How to Play Human Bingo

Human Bingo is an entertaining variation on classic bingo. This game allows everyone at a party or in a work group to meet, without subjecting everyone to a round of circular introductions that follow the boring format of name, hometown and professional specialty. People get more comfortable with each other and remember more about each other when you use this game to introduce everyone in a dynamic and flexible environment.

Things You'll Need

• Printer paper
• Computer
• Printer
• Markers
• Timer

Instructions

1. Design a set of bingo cards on the computer. They should all have at least as many squares as you will have players, and each square should have a different quality or trait, such as "goal-oriented," "plays the harmonica," or "has visited another country." They can all be identical because the goal is for everyone to fill their card rather than get a full line. However, to make the game more challenging and prevent people from simply referring each other to the proper person for a signature, you may make the cards slightly different by having different questions on different cards.

2. Print the cards out on white printer paper. If you wish, print them on heavy paper to make them more durable.

3. Hand each person a card and a marker. The goal is to get a different person's signature on each square of the card. For example, if you meet a person who owns a dog and a cat, you can only get them to initial one of those squares.

4. Allow 10 to 30 minutes for everyone to fill their card. The amount of time you allot will depend on the size of your group. Make it long enough for people to introduce themselves and converse briefly, but not so long that people begin to segregate into small groups and avoid talking to everyone.

5. Run through the questions and the people who met the qualifications. Have each person who initialed a square stand when you call out that square. This will help people begin to recognize each other and also expose traits and other things in common that they might not previously have been aware of.