What makes a memorable game night? Is it inviting the right number of people or serving the best food? A lot of it comes down to choosing the right game. Surprise your friends and turn the next game night into the greatest themed bingo night. You can even play online bingo for a modern twist.

Hosting the greatest bingo night your friends have ever been to is not an impossible task, regardless of whether you’re hosting a game for your work friends or your other close friends and family. Here’s a comprehensive guide to turn you into the host you’ve always wanted to be. 

Choose Your Platform

First things first, choose your platform. If you know how to host a bingo game online, you can have a virtual bingo night with your friends playing on computers or mobile devices. Another bonus is that you don’t need an online bingo host since the game does all the work for you. 

If you prefer playing with real bingo balls and bingo cards and you know how to run a bingo night in person, this might be your first choice. Regardless of which you prefer, both methods have their perks, but using physical equipment and cards might require more prep time. 

Choose Your Preferred Bingo Game

Next, decide if you want to play a group favorite bingo game or shake things up with a novel bingo variation since there are many exciting bingo variations to choose from. You could play 75-ball bingo, 80-ball bingo, 90-ball bingo, or even 30-ball bingo. 

Pro Hosting Tip

Maybe you like the extra bingo chat games and trivia you get when you play bingo online? Why not play 30-ball bingo speed rounds in your event and play bingo “chat” games in between every round? These can be trivia games for extra prizes that allow you to incorporate your theme if you have one. 

Choose a Theme For Your In-Person Bingo Night

It’s time to look at your group and decide whether they’d appreciate a clever theme or prefer a plain and simple game night. 

Themes are a great way to elevate your bingo night and bring all the elements together. You can have a murder mystery bingo night where players discover clues as they mark off numbers. Or you can create a bingo night based on your favorite TV shows or movies and throw in some questions for extra points. Why don’t you give an 80s-themed bingo night a bash? Even if you were born long before or after this decade, the big hair, shoulder pads, and great music can still make it a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, if you do want a theme, you’ll have to set up your bingo night in person, as you’re locked into whatever bingo games you can find online. However, if you spend some time doing your homework, you may be able to find a virtual bingo platform that offers interesting versions of bingo that you and your friends might enjoy, saving you the time that you’d need to spend setting up on the day.

Pro Hosting Tip

Themes don’t have to be complicated. Host a Mexican-themed event and bring your favorite Mexican treats and snacks. You can even play Mexican-themed games at Borgata Online Casino. We recommend Red Hot Tamales and Spinata Grande. Go ahead and buy some sombreros for a unique bingo prize.

Get Everything You Need

Bingo is an excellent group game. It’s easy to learn and follow. It’s also inexpensive to host a bingo game night, even with a large group. Here’s everything you’ll need for a physical or virtual bingo night.  

Virtual Bingo Night

Prepare for your virtual bingo night by ensuring you have all the essentials ready before the big event. Items you’ll need include:

• Cell phones: Ask all players to bring their fully charged cell phones so they can view their online bingo cards and mark them off.
• A spare phone charger: This is for that phone-addicted friend who will manage to deplete their battery before the game begins. You know who they are.
• A virtual bingo interface: Download a virtual bingo app, or use a website like Borgata Bingo. Make sure you do a test run before the night. You can also help your friends join a Borgata Bingo game of your choice.
• Online number generator: Why pick numbers when a simple website can generate numbers randomly? A quick online search will provide some great options to help speed up the process.
• A TV screen or projector: This depends on the size of your group. A screen lets your friends see the numbers and any other features.
• Good internet and Wi-Fi: If you usually play bingo online with friends or alone, you probably already have a good enough Wi-Fi setup to ensure everything runs smoothly for your guests. 

Old-School Bingo Night

Planning to keep things old school? It still pays to be prepared. Gather these items in advance so your party can go off without a hitch:

• Bingo cage and bingo balls: These help you pick numbers randomly. If you’re truly after an authentic bingo experience, purchase a bingo set online for $20 or less.
• Markers: For players to mark off their bingo cards.
• Bingo cards: You can purchase these or find free printable cards online. Make sure to use the right ones for your bingo variation. 

Pro Hosting Tip

Take a look online for free, themed printable bingo cards for you to use. You could even personalize them for your event.

Items to Make Your Bingo Night Even Better

Looking for ways to make your bingo night even better? These items will help make your bingo night unforgettable.

Great Food and Snacks

Good snacks and treats can make or break a game night. Keep catering simple and think of getting easy-to-eat foods that won’t leave your guests with sticky fingers. If you can, coordinate your treats with your theme. For example, on a Halloween-themed bingo night, you could prepare mini spider pizzas, jack-o’-lantern quesadillas, or jalapeno popper mummies. Just have fun with it. 

Pro Hosting Tip

For smaller gatherings, don’t be scared to delegate. Ask your friends to bring their own themed snack or creation to the party. This also makes your life easier for your friends who have specific diets, such as your vegan friends or those who might have a gluten intolerance. If your friends need an extra incentive, you can set a prize for the most creative snack.  

A Backup Game or Side Games

Every good game night host knows it’s wise to do two things. Firstly, always pick the game beforehand. Secondly, always have a backup game. For a foolproof bingo night, have some backup games set aside to help keep things fresh and exciting. Remember that bingo can get repetitive after a while, so some of your friends may appreciate switching things up every few games. During intervals, always introduce mini-activities to mix things up and make the evening more entertaining. 

Pro Hosting Tip

In between rounds, try a round of Picture Bingo. In this variation, guests have to listen to a description being read out and scratch off a picture from their card. Are your friends’ brainiacs? Then use clever riddles for the descriptions. 

A Sound System and a Great Playlist

If you’re hosting an in-person bingo night, you might need a sound system so everyone can hear you. And if you don’t have that many people joining you, at least you can use it between games to play some great tunes, or you can use it to play a great background playlist to set the mood of the room. Play tracks your friends will love or songs that go with your theme. 

Unique Prizes

Every bingo night requires prizes catered to a specific crowd. Prizes don’t have to be overly expensive, just enticing enough to lead to a competitive game. With small groups of friends, small memorable prizes are great. Alternatively, operate like a bingo hall and ask all participants to pay an entry fee. This way, you can pool the money for a cash prize. The Borgata Online platform has great prizes and bonuses covered if you want to play online. 

Many Ways to Win

To make the game more interesting, set smaller prizes for the first straight line, the first person to get four corners, or the first person to make an X. Now, players have more than one goal for the game. 

Pro Hosting Tip

For an icebreaker, set up a game of human bingo. All you need to do is create bingo cards with your friends’ personal characteristics or mannerisms. When guests arrive, they can mingle with the cards and cross off the characteristics when they find the right person. 

Bring the Bingo Night of Your Dreams to Life with Borgata Online

This guide can help you take your next bingo event to the next level, and playing at Borgata Online is here to make it even easier. Whether you’re hosting a great bingo party online or you’re playing bingo to practice, Borgata Online has the best virtual bingo experience. Visit the Borgata Online website to learn more about the bingo promotions and bingo games available, as well as the other exciting gambling games Borgata Online has to offer.

Register to have a great time playing bingo and more at Borgata Online.