Over time, residents (and staff) can get tired of playing the same games, day after day. To ease the monotony, consider spicing up your bingo games to create more interest for you and your residents.
Wake up your regular bingo games by implementing a few fun tips. Get started with these 10 ideas:
1. Add a Double Bingo.Consider giving out two prizes to the winner at a special monthly bingo game.
2. Organize bingo games with current holidays.Create bingo cards on your computer that relate to the season. For instance, during the summer, create B-E-A-C-H cards instead of the regular B-I-N-G-O cards.
3. Play swap bingo.If your residents are agreeable, during the middle of a game have residents swap places in which they swap seats with another player and take on that new bingo card as their own. In contrast, in between games, ask residents to swap bingo cards.
4. Vary the ways to win.Instead of only winning by having five chips in a row, consider playing four corners (each of the four corners must be covered), X-pattern or L-pattern (making the letter on the board), or cover-all (covering the whole board).
5. Take residents to a bingo game outside of your facility.Search for opportunities in your community to take residents to places that host bingo games in hopes of bringing in more customers, like a local Wal-Mart or restaurant.
6. Use play money to use at a Bingo Auction.Instead of having to buy prizes and give them out at each bingo game, create play money to pass out to residents when they win. At the end of the month, host a fun bingo auction in which residents use their play money to bid on prizes. See our articleThe #1 Way to Get Residents to Stop Complaining About Your Bingo Prizes.
7. Add music.Create bingo cards that have titles of songs instead of numbers. When a song is played, have residents locate the title on their card and cover it with a bingo chip.
8. Add trivia.Create cards that contain trivia information instead of numbers. For example, make bingo cards that just have different state names inside each box. During the game, give clues about each state and have residents cover their answers with a bingo chip.
9. Add pictures.Download famous faces into your bingo cards that your residents will recognize. During the game, give trivia about the people and see if the residents can guess who you are talking about before covering their picture with a bingo chip.
10. Add food and drinks.Plan a fun bingo game while serving a particular food or drink. For example, once per month, host a fun non-alcoholic beverage bingo, like Piña Colada Punch Bingo or Virgin Daiquiri Bingo.
