Music bingo › Guilty pleasures

Guilty pleasure music bingo: the cheesy hour on a card

The cheesy hour is the hour nobody feels embarrassed. That is exactly what makes it such good material for a music bingo: with these songs you never have to talk anyone into singing, it happens by the first bar.

The app has a ready-made list of this year's guilty pleasures waiting. Pick it and the app spreads the songs across unique bingo cards. Want your own version? Paste a playlist from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music or Deezer, or type the titles in yourself.

Scan the QR code with your phone, or tap a button if you are reading this on mobile.

The cheesy list is already there

Among the ready-made lists in the app you will find the guilty pleasures list, curated and checked for playable previews. Each song plays for 30 seconds with a 3-second gong in between. That is long enough to recognise the title without cutting the chorus off halfway.

Why cheesy is so strong on a card

Cheesy music is full of songs everyone knows the title of, including the people who swear they never listen to them. That makes the card fair: grandad recognises as much as the intern. Mix the decades and everybody stays in the game until the end.

From bar to canteen

A guilty pleasure bingo works at a company party, a birthday and in the pub. Print the cards two per A4 with cut lines and drop a stack on every table, or let everyone play along on their own phone at bingobanger.party with your game code. For a big room, Bingo Master and Bingo King handle 50 and 1000 cards.

Or grab the ready-made list

Rather not hunt for songs? The app has Foute Uur | Qmusic waiting, curated and checked for playable previews. Open it, start it, play. Pasting your own playlist still works too.

Example songs for this theme

For inspiration: these are songs that tend to work well with this theme. You are not tied to any of them — you build your own list, so use them, extend them or ignore them completely.

• Mambo No. 5 — Lou Bega
• Barbie Girl — Aqua
• Blue (Da Ba Dee) — Eiffel 65
• Livin' la Vida Loca — Ricky Martin
• Macarena — Los Del Rio
• Ice Ice Baby — Vanilla Ice
• It’s Raining Men — The Weather Girls
• Vogue — Madonna
• Wannabe — Spice Girls
• Cotton Eye Joe — Rednex
• Tarzan Boy — Baltimora
• Self Control — Laura Branigan
• The Final Countdown — Europe
• Alice (Who the X Is Alice) — Gompie
• Coco Jamboo — Mr. President

How to make this music bingo yourself

Hosting your own music bingo

Traditional bingo uses numbers; this game uses songs, and that one twist is what makes it fun. There is no number to look up: people listen to the opening seconds, recognise the hit and players mark it off. You do not need a professional host or a trivia round to warm the room up, because the music does that for you. Most people know far more songs than they think.

Decide first what you want the evening to be. A short game of three rounds is perfect before dinner; a complete night of 90 minutes suits a party, a company event or a musical theme night. Whether your crowd grew up on the 90s or on last summer's charts, use their own music instead of a generic list: the best selection is the one where every player recognises something — a classic, a guilty pleasure, a recent hit. That is what gets people out of their seats.

The format is easy. Create the list, choose the card size and the win pattern, and give everyone a card with the song titles printed on it. Each song is played once, in a random order. The first person to fill a whole line shouts bingo, and the host verifies that call with the code along the side. Guests who would rather not use paper join online at bingobanger.party with your game code. Small prizes per round keep the energy up, and they do not have to be expensive.

Questions, or want a hand hosting your first game? Email robin@kreatrix.nl and we will get back to you within a working day. The app is free, six cards included.

Frequently asked questions

What is a guilty pleasure bingo?

A music bingo built from guilty pleasures: the songs everyone secretly sings along to. You hear 30 seconds per song and cross the title off your bingo card.

Do I have to build the list myself?

No, the app has a ready-made cheesy list waiting. You can also paste your own playlist from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music or Deezer.

How long does an evening take?

That is up to you. About 55 songs fill half an hour, 110 an hour and 164 ninety minutes. The app works it out and picks the card size to match.

Can my guests play on their phones?

Yes. You host from the app and share the game code; your guests play along for free at bingobanger.party. Printing on paper works too, two cards per A4 with cut lines.

More music bingo

Browse the other topics, or read on the main page how to make your own music bingo in ten minutes.

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