyone knows how to play bingo, and many people can sing the B-I-N-G-O song for you, although it's entirely unrelated!
People Bingo follows ordinary bingo rules, except that the game is played while mingling in the classroom or at a party looking for specific 'people' characteristics. Find a person with a characteristic on your card and mark it or write their name down.
You can buy People Bingo cards, but if you like making your own, we've got step-by-step instructions and several lists of great characteristics to get you started. The great thing about making your own cards is that you can customize them for your group, especially if you know a little bit about the people playing.
For more ideas, you can look at People Bingo Idea List No. 2 and People Bingo Idea List No. 3.