How to print bingo cards at home

Print a bingo set

1. Download the PDF from your Etsy or Gumroad receipt and open it in a PDF reader: the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview on a Mac, or the PDF viewer built into your browser.
2. Scroll through the PDF and note which pages hold the cards, the caller's list and the call slips.
3. Count your players. Every card in a set is different, so print each card page once rather than copying one card for everyone.
4. Open the Print window, type the card pages under Pages (for example 3-17), and set Scale to Actual size or 100%. On A4 paper, choose Fit to page instead.
5. Print the caller's list and the call slips once, on their own.
6. Cut the call slips apart (see the cutting guide) and put them in a bowl, bag or envelope to draw from. The caller checks each word or number off the list as it's called.

More players than cards

A set has a fixed number of different cards. For a bigger group, print a second copy of the card pages and keep the two copies at different tables, or play two rounds.

1. Two copies of the same card win at the same moment, so if both copies are in one game, agree beforehand that matching cards share the prize.
2. Mark one copy's cards on the back (a dot or a sticker) so you can tell them apart when checking a win.

Cards you can play again

1. Slide each card into a clear sheet protector and mark it with a dry-erase marker; wipe it clean for the next game.
2. Or print the cards on card stock and play with markers that don't write on the card: pennies, dried beans, buttons or small candies.
3. Laminating works too; let ink-jet cards dry for an hour first so the ink doesn't smear.

Tips

• Print one page first to check the size and the colors before printing the whole set.
• If a set has a back page for its call slips, print that sheet two-sided and flip on the long edge, or skip the back page and use one-sided slips.
• Grayscale printing saves color ink. Print one card in grayscale first to make sure the squares are still easy to read.

Questions