# Team Bingo: a classroom bingo game for the whole class > A classroom bingo game for teams: every team gets a card of answers, each question calls one, three in a row is BINGO +5. Free, one screen, no student devices. Source: https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/team-bingo/ · Updated 2026-10-29 Team Bingo is a classroom bingo game for the whole class: every team gets its own 3×3 card of answers from your lesson, and each question calls one answer onto every card that has it. Three in a row on your card is BINGO. It's a good fit for vocabulary review and any subject where the answers are short and keeps every team watching. ![Three bingo cards side by side, red, yellow and green, each with nine animal pictures and words; zebra is stamped on all three cards](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/bingo.webp "The answer was zebra, so it's stamped on every card that has it. Team 1 answered right and got +1.") ## At a glance | Players | The whole class in 2–4 teams free (up to 8 with Oly Pro) | | Time | 10–20 minutes for 12–20 questions | | Works with | English formats (not true/false) and subject sets with short answers; at least 9 questions | | Best for | Vocabulary review, big classes, keeping everyone listening | | You need | One screen and your phone | ## How to play Team Bingo 1. **Make or pick a question set** with at least 9 questions: snap a textbook page, paste a word list, type a topic, paste your own questions, or start from the [free library](https://olyclass.com/library/). 2. **Pick Team Bingo, set the teams and start.** Each team gets a card of 9 answers picked at random from the set, so no two cards are the same. 3. **Play.** Teams take turns answering. A right answer gives that team +1. Right or wrong, the answer is then called and stamped on every card that has it. A team that completes a line of three, across, down or diagonally, shouts BINGO and gets +5. When the questions run out, the most points wins. ## Rules and scoring - **Right answer:** +1 for the team that answered. - **BINGO:** +5 for every new line of three on a team's card, even when it wasn't that team's turn. One stamp can finish two lines at once: +10. - **A miss still calls the answer,** so a wrong answer can hand another team its BINGO. With a big set, some calls miss some cards. - **The game ends early** if every card is fully stamped. - **What goes on the cards:** the answers of your questions. True/false questions are left out of this game, and answers longer than 22 characters don't go on cards. You can switch these in the lobby before the game, or mid-game from the settings button: - **Timer:** none, 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds; running out counts as a wrong answer. - **Wrong answers lose a point.** Off by default; scores never go below zero. - **Steal:** off by default. When on, after a miss, another team may answer for the +1 (no extra turn). - **Double or triple questions:** the points won on that question, BINGO bonuses included, are multiplied. - **Hide the score**, a seasonal theme, and full, calm or no effects. ![A picture question over the bingo hall: a cartoon zebra, "What is it?" and four answers: frog, zebra, polar bear, crocodile](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/bingo-ask.webp "Team 1's question. Every team looks for zebra on its card while Team 1 answers.") You see the answer on your phone and tap Correct or Not yet. ## What you can teach with it **English:** picture, word, listen, spell, meaning, sentence order and your own questions. - **Animals, food or classroom objects at A1:** picture questions; the cards show the word with its picture. - **Listening:** listen questions, where Oly says the word and teams hunt for it on their cards. - **Definitions at B1:** meaning questions ("a person who repairs cars") with the words on the cards. **Other subjects:** multiple choice and open questions with short answers. - **Math:** answers as numbers: "7 × 8", "half of 50". - **Science:** "the gas plants take in", "the closest star to Earth". - **History and geography:** capitals, rivers, famous names. ## Tips from the classroom - **Use 12 to 20 questions.** Fewer than that and few lines get finished. - **Big class:** with a class list, Oly calls one student per team for each question; the rest of the team watches its card. - **Ask "who has it?"** after each call, so every team reads its card. - **Turn on steal** for groups that tune out during other teams' turns. ## Play it without a screen - Give each team a paper 3×3 grid and have them write 9 words from a list on the board, in any squares. - Ask questions team by team; read the answer out after each one, right or wrong. - Teams cross out the word if they have it. Three in a row: they shout BINGO and score 5. - Give 1 point for each right answer too. The screen version makes the cards for you, stamps them without mistakes, adds pictures and sound, and keeps the score. ## Questions teachers ask ### Is Team Bingo free? Yes. The game, the library and your own typed questions are free. The free plan includes 10 AI question sets a month (3 from photos) and up to 4 teams; Oly Pro allows up to 8. ### Do students need devices? No. All the cards are on one screen. You use your phone as the remote by scanning the QR code or typing the 6-digit PIN. ### How many questions do I need? At least 9, because each card has 9 answers. A set of 15 to 20 makes the cards different from each other. ### Why does a team get BINGO when it wasn't its turn? Every answer is called on every card. If it completes a line on your card, you score, whoever answered. ### Can I use true/false questions? Not in Team Bingo: "true" and "false" can't make a card. Use multiple choice or open questions, or play true/false sets in another game. ### Can I use my own questions? Yes. Paste them as `question | answer | wrong, wrong`, type them in the editor, or import a public Kahoot link. For more lines of three, try [Three in a Row](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/three-in-a-row/) or [Line of Four](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/line-of-four/).