Bingo nights can be a fantastic way to bring friends together for a good cause and put on an amazing gaming evening! Use these tips to host one that your guests won’t soon forget!
Tabletop gaming expert Erik Arneson shares his tactics for hosting an unforgettable game night, from selecting suitable games to planning ahead and setting the scene for success! Read on!
Set the Mood
Hosting a game night requires advance preparation to ensure its success, from inviting suitable guests to selecting games appropriate for all age groups and abilities of attendees. Planning will help to ensure an eventful evening.
An effective way to ensure your event runs smoothly is setting the right mood in advance. Do this by selecting suitable games, ascertaining how long each round will take and creating an itinerary for the evening.
Make the evening even more special by switching off overhead lighting and using Philips Hue lamps to illuminate the snack table and highlight any winning prizes (even stuffed animals can look Academy Award-worthy with proper illumination!). Furthermore, set preset scenes that suit each occasion – warm oranges and pinks for relaxing nights in or vibrant blues and purples when celebrating wins!
Plan the Games
Since tabletop gaming is enjoying unprecedented popularity and new game releases are appearing each week on Kickstarter, now is an ideal time to plan a great game night. But getting it going and keeping it fair and engaging requires more than simply knowing which titles to pick!
First and foremost, understand your audience – only invite friends who truly enjoy playing board games and can work well as part of a team, without taking themselves too seriously or not being great team players themselves. Doing this will ensure a great gaming experience without boring or frustrating any of the guests who show up! Additionally, having some filler games at hand should they arrive is crucial!
Set the Prizes
To attract people to your event, a tantalizing prize must be offered – typically something food related, but this could also include extra cards or refreshments.
Establish a budget for prizes and adhere to it if you hope to avoid raising lots of funds only to spend them all on them! This will prevent you from raising too much and then spending it all on gifts!
If you don’t have enough funds to purchase prizes yourself, ask local companies for donations instead – this will make the night even more attractive and raise funds! For an added layer of competition among younger attendees at your event, double up on prizes per game; perhaps increase candy bars or CDs from Frank Sinatra that can be won for instance!
Make it Easy to Participate
As with any fundraising event, to ensure a smooth bingo night event requires a team. Begin by recruiting volunteers or staff members with key responsibilities like set-up, ticket management and refreshment vendors.
Icebreaker bingo is an effective team building activity for several reasons. First, it enables participants to connect in a low-pressure setting while sharing more about themselves with colleagues in an informal, fun and casual way. Second, prompts are typically humorous and lighthearted; thirdly, participants enjoy engaging with one another over time!
Traditional bingo involves filling in five numbers along a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line – the first one who does this is awarded a prize! For increased odds of success and better chances of winning early rounds be sure to play early and bring along any lucky charms (such as rabbit’s feet or four-leaf clover!) You never know when one may come in handy!
Make it Fun
As host, it’s your duty to ensure everyone remains engaged and is enjoying themselves. Part of this involves selecting games that fit with the intended mood or tone; for example, relaxing, calm games will create a different atmosphere than hectic and competitive ones.
Plan B is also crucial if things don’t go according to plan, or one game doesn’t sit well with the group. With proper preparation, switching over could easily happen without delay.
Make sure that the snacks served for game night are easily consumable while playing games and socializing, like finger foods. Prepare several ahead of time by placing them in the freezer or fridge weeks, even months, prior to game night.
