Bingo cards from your own list
Type or paste a list, one item per line, and get as many different cards from it as you need. Words, phrases, sums, names — whatever goes in the squares.
The cards
Word bingo
Card 1 of 2 B I N G O 10 20 37 49 72 2 25 38 46 66 9 27 FREE 54 65 15 24 34 47 64 4 30 32 48 69 Word bingo
Card 2 of 2 B I N G O 9 24 42 48 71 13 27 45 51 70 6 20 FREE 53 64 3 17 36 47 67 12 16 43 49 65
How long the list has to be
A five by five card with a free centre needs twenty-four squares filled. A list of exactly twenty-four gives every player the same twenty-four items in a different order, which is a real game but not a varied one. Thirty gives more different cards than anybody will ever print; forty gives more different cards than anybody will ever print.
So the rule of thumb is: at least half as many items again as the card has squares. Below that the cards start to look alike, and whoever is sitting nearest the caller wins.
If the list is too short for the number of cards you asked for, the generator says so immediately and names both numbers — how many the list can make and how many you asked for — rather than producing near-duplicates or hanging while it looks for a card that does not exist.
What the list can contain
One item per line. Blank lines are ignored and duplicates are removed case-insensitively, keeping the first spelling — a repeated square is the same bug as a repeated number, one call marking two squares.
Commas are deliberately left alone. Half the squares people write are phrases with commas in them — "someone says the wrong name, twice" — and splitting on the comma turns one good square into two fragments. Line breaks are the separator, and only line breaks.
Items can be as long as you like, but the cards get harder to read past about four words a square. If a square needs a sentence, it is usually two squares.
Common questions
How do I make bingo cards with my own words?
Paste the list into the box, one item per line, choose how many cards you need, and print. Nothing is uploaded — the cards are generated by a script running on your own machine.
How many words do I need for a bingo card?
Twenty-four for one five by five card with a free centre, or twenty-five without. For a set of genuinely different cards, aim for at least thirty-five to forty.
Can I use phrases and not just single words?
Yes. The list splits on line breaks only, so commas and punctuation inside an item are kept. Four words a square is about the readable limit once it is printed.