“I take cheating very seriously! Cheaters will be punished!-“
I yelled across the table at the noisy bar, laughing with my friends because I caught them red-handed.
“Come on Sabina, that’s not cheating! You have to make sure I WIN!” they teased back.
A couple of weeks ago, I co-hosted an event for our old co-working space. It was a reunion of the whole community that had to disperse after the co-working space closed down. The community spans “generations” – so the guests all knew someone, but not everyone. When my co-host asked me to come up with some sort of activity to add another element to the event, I spent some time brainstorming ideas. What would people of all ages, careers, and walks of life all enjoy together? What would they participate in?
Inspired by ideas from the internet, I created a game of ‘Friend Bingo’. I filled each spot on the board with a prompt like “doesn’t like chocolate” or “likes the same music as you.” Players had to fill in the boxes with the name of the person they spoke to who fits the description. The winner of Friend Bingo is the person at the end of the night with the most boxes filled, as well as a row, column or diagonal completed.
The game was a success! I was so pleased that my old (and new) friends enjoyed the activity and that it added something extra to our reunion.
Here are some tips when creating a game like this for an event.
It takes bravery.
I am already known in my friend groups as the “orientation leader” type. They all expect me to want to do icebreakers and silly games to force them to talk to each other. I am usually met with an eyeroll. So it took bravery for me to grab my stack of bingo sheets and confidently tell people who are all older than me that I think they should play a game I made. I knew I might not be taken seriously.
It takes extra thought.
It would be hard to yell directions for a game in a loud bar. I had to do prep work so that the only thing left to do at the reunion was hand out a sheet of paper. I made sure it looked “official” in a way, instead of thrown together. When people see that you put effort and care into a project, and you hand it to them with a smile, they are more likely to participate.
It requires engagement.
Prompts like “Someone who has red hair” or “Someone wearing a green shirt” wouldn’t have made for a good game. Then, everyone could have played by sitting in a corner alone and simply observing. The game was a fun challenge, however, because I included prompts like “has met a celebrity you have heard of” or “has read your favorite book.” These prompts required that you had conversations about your interests. A friend of mine revealed that he met George Clooney, which led to a conversation about why that happened. The point wasn’t the game, the point was creating valuable experiences with everyone around us.
It takes a sense of humor.
You’re not fooling anyone; Friend Bingo is a silly activity, especially to hand to someone who is 20 years older than you. I kept it lighthearted, had fun creating wacky prompts, and made sure the winner got a Starbucks gift card.
In the end, everyone appreciated that I cared enough about this community to take the time to make this game. In turn, this continues to fuel the feeling of meaningful community. I highly recommend this simple game of Friend Bingo the next time you need a game for your event. 🙂
