Guide · 6 min read
How do you play Find the Guest bingo?
Find the Guest bingo is a mingle game, also called people bingo or human bingo. Each square describes a person, such as “has planted a tree”, and guests go looking for someone it fits, who writes their initials in it. The first guest with a full line across, down or corner to corner calls BINGO and reads it aloud.
Updated October 20, 2026 · Selenby Puzzles
Find the Guest bingo is the ice breaker that works before anyone has finished hanging up their coat. Every guest gets a card, and every square on it is a reason to walk up to someone and ask a question. Here are the rules as they are printed in our games, the seated ways to play, and squares for church, office, Christmas and family reunions.
How to play, step by step
- Everyone gets a card and a pen. Each square finishes the sentence “Find someone who…”.
- Mingle and ask. When a square fits someone, they write their initials in it.
- One square per guest on each card, or two at a party of 11 or fewer. No signing your own card.
- Fill a line across, down or corner to corner, and call out BINGO!
- Prove it. Read your line aloud, and each signer tells the story of their square. Two BINGOs at once? Both win.
The golden rule, printed in every edition: honest answers, kind questions. Anyone may say “not me” or pass.
How it differs from regular bingo
| Regular bingo | Find the Guest bingo | |
|---|---|---|
| Squares | Numbers, songs or pictures | Things a person has done or likes |
| Who calls | A caller | Nobody: guests ask each other |
| How a square is marked | When the caller calls it | The guest who fits writes their initials |
| When you win | A full line | A full line, read aloud, with the signers’ stories |
How many people, and how long
The game is best for 6 or more players, and staff or helpers may sign too. Our cards come in two sizes: Large Print cards (4 x 4, 16 squares) and Classic cards (5 x 5, 24 squares and a free square), for mixers of 15 or more. Each size has 8 different cards, so shuffle them before you hand them out and neighbors hold different cards. For 24 guests, print each card 3 times.
When guests mingle, the first BINGO comes in about 5 minutes. Keep going for second and third place, 10 to 15 minutes in all.
Ways to play without walking
Not every room can mingle. The same cards play three other ways:
- Table by Table. Tables of 6 to 10 find people at their own table, and each guest may sign two squares on a card. Every 5 minutes, one person from each table moves on.
- Hands Up. For senior communities and big seated groups: the host reads the squares from a Calling Order, everyone the square fits raises a hand and marks it on their own card, and helpers mark for anyone who needs a hand. First line wins.
- Blackout. Each guest may sign three squares on a card. Set a 20-minute timer: a full card wins at once, otherwise the most squares when it rings.
Find someone who: squares that start a story
A signature alone is not a conversation, so every square in our games has a follow-up question on the Host List. A few, as printed:
| Edition | Square | The host asks |
|---|---|---|
| Find the Guest Bingo (everyday) | has planted a tree | What kind of tree, and where is it now? |
| Church Fellowship | has sung in a choir | What choir was it, and what did you love to sing? |
| Christmas | has made a snowman | What did you use for the snowman’s face? |
| Family Reunion | caught fireflies | Where did you catch them, and what did you use? |
In the bingo inside Retirement Party Games, some squares point at the guest of honor: “worked with the retiree”, “learned from the retiree”.
Hosting tips for church, office and family reunions
- Church groups: play while people arrive. The card gives a newcomer a reason to say hello, and each winner introduces one new friend.
- Offices and family reunions: give it 10 to 15 minutes, then each winner reads their line and the signers answer the Host List questions.
- Every generation: pair the youngest and the oldest guests on one card, with two pens.
- Senior living: use Large Print cards, thick pens and a clipboard. A staff member or volunteer can walk the card around and write the initials, or play Hands Up.
- Your own squares: write a few about your group, like “was at last year’s party”, on the blank cards, fill the rest from the Host List, and copy it.
Which edition for which party
| Game | Cards | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Find the Guest Bingo | 16, 48 squares | Birthdays, clubs, team meetings |
| Christmas Find the Guest Bingo | 16, 48 squares | Office Christmas parties, church socials |
| Church Fellowship Find the Guest Bingo | 16, 48 squares | Fellowship hour, women’s ministry, new member welcomes |
| Family Reunion Find the Guest Bingo | 16, 48 squares | Reunions, picnics, cousin camps |
| Family Reunion Bingo | 100, 96 squares | Reunions of 10 to 100 guests, age 7 and up |
| Retirement Party Games | 16, 48 squares, plus 3 more games | Office send-offs |
There are also Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve and Valentine editions. The Find the Guest Bingo Bundle puts five editions in one download (everyday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Church Fellowship and Family Reunion): your group learns the game once and plays it all year. Every edition prints in color or in an Ink Saver version in black ink. For more ways to start a party, see our office party games.
