Should Pubs Scrap Quiz Nights in Favour of Music Bingo?

In the 1980s and 90s, bingo was associated with older, predominantly female clientele who would go down to the local bingo halls to play. But the modern, online version of the pastime is attracting a vast number of millennials from both sexes. While bingo has become cool and fashionable, pub quizzes have arguably gone the other way. Many proprietors have looked at ways to mix things up with their weekly events as a way to draw in more customers. Music bingo takes two much-loved counterparts and combines them for an exciting alternative pub night. This could be the way forward for pubs in the future.

After a long time in decline after the smoking ban, pubs are finally bouncing back in the UK. There were 320 new pubs in the country in 2019, bringing the total to 39,135. Part of the reason for this upturn is that landlords and landladies are adapting to the new generation of pub-goers. In contrast to the clientele of old who liked a smoky atmosphere and classic pub games, new patrons are seeking a clean and friendly environment with good food and drinks.

While a lot of pub-goers may still enjoy the weekly quiz nights which have long been associated with many establishments, proprietors are also aware of the need to do other things in order to freshen up their offerings and attract a younger crowd.

Bingo is back in fashion online in a big way, and many are enjoying the varied and exciting offerings at bingo sites. Because bingo is now so popular, sites need to try to offer the best bingo bonus offers to attract players, an example of this being the free spin every day you play bingo offer at Paddy Power, which combines aspects of both modern consumer culture with the classic game itself. This again explains the popularity of these pub-based events, as there now exists an incentive behind a person’s visit.

Simply hosting bingo nights at the pub could be one option, but a music bingo event would perhaps be even more appreciated. This way, the people in the pub who aren’t interested in playing bingo could still enjoy themselves, as they would be able to listen to their favourite songs at the same time.

To play music bingo, players each get a unique card as they would in a traditional game. Instead of numbers, however, there are various song titles on the tiles. Whenever a player hears a song that is on their tile, they can cross it off. In a way, this game also features elements of music quizzes, because the players need to be able to quickly identify the song that is playing to be able to cross it off on their bingo card.

To get a game of music bingo going, pub owners will need a DJ and a set of music bingo cards. They could either make these up themselves or acquire them from a company that provides them. Whatever option they choose, it shouldn’t be too difficult to start a game and get everyone in the pub involved and, at only a pound-or-so a pop, there’s no reason not to!

Pubs shouldn’t necessarily scrap quiz nights entirely, but they do need to continue seeking ways to bring in younger customers. Because bingo is so mainstream now, hosting a music bingo game each week could prove to be highly lucrative.

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