Guides
Longer answers to the questions that come up when you are planning a game: how many words you need, what "unique" really means, how to call, which patterns to play and how to adapt bingo for a classroom or a party.
- How many unique bingo cards can a word list make?The combinations behind the uniqueness guarantee, why 24 words give every card the same set, and a table from 24 to 60 words.
- How to host a bingo gameRules, what to hand out, calling pace, nine winning patterns as pictures, and variations for classrooms, showers and parties.
Quick answers
- How many words for a 5 x 5 game? At least 26 (with a free centre) for 200 different cards; 48 to 75 makes them feel different. With exactly 24 words every card has the same words and a full-card game ends for everyone at once.
- How many cards can I make? Up to 200 per game. Every card has a different arrangement, and as long as your list is long enough every card also has a different set of words.
- How fast should I call? One call every 10 to 15 seconds for adults with short words; 20 to 30 seconds for children, language learners, and definition or picture calls.
- How long is a game? In a class-sized game on 5 x 5 cards from a 45-word list, the first line usually falls between the tenth and sixteenth call: about three to four minutes at an adult pace, twice that for children. A full card takes most of the list.
- Which pattern first? A line. Then four corners or a postage stamp for a quick second round, then an X, a frame or a full card if there is time.
- How many words in a word search? Ten to fifteen for early readers, fifteen to twenty for most classes, up to thirty for adults, on a grid with at least one and a half to two times as many cells as there are letters in the words.
Which tool for which job
- Cards with a caller (party bingo, classroom review, holiday games): the bingo card generator with the caller sheet, and the on-screen caller for a projector.
- Cards without a caller (gift bingo, reception bingo, road trip bingo, human bingo): the same generator with the caller sheet unticked. The themes include a prefilled list for each.
- A quiet activity for a center, a substitute's lesson plan or a party table: the word search maker with an answer key.
How the cards and puzzles are generated, and what the tools guarantee, is on the methodology page. New guides are announced in the changelog.