To play Bingo games over Zoom, distribute the game board and then encourage your coworkers to track their progress throughout the virtual conference call. The first player to complete a row gets a prize. Zoom Bingo is a version of Online Team Building Bingo. Bingo is a fun game and it can also be played on Zoom. Now, to play it on Zoom, you don’t require an individual to pull out Bingo balls or call out numbers. One of you can share your screen and use this online Bingo Number Generator site. You can also change the number count from 1-75 to 1-100 and start playing Housie instead. The bingo card is lol funny because it’s so true. And thanks for posting the above link Anon. For those seeking Zoom privacy these might be good suggestions below. But who really knows if Big Brother doesn’t have other secret back doors. So I did these and still exercise caution regarding what I share personally. Zoom has emerged as the go-to virtual collaboration platform in the past few months. It has also become the go-to choice for friends and family looking to catch up with each other. There are many games and activities that you can play over Zoom and one of them is Bingo. Bingo is one of the oldest and most popular games that is loved by people. Bingo is a classic and fun game that is perfect for keeping your guests entertained. You can choose random or themed Bingo cards with an online generator or add some birthday fun and create a.

1. Bingo Ideas For Zoom Party
2. Family Zoom Bingo
3. How To Make Bingo Fun Over Zoom
4. Free Bingo Games Zoom
5. Bingo Ideas For Zoom Meetings

Virtual icebreakers are small online team-building activities that help you – a meeting leader – to connect with your remote team on a personal level during your online meetings.

With a good icebreaker, you can set the mood for the meeting, enjoy some fun social time with your colleagues, and make them more comfortable sharing and interacting throughout your meeting.

For your inspiration, here are 20 examples of virtual icebreakers great for team-bonding and adding some fun to your meetings. All tried, tested, and enjoyed by our team – even the introverts!

Or would you rather watch a video? Check out the vlog from our remote series where you’ll find 5 easy icebreaker tips!

1. Mood barometer

Remote work can be a lonely business. Show your colleagues that you care and ask your team how they are.

Since not everyone may be comfortable with sharing this verbally, ask your team members via a poll. This way, you can be sure that everybody will participate and that their answers will be honest.

For example, you can try a rating poll such as this one: “On a scale of 1-7, how are you feeling today?”

You can then use the results as a discussion starter and ask your colleagues something like: “I can see that not everyone is feeling at their best. Does anyone want to share their thoughts?”

2. Where are you joining us from?

If your teammates are scattered around the world, kick off your meeting by sending a virtual hi to each one of them.

At the beginning of your Zoom call, run a word cloud poll on Slido with a question “Where are you joining us from?”

As your colleagues post their locations, give them a special shout-out. By the end, the word cloud will create a nice collage of all the different places.

This virtual icebreaker is ideal for larger meetings or virtual events – the more locations, the better the word cloud will look.

3. Zoom background challenge

Share some laughs with your teammates on Zoom. Before your next all-hands or town hall meeting, set a theme and ask your colleagues to pick a virtual background image that, for them, represents it best.

Get creative, there are infinite possibilities: Favorite movie scenes, 80’s disco, memes, dream vacation places, you name it.

Seeing each others’ backgrounds will break the ice and give you something to talk about during the first minutes of the call.

But Zoom virtual backgrounds do more than just entertain. They’re also great for hiding a messy kitchen behind you, or a trespassing family member!

If you need inspiration, visit this huge library of virtual backgrounds by Canva, or get more quirky ones here.

Tip: You can also let your colleagues vote for the best background through a Slido poll.

4. Home treasure hunt

Get your colleagues out of their chairs for a bit – they’ll appreciate a little physical activity.

Give them a little task such as: “You have 25 seconds to fetch something yellow,” or “Get the weirdest thing in your apartment, then bring it back to show us”.

This activity is fun and can reveal some fun facts about your colleagues!

You can even take it a little further and get inspired by our colleague Nadia who recently prepared for us a full-scale virtual scavenger hunt. She gave us 5 minutes to fulfill 20 tasks such as:

• Take a picture of a view from your window and post it to Slack
• Find something smaller than your fingernail
• Bring the softest thing you own
• Change your Zoom background to your favorite movie set
• Bring an item that’s older than you are

When the time was up, we got back together on Zoom and shared funny stories behind the objects that we brought. We shared some good laughs together!

5. Doodle away

Create some art together. Even if it’s just as pitiful as the one we produced during our recent Brand team meeting (see below).

Our colleague Sabine shared a Zoom Whiteboard with us and asked us to draw our current mood on it. So we channeled our inner Basquiat and came up with something that remotely resembles art. But it was so much fun, we swear!

Here’s how to set up Whiteboard in Zoom:

1. Click ‘Share Screen’, choose ‘Whiteboard’ and click ‘Share’
2. Tell each participant to click ‘Annotate‘ in the upper panel
3. Pick any type of annotation tools you like – drawing, shapes, texts, you name it!

6. How would you describe…?

You can also use word clouds to pick up your team’s thoughts and feelings. Open your meeting with a question such as: “In one word, how would you describe the past week/month?”

This icebreaker is great for taking a pulse check of the overall atmosphere in the team and detecting possible downturns.

Or, you can even try something different like: “If you were to describe our company in one word, what would it be?”

Find more inspiration here: 33 Beautiful Word Cloud Ideas for Your Meetings or Events

7. Virtual body language

Having microphones muted during a video call is a good practice to avoid any disturbing background noises, but it often hinders spontaneous communication between people. Create a signal or multiple signals that will help people express themselves.

For example, instead of clapping when celebrating something, shake hands in the air. Raise a hand into the camera when asking for a time to speak. To express love or happiness, do a little heart symbol by putting both hands together or a simple thumbs-up.

8. Team trivia quiz

Icebreakers also give you a great opportunity to get to know your colleagues better.

Try a fun quiz with questions about your team. Collect interesting facts about each team member and then let other colleagues guess away. We’re sure you’ll dig out plenty of fun stuff!

We run this type of quiz when we introduce a new team member or as a holiday fun activity.

Read also:4 Quizzes to Energize Your Virtual Meetings

9. Play around with emoji reactions

Sometimes, it’s hard to get a sense of how your team members are feeling – especially during larger meetings. Encourage your teammates to use emoji reactions during your Zoom calls.

For example, at the start of your meeting, ask your colleagues to click the emoji that best describes their current mood.

10. Give kudos to your heroes

Bingo Ideas For Zoom Party

This is not only an icebreaker but a morale booster as well. And we all need that now and then, especially when working in isolation.

Give kudos to the heroes in your team. Kick-off your meeting with a word cloud poll such as: “Who was your silent hero this month?”

Acknowledging people for the effort they’re doing is a wonderful way to start a meeting. Expect lots of hearty “aw-s” and “oh-s”.

Tip: combine the word cloud with an open text poll, so that people can also leave a heart-warming message for their nominated silent hero.

11. Random question

Here’s another one from the ‘Get to know your colleagues better’ series. Set up a new tradition and ask your team one random question each week or month.

For example:

• What’s the most useless thing you have in your home?
• What would your superpower be if you had one?
• What one thing should everybody stop doing right now?
• What’s one song or artist that you’re embarrassed to admit you like?

We actually started doing this as a weekly activity in our #random Slack channel. We since learned so many cool new things about one another!

Tip: If you need help in finding the right question, here’s a random question generator.

12. Highlight of the month

Here’s another way to lift people’s spirits. Crowdsource your colleagues’ personal or professional highlights of the last week or month.

As you kick off your meeting, ask your teammates to post their top moments in an open text poll. Then, display the highlights on the screen, and give a shout out to each one.

It’s good to remind people of all the remarkable work that they’ve done. For example, in our Slido marketing team, we share highlights as part of our monthly all-marketing meeting.

13. Screw-up of the month

Sharing is caring – and that should apply for both the good and the bad. Besides highlights, share also some of the failures of the last month. It makes for a great team-bonding experience.

Using an open text poll, encourage your team to share a thing that didn’t go that well for them in the last month. You can then open a discussion about all your anti-highlights and what you learned from them.

As a leader, don’t forget to contribute as well. Showing vulnerability is also a form of strength.

Read also:How Talking About Wins and Struggles Helped Our Team Bond

14. Coffee time

Have you heard of Fika? It’s a Swedish word often interpreted as “a coffee and cake break”.

For Swedes, however, it is much more than that. It’s about taking a break from everything for a while and enjoying quality time with friends or colleagues over a cup of coffee or tea.

Take Fika to an online environment. You can call it however you like – virtual watercooler talks, virtual happy hour, you name it.

But be sure to schedule an informal team catch-up from time to time just to chat with your teammates about something other than work. In remote times, it will help you feel less isolated.

15. Two truths & one lie

This fun game is great for introducing new colleagues or getting to know each other better. Collect two true facts and one false fact about a colleague and put it into a multiple choice poll.

Then, at the beginning of your meeting, ask your team to guess which one of the statements about this colleague is a lie. The more quirky the statement, the more fun this virtual icebreaker is.

PS: Don’t forget to ask the person who the poll is about to share at least one story behind the statements.

16. Home fashion police

Another fun live poll to help you lighten the mood. Check up on your teammates’ work-from-home attire.

It’s popular folklore that people love wearing PJs all day long during a home office. How does your team stand on this fashion statement?

Another similarly popular activity is “Take a picture of your shoes” that is equally hilarious.

Starting a meeting with some laughs will help your teammates feel more connected. For recurring meetings, come up with a different fun poll each time, here are some for your inspiration.

17. Weekend photo contest

A slow start after the weekend? Run a quick weekend photo contest to get your teammates talking. Tell them to share a cool photo from their weekend, for example in a Slack channel.

You can then put people’s names in a Slido multiple choice poll and have your colleagues vote for the best shot!

18. Family portrait

Taking a group photo of you (even through video chat) is another way to have some fun. Take a different one each time — make funny faces, bring in your pets, do a crazy gesture, be creative.

Take inspiration from our APAC team and their cute heart symbols as they sent their love to the rest of their team who couldn’t join them on the call.

These photos also make nice content for your social media, internal newsletters, or Slack channels!

19. Group storytelling

Put your improvisation skills to the test. This icebreaker is inspired by my colleague Sabine, who decided that since our team-building trip couldn’t happen this year, at least we’ll make up a cool story of how it went.

She created a slideshow of random travel pictures, started a story, and then called on one of our teammates to follow up on what she said based on what picture was currently up.

We took turns in telling crazy things we did during our imaginary trip and let me tell you, it was some ride!

20. What’s the last picture that you took?

Let us conclude this list with this tiny simple icebreaker: Ask your colleagues to go to their phones, and dig out the last photo that they took. Ask them to either post it to your Slack channel or simply show it to the camera. Then, ask them to share a story behind the picture (if it’s not a secret!).

It’s a sweet little activity to make people talk and get to know one another better.

We hope you’ll try one of these icebreakers at your next virtual meeting. Let Slido help you connect with your teammates, wherever they are.

Chapter 4: How to Host a Virtual Bingo Night

Life is crazy at the best of times but 2020 has taken things to another level—the icing on an utterly bizarre cake. With all the uncertainty, there’s a good chance many of you will have sacrificed your usual weekend amusements for an evening spent watching TV, eating fast food, and arguing with your cat.

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But just because you’re stuck at home, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself with friends.

Virtual bingo nights are a great way to have some fun with your nearest and dearest. They’re cheap, they’re easy, and any adults (18+) can get involved. More importantly, you don’t need to leave the house and can simulate all the joys of a bingo hall over a live connection.

A virtual bingo night works just like the real thing. You get your friends together, create some tickets, and then someone assumes the role of the bingo caller. It’s as easy as that, and in just 4 steps you could be hosting your very own event.

1^st Step: Video Conferencing

The first step is to find a place for your friends to gather—the virtual equivalent of the bingo hall.Video conferencing software is tailormade for moments like this and unless your friends are technophobes using CRT TVs and brick phones from the early 2000s, they have everything they need.

The following video conferencing programs can be accessed on your phone, desktop, and even your TV. All participants will need a webcam and/or microphone, but there are no subscription charges or other fees to worry about, although some of these apps will limit your call time if you are not a fee-paying customer.

We're writing this guide assuming you have unlimited data on a wifi connection. If you don't, do be careful with the following apps as they may use large quantities of your data allowance.

Zoom (Limited options for free)

Zoom has become the conferencing software of choice during 2020, with daily user numbers rising from 10 million to 300 million in just 3 months.

Favoured by companies and remote workers alike, Zoom was even used by the UK government!

You can add up to 100 users in a single call and Zoom works on most devices and platforms. It’s free to use (albeit with call limits) and you can even create custom backgrounds!

Skype (Limited options for free)

As popular as Zoom is, Skype remains the tool of choice for most non-business users. It’s free, it’s easy to use, and it’s available on most devices (including Smart TVs, phones, tablets, and Xbox).

There’s a good chance you and your friends already have Skype accounts, which is ideal if you’re inviting people who are scared of change or technology in general (there’s always one!).

You can add up to 50 users per call and with Skype for Web, you don’t even need to download the software.

Houseparty (Totally Free)

Houseparty is a conferencing program that’s also available as a browser extension and a macOS app. You can invite up to 8 people into a single room and its Facebook and Snapchat integration makes it easy to add friends from existing social networks.

Although it’s relatively new, Houseparty is owned by Epic Games, an established and respected company responsible for a few smash-hit video games.

Facetime (Totally Free)

iPhone and Mac users have a built-in tool that’s perfect for video conferencing: Facetime. Just click the “+” symbol to invite friends and you can create a 32-person group that doesn’t have a time limit or a charge.

Of course, you will be excluding Android and Windows users, so make sure your friends can join before choosing this option.

Facebook Messenger Rooms (Totally Free)

Facebook Messenger’s video chat options were a little problematic when they first launched, with many users complaining of broken connections and lag. Groups were also limited to just 8 users. But then Facebook Messenger Rooms came along and changed the game.

Often touted as a free and more accessible version of Zoom, Facebook Messenger Rooms lets you add up to 50 users and is available completely free of charge.

Google Hangouts (Totally Free)

If you have a Gmail account, you already have access to Hangouts. This free-to-use conferencing software works through Chrome or Android and can be used to connect with up to 25 users.

Hangouts has full HD calls and conferencing and also has built-in screen sharing functions. It’s a great option for forgetful friends, as it will automatically add the event to a user’s calendar app.

Uberconference (Limited options for free)

A simple service with a great free plan, Uberconference has HD streams and audio, screen sharing functions, and it can be accessed on mobile and desktop. Just create a room, invite your friends, and they’ll be given a link and a phone number, allowing them to connect via webcam or phone.

2^nd Step: Create the Tickets

Every participant in your virtual bingo night needs a bingo ticket. Firstly, you should choose how many numbers to play, with most bingo games opting for a range of 1 to 75 or 1 to 90. You can then use random number generators to create tickets for each user.

For a fully customised experience, you can do this yourself, creating a random set of numbers off the top of your head or using a random number generator. 5 numbers will suffice if you want a simple game but the tickets can be as big as you want them to be

We recommend creating lots of tickets beforehand and then taking snapshots of each of them. You can send them to players before a game begins and once that game ends, you can repeat the process with another set of tickets.

There are multiple apps and websites that can help you to create and print bingo tickets, including this one and this one.

Downloadable Bingo Cards and Caller Grid

We've included direct access to some freely available, downloadable bingo cards from MyFreeBingoCards.com to get you started, the PDF also includes a bingo callers grid (90 ball).

3rd Step: Choose a Bingo Caller/Software

Automated bingo calling apps are available in both the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store. But these can suck the life out of the game. If you want to create a virtual bingo night to remember, we recommend one of the following, alternative options:

• Take Turns: Every game, one of the players is assigned to the role of bingo caller. They do not participate in that game and pass the buck when it is over. Random number generators (RNGs) can be used to randomise the numbers. We suggest you use Google's random number generator, set the 'min' to 2 and the 'max' to 90, for 90 ball bingo!
• Winner Stays On: The winner of each game becomes the caller for the next, which means they can’t win consecutive gamers, thus giving everyone else a chance. The first game can be called by the last person to join, or by any other method you choose!
• Funny and Trustworthy: Choose the funniest and most trustworthy person to call the numbers for each game, letting them participate while they call.
• Video: Youtube is full of bingo videos. Search for the term “bingo caller” followed by the number of balls you’re using and ask all players to watch the video.

Screen sharing is a very useful feature here. It allows one player to share his or her screen with everyone else in the room. If that player is the bingo caller, they can share their screen to show the numbers and prove they are playing fair. They can also host a bingo caller video and show this to every other player—pausing, stopping, and playing as needed.

How to avoid calling the same numbers?

If the bingo caller is not using an app which ensures no repetition of calls, we suggest they create a grid containing all of the numbers in the game i.e. 1 - 90 for 90 ball bingo. The caller can then mark the numbers on the grid to avoid repetition as he calls.

How To Make Bingo Fun Over Zoom

The method above is particularly useful if using an RNG which may produce already called numbers from time to time.

4^th Step: Play!

Once you have chosen the conferencing software, prepared the tickets, and invited your friends, there’s only one thing left to do: Play!

Schedule a time that suits everyone, send reminders, and start playing.

Free Bingo Games Zoom

The bingo caller simply calls a number and if a player has a matching number on their card, they mark it. When all numbers have been marked, that player shouts “Bingo!” and once their card is checked, they are declared the winner.

Congratulate them, give them a prize (optional), and, if you have time, move onto the next game!

Here are a few tips to ensure each game runs smoothly:

1. Make sure everyone can hear the caller.
2. Don’t call the numbers too quickly.
3. Periodically check that no one has disconnected.
4. Remember to keep track of all called numbers, as these will be needed to confirm the result.
5. Provide a specific timeframe for your virtual bingo night, so that everyone knows when it will end.
6. Account for time zone differences if you’re playing with friends who live overseas.

What About Prizes?

A virtual bingo night is a great way to bring friends together and that should be enough of an incentive. However, if you’re going up against frequent bingo players, you may need to incentivise them, and that’s where the prizes come in.

Here are a few ideas for virtual bingo night prizes:

1. Charities and Fundraisers

Virtual bingo nights are a great way to raise some money for a good cause. Simply charge your players a fee for each ticket they buy and make sure the proceeds go to charity. They’ll have an incentive to play and they can do so safe in the knowledge that the proceeds will go to a good cause!

You can’t collect cash with a virtual bingo night, but many online payment methods are just as quick and easy. Simply provide each player with the payment details, reserve some cash for the prize, and give the rest to your chosen charity:

• PayPal: There are over 325 million PayPal accounts worldwide, a large number of which are registered here in the UK. Many of your friends will already have accounts and the ones that don’t can sign-up for free. PayPal is safe, secure, fast, and easy-to-use. Once you have a PayPal account, you can transfer money to another user with a debit/credit card or bank account. That money can then be transferred from wallet to wallet and most charities accept PayPal donations.
• Apple Pay: A handy way to send money through Mac computers and devices. You’ll need access to iMessage and can send money quickly and without charge. However, it’s not available for Android and Windows users, so make sure your friends are hooked into the Apple ecosystem before you choose this option.
• Monzo: A digital UK bank that makes it easy to send money to friends. With Monzo, you can create pots that other users can contribute to, making this an ideal choice for your virtual bingo night.
• Barclays Pingit: Although Pingit is a Barclays service, you don’t need to bank with this provider to use it. As long as you have a mobile number and the Pingit app, you can send and receive money.
• Skrill/Neteller: Often seen as “PayPal alternatives”, these UK-based services are worthy payment solutions in their own right. These days they are both owned by the same company and offer many of the same features and benefits as PayPal.

2. Forfeits and Favours

Add some spice to your bingo night by asking the losers to do favours for the winner. They can promise to mow the winner’s lawn, clean their house/car, drive them to the airport, etc.

You’re essentially giving each player carte blanche to state what they want the others to do when they win. It adds an extra dimension to the game and should make the night more tense and exciting.

3. Drinks and Food

Friends eat and drink together, so why not have the losers buy the winner free drinks and/or food? You can play multiple games and state that the overall winner is owed a slap-up meal by the losers. Alternatively, you can reward a drink for every game.

Not only can this inject some extra thrills into the night itself, but it’ll also give you an excuse to meet-up as a group and start cashing-in those rewards!

4. Secret (Bingo) Santa

No one really likes a workplace Secret Santa, let’s be honest, but with a group of friends and a modest spending allowance, it can yield some hilarious and brilliant results. So, instead of building a cash prize or offering drinks, food, and forfeits, ask everyone to contribute a prize.

The winner can collect their prize the next time everyone meets or it can be delivered digitally in the form of gift cards and subscriptions.

5. A Trophy

Turn your virtual bingo night into a memorable occasion by commissioning a small trophy. As outlandish and over-the-top as this sounds, it’s actually very easy and relatively cheap to purchase a custom trophy.

For less than £10 you can purchase a simple bingo trophy inscribed with a custom message. It’s a great incentive to make your virtual bingo night a regular occurrence, as the trophy can move from winner to winner, giving them something to display on their mantelpiece, as well as a week’s worth of bragging rights.

A trophy can be used with one of the aforementioned prizes but it’s also a worthy prize on its own.

The Legality of Virtual Bingo Nights

There are a few rules governing virtual bingo nights in the UK, and they get pretty strict when money is exchanged -our advice is to simply avoid using money! However, if you do wish to involve money, it’s important to understand these rules before hosting such an event:

• Participation cannot exceed £8 per person per event/day.
• Prizes must not exceed £600 total.
• Proceeds must not be used for private gain and must be given to a good cause.
• The event must be hosted in a private home.

Visit this page for more information about the legalities of hosting a bingo night.

FAQs

Virtual bingo nights are easy to arrange and can provide hours of fun for you and your friends! Thanks to this Bingo Games guide, you now have all the info you need to arrange one of these nights for yourself, but if you still have a few questions about this game and these nights, take a look at our FAQs below.

IsVideo Conferencing Safe?

Video conferencing apps have come under a lot of scrutiny in recent months, with suggestions that they may not be as safe as people think. However, if you stick with the main providers (outlined in this guide) and follow their safety protocols to the letter, you shouldn’t have any issues.

How Much Should I Charge?

It’s entirely up to you - we suggest you don't play for money. Whatever you do, just make sure you stay within the legal guidelines mentioned above.

This game should be about having fun and letting loose, and if there’s money on the line, that light-hearted fun could be replaced by frustration and anxiety.

How Long Does the Average Bingo Game Take?

It takes just 10 minutes, on average, to complete a game of virtual bingo. However, it all depends on how many players there are, how many balls are being drawn, and what the conditions of victory are.

Generally, if you have an hour allotted for the event, you should plan for 4 to 5 games, with the extra time spent on chatting, arranging, and checking.

How Should I Dress for Virtual Bingo

Bingo hall dress codes are not as strict as those found in upmarket casinos and it’s even less strict if you’re hosting a virtual bingo night with friends.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own dress code!

If some of your friends are not that familiar with one another, put them at ease with a strict pyjama-only dress code, or host a 80s/90s themed night. The choice is yours!

How Can You Make Virtual Bingo Fun?

Bingo is a fun game, and it’s even better when you’re playing it with friends. Throw a charity fundraiser, some jokes, and a prize or two into the mix and you have all the makings of a fantastic night that no one will forget in a hurry!

How Can I Make Bingo More Interesting?

Bingo is more than capable of keeping your friends interested throughout the night, but if you’re planning a long evening with non-bingo players, consider beefing-up the schedule with some trivia. You can’t go wrong with a short pub quiz between rounds of bingo.

What do you Shout at Bingo?

Bingo Ideas For Zoom Meetings

Traditionally, you shout, “Bingo!”, but with virtual bingo nights, you create the rules and you can shout whatever you want. Why not add a little twist to the proceedings by insisting that players shout something weird, taboo, long-winded, or hard to remember? If nothing else, it will make for some hilariously hesitant moments as the game climaxes.