How to Make and Play a Bar Bingo Game with Friends

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Turn any bar into a bingo bar with this fun-filled guide
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Bar Bingo is a great adult game that takes place in bars or pubs. You and your pals start with a customized bingo board that has all types of fun things to look for and do on your night out. The more squares you cross out, the better your chances of victory (and of a Friday night you’ll never forget). You don't even need to drink anything to complete this game—just make sure you have a keen eye, camera phone, and adventurous spirit. Game on!

Bar Bingo Overview

Create unique bingo boards for all your players by hand or with a digital generator . Hand out one board to each player (and a pen to mark off squares). Give players time to complete their challenges. The first person to complete the entire board (or complete 5-in-a-row, depending on your rules), is the winner!

Section 1 of 5:

Rules for Playing Bar Crawl Bingo

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  1. Since you’ve already created your bar bingo boards before arriving at the bar, you can simply distribute them to players once you’ve all gathered together. Make sure that each person has their own personal bingo board with a unique arrangement of squares and activities. [1]
    • Don’t forget to give everyone a way to cross out the squares as they complete them—hand out permanent markers, fun stickers that fit on the squares, or a traditional bingo dauber .
  2. From here, Bingo gameplay is pretty simple—each player works to accomplish or spot the different items on their bingo board. If you have a small group, you can move around the bar (or pub) and play together. If you have a larger group, however, you may need to ask players to document that they’ve really seen or done everything that they claim that they have—have them snap photos of every item that they cross off on their bingo boards. [2]
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  3. Depending on the difficulty level of your keywords, 1-2 hours is usually a good amount of time for people to bar hop and complete their boards while also enjoying themselves. This aspect of the game also depends on how competitive your bingo game is. If you’re with a small group of people that’s just hanging out at a bar and completing the boards somewhat collaboratively, then you might not need a time limit. If, on the other hand, you’re playing with a large group that’s all racing to win, a time limit is a good idea.
    • If your large group has split up among different bars or areas, call or text the other parties if a card is completed before the time is up.
  4. Decide ahead of time what constitutes a BINGO win —you might require a full blackout for victory (i.e, every single bingo square is filled in), or just a standard bingo row or column (4- or 5-in-a-row up, down, or diagonally). If someone claims that they’ve achieved a bingo but you haven't been by their side the whole night, go through their photographic evidence (which should bring a lot of laughter to the group) to confirm their win. [3]
    • It’s up to you whether you want to play with prizes. If this is just a casual night out, you might simply issue bragging rights to the winner—or buy them a free drink.
    • Alternatively, you could come up with a tangible prize for the winner. Maybe a novelty trophy, keychain, or something related to the event—e.g., a leprechaun hat for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration .
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Section 2 of 5:

How to Create a Bar Bingo Board

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  1. There are two different types of things you could include in your bingo squares: (1) items or events that you’d spot in a bar, and (2) challenges or activities for your players to complete. For instance, some squares may be crossed off if someone spots a pool table or a drunk couple who’s arguing. Other squares may be crossed off if someone in your group gets their shirt signed by a bartender or dances the YMCA in the middle of the bar.
    • For more ideas for your bar bingo spaces, click here .
  2. For maximum fun, choose a 4 x 4 (16 squares) or 5 x 5 (25 squares) bingo board. You can easily make a bingo board by hand on a piece of paper (although keep in mind that you’ll have to make enough copies of the board for all players). Alternatively, use an online bingo board generator to create your boards before printing copies for your team, or print copies of a digital template and fill in the squares by hand. [4]
  3. Instead of having “BINGO” at the top of the cards, substitute it with “DRINK” or “BOOZE” (this is bar bingo, after all). Alternatively, you can be more creative and choose a word that’s personalized to your group of players. For example, maybe you’re playing bar bingo in honor of someone’s birthday or a bachelor/bachelorette party. You could place the honoree’s name at the top of the board, or do a related word like “PARTY,” “BRIDE,” OR “OLDIES.”
  4. In traditional bingo, the “FREE” space is included in the same place on everyone’s board. It can be crossed off immediately and counts toward each player’s (potential) winning pattern. [5] Since you’re playing bar bingo, you can get a bit more creative if you want! Consider replacing the “FREE” space with a fun or flirty emoji that’s related to your night out: e.g., 🍻, 🍷, 🍹, 🔥, 💯, 💃🏻, 🪩, or 💍.
    • In lieu of a “FREE” space, you could also include an easy-to-accomplish challenge…like “drink some water!”
    • Keep in mind that there’s no “center” square if you’re playing with a 4 x 4 grid. In that case, you can just skip the “FREE” space since this smaller board is easier to win on anyways.
  5. Now for the fun part—fill out your bingo board with all of the items, missions, actions, and activities you came up with earlier. Every square should involve something you can see, find, or do in a bar setting. Make sure that every bingo board has the different keywords in different spots on the board—otherwise, everything could win at the same time! [6]
    • Depending on the size of your group and how you’re creating your boards, you may also want to vary which keywords and challenges are included on each board.
    • Click here if you need more ideas for your bar bingo spaces.
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Section 3 of 5:

Ideas for Bar Bingo Spaces

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  1. 1
    Spotting an item or object Think up any foods, drinks, decorations, or clothing items that you’d expect to see in a bar or pub. These spaces are especially good to include because they’re easier to accomplish than a task or dare. However, don’t include too many of them, or your game would be over more quickly than you’d like! Here are some examples to choose from: [7]
    • “Spot a mojito” (could be any alcoholic drink—e.g., lager, red wine, piña colada)
    • “Spot a drink with an umbrella on it”
    • “Spot a bowl of potato chips”
    • “Spot a specials board”
    • “Spot a dog”
    • “Spot a lost hat or pair of sunglasses”
    • “Spot holiday or fairy lights”
    • “Spot a cup of dice or deck of cards”
    • “Spot a broken glass”
    • “Spot a forgotten wallet, credit card, or ID”
    • “Spot a piece of bachelor or bachelorette paraphernalia”
    • “Spot a party wig”
    • “Spot a cocktail shaker”
    • “Spot a lipstick mark on a glass”
  2. 2
    Spotting a person or event One of the best things to do at a bar is people watch, and this category of bingo squares takes it to the next level! Basically, you have to find a fellow bargoer that’s behaving in a way that’s specified on the bingo square. Just be sure to be respectful of others at the bar, especially if you’re snapping pics as part of your bingo game. Here are some fun examples for your bingo squares: [8]
    • “Spot someone rocking painfully tall heels”
    • “Spot someone in a bro tank”
    • “Spot a couple engaging in over-the-top PDA”
    • “Spot a sports game playing on the TV”
    • “Spot a dirty piece of bathroom graffiti”
    • “Spot someone spill a drink”
    • “Hear ABBA’s ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ being played”
    • “Spot someone taking a picture of their drink”
    • “Spot someone wearing college or university gear”
    • “Spot someone with dark hair and green eyes”
    • “Spot someone vomiting”
    • “Spot a customer being 86’d”
    • “Hear LMFAO’s “Shots” being played.”
    • “Spot a customer tying (or attempting to tie) a cherry with their tongue”
  3. 3
    Completing a fun or silly challenge Part of what makes bar bingo so fun is that it’s super customizable and interactive. If you include lots of goofy challenges on your board, you’re sure to end the night with lots of funny stories to share! Plus, snapping pics of all of these tasks will make sure your memories last long after the night is over. Here are some ideas of harmless and silly challenges for your bingo board: [9]
    • “Win a round of darts”
    • “Take a picture with the bartender”
    • “Find someone who has the same first name as you”
    • “Ask a stranger what they want for Christmas”
    • “Order a drink in a British accident”
    • “Get a free shot from someone not in you group”
    • “Take a group selfie”
    • “Request for the DJ to play ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber”
    • “Compliment someone on their mustache”
    • “Check in on Facebook”
    • “Give anyone a piggy back ride”
    • “Buy the guest of honor (i.e., birthday girl, bachelor) a drink”
    • “Get the whole bar to sing ‘Happy Birthday’”
    • “Start a conga line”
  4. 4
    Completing a spicy or naughty challenge If you want to take things up a notch with your bingo game, include some PG-13 tasks on your board. These could involve flirting, kissing, drinking, or anything else that you’d file under a particularly ~wild~ night out. Just make sure to be respectful of the bar environment and staff—you don’t want to get kicked out!—and alternate these squares with tamer tasks so that all of your players can participate regardless of their comfort level. Here are some examples: [10]
    • “Ask a stranger if you can borrow a condom”
    • “Yell ‘last call’ or tell someone the bar is closed”
    • “Get a stranger’s phone number”
    • “Do a shot with the bartender”
    • “Text your ex ‘I still think you’re cute, btw’”
    • “Order (and drink) a Vegas bomb”
    • “Dance on a chair or table”
    • “Steal a coaster from the bar”
    • “Take a shot through a straw”
    • “Foam someone’s beer bottle”
    • “Do a green tea shot”
    • “Do a two-person tequila shot (with salt and lime)”
    • “Steal someone’s bingo board”
    • “Chug a beer in 5 seconds (timed!)”
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Section 4 of 5:

Variation: Human Bar Bingo

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  1. Play Human Bingo by only including human characteristics in each square. In Human Bingo , each “task” asks players to find someone who fits the specific statement or trait written in each square. Players must find someone who matches each description and write their names (or have them write their signature) in the corresponding square. The first person to complete a row, column, diagonal, or the entire board yells “Bingo!” to win. [11]
    • If you’re playing at a bar, you can choose between limiting play to only your group, or you can allow players to include unknown bargoers who match the written characteristics.
    • Human Bingo is a particularly good game when played amongst a group that doesn’t know each other that well. The players will have to chat and make small talk in order to find the answers to their questions, getting to know each other better in the process!
    • Here are some sample bingo square ideas for Human Bingo:
      • “Favorite color is green”
      • “Has a younger sibling”
      • “Enjoys country music”
      • “Enjoys camping”
      • “Wears glasses”
      • “Likes Hawaiian pizza”
      • “Owns a celebrity autograph”
      • “Can touch their nose with their tongue”
      • “Lived in a country outside their birth country”
      • “Born in the same month as you”
      • “(Still) has a Nintendo Wii”
      • “Has curly hair”
      • “Plays a musical instrument”
      • “Is left-handed”
      • “Has met someone famous”
Section 5 of 5:

Other Games to Play at a Bar

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  1. Looking for new ideas to keep the party going all night long? We’ve got you covered! Check out the links below for more fun and easy games to play with friends at the pub or bar:
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      Warnings

      • If you and your group are drinking, please do so responsibly. Only include drinking in your game if all players are of a legal drinking age, and make sure that no one drives home or travels home alone once intoxicated.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://bingobarcrawl.com/bar-games
      2. ↑ https://www.citybeat.com/news/bar-crawl-bingo-12178190
      3. ↑ https://uncustomary.org/bar-crawl-scavenger-hunt/
      4. ↑ https://teacherbingo.com/bingo/how-to-create-bingo-game
      5. ↑ https://teacherbingo.com/bingo/how-to-create-bingo-game
      6. ↑ https://teacherbingo.com/bingo/how-to-create-bingo-game
      7. ↑ https://www.scavenger-hunt-fun.com/birthday-bar-crawl.html
      8. ↑ https://www.scavenger-hunt-fun.com/birthday-bar-crawl.html
      9. ↑ https://www.scavenger-hunt-fun.com/birthday-bar-crawl.html
      1. ↑ https://www.partygameideas.com/bachelorette-bingo/
      2. ↑ https://blog.tcea.org/human-bingo-a-fun-and-effective-icebreaker/

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