Team building bingo

Team building bingo can be a strategic tool designed to enhance collaboration, communication, and camaraderie within teams. This playful approach to team building encourages participants to step out of their comfort zones, engage in new experiences, and connect with their colleagues on a deeper level. Whether you’re integrating new members into the team, boosting morale, or simply breaking the ice, team building bingo can be tailored to suit any organizational culture and goal. Let’s dive into how you can implement this engaging activity in your workplace.

How to play team building bingo

For corporate events: Breaking the ice

1. Customized bingo cards: Generate bingo cards featuring activities and achievements that relate to your team or company culture, such as ‘Completed a project ahead of schedule’, ‘Shares a hobby with a coworker’, or ‘Has worked in the company for over 5 years’.
2. Interactive gameplay: Encourage team members to mingle and find colleagues who match the descriptions on their bingo cards, marking off squares as they go.
3. Recognition and rewards: Offer incentives for completing bingo, such as extra break time, a casual dress day, or a special lunch.

In meetings: Enhancing engagement

1. Meeting-specific cards: Create bingo cards with common phrases or scenarios specific to your team’s meetings, like ‘Someone’s mic is muted’, ‘A pet appears on screen’, or ‘The phrase “circle back” is used’.
2. Light-hearted competition: Use this version of bingo to add some humor and engagement to regular meetings, keeping the team focused and entertained.
3. Prizes for participation: Reward winners with small but meaningful prizes, such as a preferred parking spot for a week or a coffee shop gift card.

At workshops: Encouraging participation

1. Educational bingo: Tailor bingo cards to the workshop theme, including squares for participating in activities, asking questions, or sharing insights.
2. Collaborative learning: This approach promotes active participation and ensures that all team members are involved and engaged throughout the workshop.
3. Certificates or badges: Recognize achievements with certificates, digital badges, or physical tokens that participants can display at their workstations.

Examples of team building bingo

• Diversity and inclusion bingo: Include squares that encourage team members to learn about each other’s cultures, languages, and backgrounds.
• Wellness bingo: Focus on health and well-being with activities like ‘Takes a lunch break away from the desk’, ‘Drinks 8 glasses of water in a day’, or ‘Participates in a team fitness challenge’.
• Skill-sharing bingo: Promote knowledge exchange within the team by including tasks like ‘Teaches a colleague a new skill’, ‘Attends a webinar and shares takeaways’, or ‘Writes a blog post for the company website’.

Creating your own team building bingo cards

1. Personalize your game: Use our bingo card generator to customize the game to your team’s specific needs and objectives. Incorporate company slogans, values, or inside jokes to make the cards resonate with your team.
2. Incorporate a variety of activities: Balance the bingo squares with a mix of easy, challenging, and quirky tasks to keep the game accessible and fun for everyone.
3. Design for inclusivity: Ensure that the activities on the bingo cards can be completed by team members of all abilities and backgrounds.
4. Print the card or play online: Print the cards off to play in person, or optionally, share a link to play online.

Tips for a successful game

• Encourage participation: Make participation in team building bingo voluntary but encourage everyone to join in by highlighting the fun and benefits of the game.
• Facilitate connections: Use the game as an opportunity to facilitate new connections within the team, pairing up individuals from different departments or levels to complete tasks.
• Reflect and debrief: After the game, hold a debrief session to discuss what the team learned about each other, how the activities improved team dynamics, and what changes could be made for future games.

Final words

Team building bingo is an effective and enjoyable way to strengthen team bonds, improve communication, and inject some fun into the workplace. By customizing the game to fit your team’s culture and goals, you can create an engaging experience that promotes a strong, cohesive team ready to tackle any challenge together. So, why not give team building bingo a try and see how it can transform your team dynamics? Let the games begin!