Meetings that drag on, a team building day where everyone sticks to their own group, a holiday party that needs livening up? Office bingo is a simple game that gets the whole team involved and needs nothing but a pen. We’ll show you how to prepare bingo for a company event and share dozens of square ideas.
Why office bingo works
- It breaks the ice. Colleagues from different departments have a reason to talk.
- It keeps people focused. At a conference or a long presentation, players listen closely so they don’t miss anything.
- It’s quick to prepare. Write the squares and print the cards – no host or equipment needed.
- It works for a small team or the whole company. One PDF can hold up to 200 unique cards.
Four types of office bingo
1. Buzzword bingo for meetings
An office humor classic. The squares are phrases and situations that come up in meeting after meeting. Whoever hears one marks it. Perfect for light-hearted meetings, a company kick-off or a video call – for a remote meeting, just send each colleague one page of the PDF.
- Someone says “synergy”
- Someone says “let’s take this offline”
- Someone asks: “Can you hear me?”
- Someone talks while on mute
- Someone says “just a quick question”
- Someone mentions a deadline
- There’s way too much text on a slide
- Someone says “let’s circle back”
- Someone says “great question”
- The meeting runs over
- Someone shares the wrong screen
- A dog or a child can be heard
2. Icebreaker bingo for team building and onboarding
Squares describe colleagues, and players have to find someone who matches. That person then signs the square. Great for new teams, onboarding new hires or events where people from different offices meet.
- Find someone from another department
- Find someone who joined this year
- Find someone who has worked here for over 5 years
- Find someone who cycles to work
- Find someone who speaks three languages
- Find someone who has worked abroad
- Find someone with the same hobby as you
- Find someone with more than two pets
- Find someone who has run a marathon
- Find someone who drinks tea instead of coffee
3. Bingo for a company or holiday party
At a party, players watch what happens around them. Bingo runs all evening, and you can announce the winners together with a raffle.
- The boss tells a joke
- A toast to the team
- Someone is first on the dance floor
- A selfie with the CEO
- Someone reminisces about last year’s party
- Someone talks shop even though they shouldn’t
- Someone forgets a colleague’s name
- The most popular dish at the buffet runs out
- Someone wears an ugly Christmas sweater
- Someone sings karaoke
4. Conference bingo
At conferences and training sessions, bingo helps keep people engaged. Squares can also be key topics or terms that should come up – so players follow the content of the talks at the same time.
- The microphone doesn’t work
- A phone rings during a presentation
- A speaker runs over time
- Someone takes photos of the slides
- A speaker asks the audience for their opinion
- [The key conference topic] is mentioned
- Someone comes back late from the coffee break
How to make office bingo
- Open the bingo card generator and choose a clean background, or keep the card plain white.
- Write a title – such as “Holiday Party Bingo 2026” or “Meeting Bingo” – and add the company or event name as a subtitle.
- Pick colors that match your company branding so the cards look professional.
- Fill in the squares using the ideas above or the Company event tips in the editor. Add internal terms and habits only your team will recognize.
- Set the number of cards to match the number of participants (up to 200), download the PDF and print it, or send out individual pages.
Rules and prizes
The first person to mark a full row, column or diagonal shouts “Bingo!” – in a video meeting, typing it in the chat works too. In icebreaker bingo, the winner is whoever collects the most signatures. A small prize is enough: an afternoon off, the best parking spot for a week, a coffee shop voucher or a special prize in the raffle.
Tips to make bingo fun for everyone
- Don’t aim jokes at specific colleagues. Bingo should bring the team together, not make fun of anyone. Squares like “the boss tells a joke” are fine, mockery isn’t.
- Agree on buzzword bingo with management. If the speaker joins in, it’s twice the fun.
- Mix easy and harder squares so the game doesn’t end in five minutes – or last all day.
- Write more squares than fit on one card. Everyone will have a different card and you won’t end up with ten winners at once.
- Think of all participants. Avoid overly personal questions in icebreaker squares.
For more ideas for company events, read our article on team building icebreaker games or see how to use a crossword at a corporate event.
Make your own office bingo
Office bingo livens up meetings, team building days and holiday parties. Create your own bingo on ElisGrid – set up the squares, colors and title in a live preview and have your cards ready to print in minutes.