In fall 2022, the campus was eagerly awaiting the return of Thwingo, a weekly game of bingo hosted in the Thwing Center ballroom by Thwing Staff during the pandemic. The news finally broke that there would be one final Thwingo session on Dec. 1, bringing an end to the beloved pandemic tradition. However, all hope is not lost. Another university organization, the University Programming Board (UPB), has stepped up to bring bingo back to Case Western Reserve University, this time titled UPBingo.

I was able to attend UPBingo this Thursday, Feb. 2 and as a bingo fanatic—I attended every session last year—I think I am more than qualified to assess if UPBingo is comparable to Thwingo. The room was set up almost exactly the same way, except the chairs were not numbered, only your bag was. When you walk in, you head to the front and sign in via CampusGroups. They then hand you a bag with a marker, eraser and two bingo boards. Your bag is numbered for raffles, so you can sit anywhere you would like. Tables are set up with five chairs, with 100 spots available.

Once the game began, there were many similarities to Thwingo. All the odd number games were regular straight line bingo. All the even number games were special bingos. Some of the classic ones stayed, such as loser bingo—where you remain standing until you get a bingo and the last one standing wins—and coverall bingo. UPB added in some more fun ones, such as variations where you the shape of the letters “U,” “P” and “B.” Thwingo in the past had more diversity in the shapes and designs they made and they also made one or two related to an upcoming holiday or special event, so we’ll see if UPBingo follows suit. 

The call attendant spoke very clearly and slowly, which made it easy to follow along with the game without being stressed about missing the numbers. Each of the called numbers were recorded on a board so that you could see them, similar to Thwingo. Some of the same chants still stuck around, like the “B11, B-B-11” chant and the “B4 what” joke—and there were also some laughs at “O69.”

The prizes were about the same that Thwingo had. The straight line bingos get prizes that are less than the fancy bingos. Prizes the week I went included a Squishmallow, a blender, pens, highlighters and the grand prize was a projector. Winners still get to choose their prize depending on the variation of bingo they won. Prizes to the right side are for straight line bingos and to the left are for the fancy bingos.

Overall, my experience with UPBingo was very good. It felt almost exactly like Thwingo and even though I did not win, I had a great time. I encourage everyone to go and try UPBingo at least once if you are able to! It is all free and while at times it is frustrating when you do not win, it is a great experience to have with your friends. You can sign up through the weekly UPB email on Sundays after 9 p.m. or on CampusGroups, but sign up quickly because reserved spots go fast! If you cannot manage to snag a spot beforehand, they do let in some people at 6:50 p.m. to the Thwing ballroom even if you aren’t registered.