To organize a bingo tournament in your area, you will need some neighbors to help you with the whole procedure. A party or bingo night is an excellent idea to attract many people of all ages. The whole family enjoys Bingo, a popular and easy-to-play game, especially with the chance of winning prizes, or a final jackpot.
It’s a great way to bring friends together and can even be used for any charitable cause, making it a great fundraiser. The first steps to consider when you start organizing a bingo event is by looking at the venue, the day of the event, and the prizes you’d like to give out, to have a successful tournament.
Bingo tournaments often offer great prizes, particularly large cash prizes. The game rules are very easy to understand for anyone and can be played amongst adults as well as children.
Here are some steps that can help you organize your local bingo tournament:
Steps to organizing a bingo tournament in your area
Bingo is a game that consists of a drum with balls that are numbered inside. It is a very popular game globally, with two known variations, 75 balls and 90 balls bingo. Players must have cards with different numbers written in the corresponding range.
One person is in charge of taking the balls out of the drum and announcing the number of each one out loud. When a player has the number on their card, they must mark it. The game continues until a person manages to complete a horizontal line on his card.
When this happens, the player must call “line” and win a small percentage of the total that has been collected from the sales of each card. When a player manages to cross out all the numbers on his card, they must shout out “Bingo” to let others know that all the numbers called out have been crossed off on their card, therefore making them the winner of the final prize.
To start with preparing your bingo tournament take the following steps to organize a successful and unforgettable bingo tournament:
1. Discuss your plans with your family, friends, and neighbors
The first thing to do if you want to organize a bingo tournament is talk to your family, close friends, and neighbors. Sharing the idea you have in mind is a way of knowing if it will be well-received by others, or not. Since Bingo tends to be a popular and highly enjoyable game, chances are they’ll love the idea. You can even talk to your co-workers to draw more people’s attention to your event.
This way, you also get an idea of the number of people who could attend your tournament. The more people that sign-up, the more exciting the game will be, and the more attractive the pot is for everyone.
2. Select a venue for your event
Once you know how many people can attend, you need to consider where the event will take place. Depending on the final numbers, you can pick a venue accordingly. If you’re holding the event at a large scale, make sure to pick a venue accordingly, a place where people can feel comfortable, there’s room to add multiple tables to play at, and an area for people to eat and drink something.
3. Find the day and time of the tournament
Choose a suitable day and time that suits the lifestyle of those attending, so more people can attend. Timing is also key as the duration of the tournament depends on it. You may want to start a poll online or on social media to ask potential attendees for a day and time that suits them. Alternatively, you may want to choose a weekend evening so lots of people can join.
4. Invite everyone to the tournament with captivating posters
Once you have the date, time, and location, you can start inviting everyone to the bingo tournament. You can use different online tools, such as a game poster maker to help promote your event. Make use of online softwares, such as PosterMyWall, where you can find poster templates that you can easily customize in minutes, with details about your bingo tournament.
You can also use tools like these to resize your posters into invitations and social media posts.
Don’t forget to mention that there will be food, music, and prizes on your poster, as that’ll make the event more attractive in the eyes of others.
5. Choose the prizes
Make your event fun and more attractive in the eyes of potential attendees by offering prizes. For bingo tournaments generally cash prizes are offered, but depending on who your attendees may be, you can always opt for alternative gifts that don’t need to be large or expensive. Some ideas include gift vouchers, chocolates, bottles of wine, or whatever fits in your budget.
6. Plan food and drink
For bingo events snacking items are generally served, so as to not divert attention from the game, and so people can easily consume food items without missing out on any numbers. You can pick whatever works best for you and your attendees but some ideas could include crackers, sodas, chips, cookies, fries, sandwiches, dips with nachos, pizza slices, hot dogs, anything that is small, doesn’t create a mess, and is easy to eat.
If you like, you can ask guests to bring snacks and drinks, and then share it amongst everyone. Alcoholic beverages will depend on you and the type of event you want to organize.
7. Look for tables and chairs
Keep an eye out for long tables and chairs that are comfortable. The number and chairs and tables needed will depend on your expected guestlist, but it’s always to have some extra just in case.
8. Get your bingo kit
You can’t have a bingo tournament if you don’t have the bingo cards and chips. Buy this online or search for places that let you rent them. If you have some time on your hands, you could always make these yourself, and save the additional money for prizes instead. On top of a bingo kit, you’ll need markers or pens, and a bingo ball spinner, though these are sometimes included in the kit.
9. You can request volunteers for the day of the event
Talk to your family and friends to ask for some help on the day of the event. You will need a person at the entrance to welcome guests, a host or number caller to run the game, an invigilator to check the numbers and corroborate they add up with those of the winners, and finally someone who is in charge of the food and beverages. Since bingo events tend to be casual, volunteers can wear comfortable clothes, but it’d be a good idea for them to coordinate so they are easily identifiable. You may also choose to ask them to dress more formally, if the event you’re holding is for a specific cause.
10. Find a playlist to liven up the tournament
Make your tournament more fun with some good music to entertain your guests. Create a playlist with popular chart toppers to set the mood, or your audience is of a particular demographic, pick a playlist to suit their choice.
Conclusion
Organizing a bingo tournament is a great way to attract many people from your locality. This easy-to-play, popular game that is known all over the world is a great way to bring people of the community together and ensure friends, family, and neighbors have a nice time together, getting to know each other in a relaxed setting.