Bingo

This variation of bingo is a fun way to meet other people at an official meeting or party without having to go through the motions of small talking everyone in the room for networking. Nice to meet you bingo has been recently tried at official parties across the country and has been a hit.

This game works due to a lot of reasons. Firstly it’s a brilliant way to break the ice. If you have at least 15 people in one room half of which don’t know the other half, meeting or training sessions can get strained. Nice to meet you bingo works effectively at breaking this barrier. Secondly, not a lot of infrastructure is required to make this game work. A pen and bingo cards each and you’re in business.

What you do is instead of bingo numbers, you put down not commonly found, human characteristics on the bingo cards. Some characteristics that work well for official bingo games are listed below.

• Own’s a dog
• Is over 6 feet tall
• Drives a SUV
• Has dimples in both cheeks
• Has a Ph.D.
• Is from another country
• Plays the piano
• Has three children
• Is mother to twins
• Has travelled abroad

Then you put aside a time frame for the players. In that time they have to get their bingo cards initialled by the people who have that particular characteristic. So, essentially, everyone goes around the room with their bingo cards, looking for someone of a particular characteristic to initial their cards. This way they ask a lot of questions and answer some at the same time. Now, the time frame provided is a sensitive issue. It should be enough for the people to mingle and get to know each other at a basic level. But it shouldn’t be so long that people segregate into new groups and start discussions after getting their bingo cards initialled.

Nice to meet you bingo is a great ice breaker and can be reinvented with different characteristics for children’s parties, high school reunions, family days at work or simply for family gatherings. Either way, it works its magic and has strangers mingling in no time, whatsoever. So the next time you have an official training or seminar, host or suggest this game. Try it out. It’ll be an instant hit with everyone saying Nice to Meet You, Bingo!