Activity ideas
How to play word bingo: a host's guide
Pick a winning pattern, give each player a card and check off words as you call them. The practice round shows how to check a claim.
Before the first bingo call, tell everyone which pattern wins and how the free center works. Give each player a card and keep the matching call list for yourself. A quick practice round helps everyone see what to do.
Choose the words and a winning pattern
Choose a theme the players will enjoy. School Supplies works for a classroom topic; Birthday Party suits a celebration. Read unfamiliar words together before the game so players know what to listen for.
Make School Supplies bingo cards
Make Birthday Party bingo cards
A 3 × 3 card with a free center is a compact place to start. It needs eight different words. Show the winning pattern on a sample card: a row across, a column down or a diagonal, for example. Agree whether the free center counts automatically.
Check the words needed for each card size
Make the cards and call list together
Make enough cards for the group in one set and keep its call list. Every card has a different arrangement and an ID. Players will still share many of the same words, so decide how to handle a tie before you begin.
Words used
pencil · pen · eraser · sharpener · ruler · notebook · folder · binder · paper · scissors · glue · tape · crayon · marker · highlighter · paintbrush · calculator · backpack · lunchbox · stapler · clipboard · protractor · compass · index card
Call listfolder · glue · scissors · paper · clipboard · highlighter · crayon · sharpener · protractor · stapler · eraser · compass · index card · tape · pencil · pen · backpack · calculator · binder
Check the card IDs before handing them out. Printing the same PDF twice creates two copies of every card. If more players join, make one larger set, up to 50 cards, and print that set together.
Play a round
Show the pattern
Point to a row or another agreed pattern on a sample card. Explain the free center if there is one.
Call a word
Read a word from the host list clearly. Give everyone time to find it; repeat the word or spell it if helpful.
Check it off
Mark the word on your host list so you can check a winning claim later.
Pause for bingo
Ask for the card ID and compare the words in the claimed line with the calls you have marked.
Start the next round
Explain whether to clear the cards, keep the marks for a new pattern or use a new set.
Try three calls with the example above. The top row of card PT-E1D059C0-001 reads eraser, calculator, pencil. Call each word and check it off on the host list. After the third call, all three words in that row have been called.
| Call | Find it on the first card | Check the host list |
|---|---|---|
| 1: eraser | Top-left square | Check off eraser. The row still needs calculator and pencil. |
| 2: calculator | Top-middle square | Check off calculator. The row now needs pencil. |
| 3: pencil | Top-right square | Check off pencil. All three words in the top row have been called. |
Before the first call
- The group knows the words on the cards.
- The list has enough different words for the chosen card size.
- The cards and call list belong to the same set.
- Everyone knows the winning pattern and free-center rule.
- You have a pencil for checking off calls.
- Everyone knows what happens if two players win together.
If a card is hard to read, try larger text or fewer squares before the next round. Keep the cards and marked call list together until the round ends. Explain any new winning pattern before you start calling again.