How to Organize a Bingo Night

Bingo can be enjoyed by people of all ages because it’s easy to understand, play and execute in the form of fundraisers in schools, churches, and other non-profit organizations. It can be enjoyed with a big number of people in attendance and is very sociable and family-friendly. Families have also bonded with their kids by hosting bingo fundraisers of their own, and we can say that there’s nothing cuter than a small child commanding the room, rolling the bingo machine, and calling out a number. Even if you prefer online bingo sessions, there are sites like City Bingo worth checking out.

So what is Bingo?

If you are unfamiliar with this game, it starts with everyone participating being given a card with a set amount of numbers on them, with each card having different numbers and arrangements. A bingo machine is brought in to shuffle the labeled tiles or balls in them, and a person will be shuffling and picking one out to call and those who have the numbers can cross them off on their card. After a series of random numbers have been called, whoever is first to cross off all their numbers will be dubbed the winner, attaining what is called ‘full house’.

The logistics behind a Bingo Fundraiser

Due to the game itself is so well known and simple to execute on its own, the real work behind organizing a whole fundraiser oriented around Bingo and raising as much profit as you can be the real challenge. Here are a few tips on how you can make your fundraiser attractive with some money-making techniques you can employ.

Finding the right place

You’ll have to start off predicting how many visitors you will be hosting for the event and who you are planning on hosting. If it is for a school festival, you might need to accommodate a large number of students and their parents so you will have to book a bigger venue to accommodate them all. Other venues that could be related to the organizations you will be raising the funds for, such as churches and sports clubs, mostly have venues that can accommodate the public and streaming of human traffic comfortably.

If you are hosting Bingo Night, they usually come with refreshments so make sure that you also have enough space for catering or even a bar.

Bingo Night catering

There’re many popular catering dishes that you can serve, with some being curry, bolognese, soup, and chili con carne. By serving food, you will be able to sell your tickets at a higher value with the promise of food and a fun social game. You can also consider more sizable meals if the venue and budget allow, such as pizza, barbecue, and fish and chips.

If your event is related to a festival or takes place during a particular holiday, you can also choose dishes that go well with the theme so your participants can have a more immersive experience.

Drinks are another good way to up your catering game, such as soft drinks, alcohol, tea, and coffee. If it’s for an event with adults and you are considering serving alcohol, you can do so by applying for a license to set up a bar or choose a venue that comes with one.

Preparing the game sets

Bingo cards

Bingo sets usually work with numbers up to 100 with its cards using a grid system of 10 to 14 numbers. You can buy these cards easily online or from charity supply companies, so you might want to purchase more as some people like to buy several bingo cards to mark them at the same time and increase their odds.

If you are worried about the cards being too easy or that they are in an order that is uncomfortable, there is another way around this! You can also hand out bingo cards with blank grids so that your participants can fill up their cards before the round starts. With this tactic, you can also encourage people to swap cards with their neighbors and watch neighbors start convincing each other that their numbers are lucky. This can help your participants socialize faster and result in much laughter! Logistics wise, you will have to make sure you give out plenty of cards and pens.

The Bingo Caller

The Bingo Caller isn’t just the person that calls out random numbers through the session. Bingo Callers can make or break your event, and good Callers should have the charisma and wit of a good emcee. You will have to look out for someone that is not just able to make the session boisterous and good-natured, they will also have to be authoritative enough.

They will be the ones shuffling the balls or cards in the Bingo machine and pulling the number to be called, which will be put aside onto a grid to double-check the cards of winners.

If your event will be seeing experienced Bingo players, you should get a Bingo Caller that is also familiar with ‘Bingo Lingo’.

Beginning the game

As mentioned before, the first person to get a ‘full house’ for getting all the numbers that have been called will be the winner. After the lucky player calls ‘house’, the Caller will go over to check their card and see if they are eligible to win the prize.

There are actually other winning titles in Bingo. They are definitely not winning as big as ‘full house’ is, but you can make the night more exciting by awarding smaller prizes along the way.

‘Line’ can be called for the first player to mark a completed straight line across the card.

‘Corners’ can be called for the first player who completed all the four corners of the card.

Prizes

If you are worried about your prizes being too lackluster, it is important to remember that most people participate in fundraisers just for the fun of it, so you should tally your expectations and prizes accordingly! Some event organizers are even able to get sponsored prizes, so it’s really up to you!

Scheduling your Bingo rounds

It can be difficult to predict the average time a Bingo session takes, especially if you are a first time organizer. Here is a rough guideline of what you can expect and how you can schedule the activities around the game durations.

It usually takes around 15 minutes in the average Bingo game, one with 100 numbers, to get their first win. You will also have to decide on how many rounds will be played after seeing how many people are playing.

The general schedule for a Bingo Night is rotated around three to four rounds before and after an ‘intermission’ for your players to enjoy their meals. Three to four rounds will take about an hour, and you can choose to end the night early with three rounds if they took longer than expected. All in all, flexibility is key, so monitor according to the mood of the event! Make sure to have additional cards on standby too, in case more rounds are played than expected.

Some money-making tactics

Bingo Nights can sometimes be long, so what comes with it is many opportunities to raise money for your organization or cause! If you will be charging an all-in-one price for participating in the evening with the catered food and drinks, it would be a straightforward way of charging.

Some organizers though, prefer to charge per game along with the option to pay if players wanted extra cards to increase their odds of winning.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this guide has helped to raise a few pointers for you to keep a note of and make the preparations smoother! Being a fundraiser organizer is no easy feat, but with Bingo being such a well-loved classic game, you will find how it brings together people from all walks of life for a good cause to be extremely rewarding.