How to Play Human Bingo

Co-authored by Hannah Madden Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: July 18, 2024

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

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1
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.
2
Fill in the bingo boxes. Think of interesting human characteristics, personalities, and life facts for the bingo matches. Some examples could be:^{[1]
X
Research source}
- 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.
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4
Announce the game rules to everyone.^{[2]
X
Research source} 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.^{[3]
  X
  Research source} Names or signatures on multiple boxes won't count.
  - If your party has a very small number 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.
5
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.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I win the match?

HumanBeing

Top Answerer

The first person to cross off all the boxes on the card wins the game. You can award prizes for the first person to get a match for every question on the corners of the card or to get a line of crosses on the card, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

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Question

Can I play this with my 5 cats as I have no friends?

JTrinidad Castillo-Sanchez

Community Answer

Sure. No one is judging. But that might not go too well if the cats are mean to each other.

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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".

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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.

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Human bingo works best with larger groups. Ensure that everyone keeps circulating after a few minutes of getting to know one another though.

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Warnings

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!

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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!

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