How To Play Minecraft Bingo With Friends

To play Minecraft bingo with friends on BingoMC, everyone joins the server (play.bingomc.net on Java Edition, bedrock.bingomc.net on port 19132 on Bedrock Edition) and then plays either a public game or a private game. Public games are free and hold up to 8 players, but they fill from the lobby, so you cannot reserve seats. A private game is the way to guarantee you all end up in the same game: it holds up to 16 players, the owner controls the settings and the start, and a restricted game gives you a join code to share. BingoMC is cross-platform, so Java and Bedrock friends play together.

What You Need Before You Start

• Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.11 or newer, or Minecraft Bedrock Edition.
• The server address. Java uses play.bingomc.net. Bedrock uses bedrock.bingomc.net with port 19132. Step by step instructions are on How To Join.
• For a private game, one person in the group needs the Plus rank. Everyone else joins for free.

Option 1: Play A Public Game Together

This costs nothing and is the fastest way to get into a round. Everyone connects to the server, clicks the multiplayer NPC in the lobby, and joins a public game. A public game holds up to 8 players.

The catch is that public games are open to anyone and fill from the lobby, so there is no join code and no way to hold a slot for a friend who is still loading. If the group is small and you all click through at the same time it usually works out. If you want certainty, use a private game instead.

In a public game the lobby votes on the settings, so the mode you get is whatever the group picks. The options are listed under voting in the server guide.

Option 2: Create A Private Game

A private game is the reliable answer to "how do we all play together". The Plus rank lets you create one from the lobby NPC, and only the owner can change settings or start the match.

1. Join the server and go to the lobby.
2. Click the multiplayer NPC, then select the nether star.
3. Choose your mode, your team size if the mode uses teams, and whether the game should be restricted.
4. Share the way in: a public private game is joinable with /jp <your username>, and a restricted game is joinable only with the code you receive.
5. When everyone is in, right-click the lever you were given to start the game.

A private game holds up to 16 players instead of 8, there is no automatic start timer so nobody gets left behind, and the owner can end a running game early with /stopgame. The full walkthrough, including custom cards and the private game panel, is in the Private Game Guide.

Playing In Teams

Teams turn bingo into a coordination game: teammates share one card and split up to cover it. Bingo Teams games are created with the Pro rank, and teams can be any size, so three friends against three friends works just as well as a six versus six event.

In a team game, chat is scoped to your team by default, which matters more than it sounds. Prefix a message with ! to send it to everyone in the game instead.

Choosing A Mode For The Group

The mode changes how competitive the evening feels. These are the options you vote on in a public game, or set directly as a private game owner.

• Normal bingo. Everyone has their own card and the first to complete a row, column, or diagonal wins. This is the friendliest option for a mixed-skill group, because a slower player can still finish their line.
• Lockout. One shared card. When a player or team claims an item it is locked for everyone else, and the most items wins. This is the most cut-throat option and the best one for an even group.
• Full card. Collect every item on the card instead of a single line. Much longer, good when you have the evening free.
• Card size. A smaller card is a shorter game.
• Difficulty. Easy, Medium, Hard, or Grindy. Each level mixes in the pool one step easier, and Hard and Grindy reserve a quarter of the card for much easier items so there is always something to open with. Grindy requires a rank. The pools are broken down on Bingo Item Pools, and the hardest items page is worth a look before the group votes Hard.

Running A Whole Evening

If you want more than one game, build a playlist in the private game panel instead of creating a new game each time. A playlist plays your templates one after another on the same private game: when a game finishes, the next template is applied and everyone goes back to the lobby with a fresh card and a fresh world. The join code does not change and nobody has to reconnect.

Turn on Start the next game automatically so the group is not waiting on the owner to pull a lever between rounds. Each game is recorded in your stats separately, exactly like any other private game. If you are organising something bigger than a friend group, the Tournament Handbook covers game templates, forced teams, and collecting stats after matches.

What The World Is Like

Knowing the default rules saves the usual round of questions in voice chat. Every player spawns at a random location in the same survival world, and how Minecraft bingo works explains the cards and win conditions in full.

• Hunger is off and health regenerates every 4 seconds.
• Keep inventory is on, so dying does not cost you your items.
• Peaceful mode is on, so hostile mobs do not spawn.
• PVP is off. You cannot kill each other, only out-collect each other.
• It is always day, and the world border is 2500 blocks in each direction from 0,0.
• The nether is open. The end is not.

Two commands are worth knowing before the first game: /search shows the names of the items on your card, and /rejoin puts you back into your previous game if someone's connection drops mid-round.

Useful Links

• How Minecraft Bingo Works
• Minecraft Bingo Strategies
• How To Join BingoMC
• Private Game Guide
• Lockout Bingo
• Server Guide
• BingoMC Discord