Not Your Grandma's Bingo: Popular Campus Tradition is Bingo with a College Twist

It's 10:30 on a Thursday night. Nearly 150 students fill tables in what was once the grand ballroom of a downtown hotel. Suddenly, one of them shouts, "Bingo!" A student wearing a purple shirt and holding a purple bag stands up and begins running around the room, chased by the student who got bingo. They dash around, avoiding tables and walls, sometimes leaping over chairs, narrowly avoiding collisions with humans and inanimate objects.

This isn't your grandma's bingo. This is bingo at Point Park.

Sure, there are the familiar letters and numbers being called out, and yep, the winners yell, "Bingo!" Besides that, it's a whole new experience.

First, there's the shape of the bingo win. Rather than crossing out a straight line, the winning pattern could be any shape at all, such as a cactus, a bow tie or a goal post. The shape is either chosen randomly or by crowd choice from options on a projected screen.

Next is the call-and-response on certain numbers. For example, when the caller says, "B-4," the crowd shouts back, "Before what?"

Then, there's the way a person gets a prize — this is where all the chasing comes in. After shouting "Bingo!", the winner must catch the "runner" with the purple bag, and if there's more than one winner, they race to be the first. After they catch the runner and their board is a confirmed winner, they draw a paper with their prize number on it.

Finally, there's a unique set of prizes, which are thematic each month. Morgan Bakos, a PR, advertising and social media major and the Pioneer Series Coordinator of Campus Activities Board (CAB), plans the event and chooses the themes.

"I just try to think of whatever people are into," Bakos said. The better the theme, the better the turnout.

Two students sit behind a table of Lego boxes.

Robert Fornataro (right) has served in many roles at bingo.

January's theme was Lego and the prizes ranged from small sets to large ones, including botanicals. November's theme was Squishmallows and resulted in one of the highest turnouts of the year. In October, there were horror movies and Funko Pop advent calendars.

Some themes are consistent from year to year, such as "back to school" in September. The final theme every year is "Bingo Blowout," in which the prizes are extra large and exciting, the smallest being gift cards and the largest, electronics.

Bakos said she has been very careful with her budget this year so she can plan a huge event for "Bingo Blowout" in April.

CAB began the bingo tradition 11 years ago and hosts the event from 9–11 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Over 100 students attend regularly, sometimes close to 200. It's a thriving part of Point Park student life, especially for those who live on campus.

Junior Robert Fornataro has been attending since freshman year. "It's a good time to mingle," he said. "I didn't know anyone when I first went. You sit 10 people per table and that makes it fun."

But it was the unique Point Park style that made Fornataro keep coming back. "You don't expect it to be that kind of bingo," he said.

Fornataro enjoyed attending so much that he's since become involved as a runner. "It's so crazy and fun at the same time. You definitely have to wear proper shoes. The first time I didn't and didn't expect it to be as intense as it is. I tried to jump over a chair and tripped over it."

Not only is the runners' safety a concern, but also the winners'. "You have to be careful because you don't want to go too hard," Fornataro said. "They might run into a wall."

"This year has gotten very intense," Bakos agreed. "We've had a couple of tumbles by the runners."

Fornataro has also been the host, or the caller. As a broadcast journalism major, he's comfortable being in front of a crowd. "My end goal is to be on camera, so I like being the caller," he said. "You can add your own character to it."

Case in point: earlier this year University president Chris W. Brussalis was the host. The shape of the board was a chihuahua. Dr. Brussalis said the word in a funny way, and when he got a laugh, kept it up. Both Bakos and Fornataro agreed it was a big hit. "It was so funny," Fornataro said.

This lively version of bingo bears little resemblance to the typical church basement gathering of gray-haired folks. This is a little bit wild, a little bit irreverent and 100% Point Park.