Free music bingo card generator

How to plan and host a music bingo night

Making the cards, step by step

1. Start a song list. Use Quick-fill to load one of the ready-made lists (50s Rock 'n' Roll, 60s Hits, Motown & Soul, 70s Hits, 80s Hits, Country Classics, Christmas & Holiday, Hymns & Gospel, Crooners & Standards, Patriotic & Americana). Each has 40+ titles. Or paste your own list, one title per line.
2. Edit it to match your playlist. Remove songs you can't play and add ones you will. Repeated titles are counted once, even if the capitalization differs.
3. Choose your settings. Pick how many cards (1 to 100 per batch), how many cards per printed page, an optional event title for the top of each card, and whether to keep the free center space. With the free space each card needs 24 different songs; without it, 25.
4. Generate and print. Each card's footer shows a short batch code and a card number (#1, #2…). Print the whole batch you generated. If you click Generate again you get a new batch with a new code and different cards.

How many songs for how many cards?

The tool puts 24 (or 25) songs from your list on each card. If your list has only 24 songs, every card has the same songs in a different order, so the whole room fills up at roughly the same time. A longer list makes each card more different. With 48 songs, any given song is on about half the cards. As a rough guide, use 40–60 songs for a group of 20–30 players, and more for big rooms or blackout games.

Building the playlist

• Make your playlist from exactly the same list you put into the generator, then play it on shuffle. A song that isn't on the cards wastes a turn and confuses people.
• Play 30–45 seconds of each song, starting near the chorus if you can. Most people know songs by their hook, not their intro.
• Write titles the way people know them. If a song is usually called by its chorus line, consider using that wording on the cards.
• Avoid near-duplicates (two songs with very similar titles) unless you want an extra challenge.
• Check the lyrics for your audience, and if you're running the game in a bar or other public venue, check what music licensing applies there.

Checking winners

The generator makes the cards only. It doesn't keep track of what you've played, so keep your own record. The easiest way is to print your song list and tick off each title as it plays, or keep the playlist's play history on screen. When someone calls "Bingo!", ask them to read out their marked titles and check each one against your list. Write down the card number from the footer in case two players claim at once. A song that was cut off early still counts if the room heard it, but decide that rule before you start.

Ways to play

• Single line (across, down or diagonal) for short rounds.
• Four corners or an X for a middle round.
• Blackout (the whole card) for the final prize. Expect it to take most of your playlist.

Running several rounds? Players can keep the same card. Have them mark lightly or use different-colored pens, and restart the playlist on a new shuffle.

Common mistakes

• Changing the song list after the cards are printed.
• Not keeping a list of called songs, which makes checking winners guesswork.
• Using too few songs, so many players win at the same moment.
• Playing clips too short for older or mixed-age groups to recognize.

For a holiday party, the Christmas bingo generator makes printable holiday cards from a word list. For more group games, see party games.