Wedding bingo for guests: 14 predictions for the big day

At a wedding, people who have known each other for decades sit next to people who have never met. Between the ceremony, speeches, photos, dinner and the dance floor there are many hours, and in those hours almost every guest does exactly what their friends expect of them. Typical turns that into a quiet game among the guests: beforehand, you write predictions about each other, and during the day you tick off what happens. The couple doesn't play and isn't on any card – the day belongs to them, and the game runs on the side. How Typical works is explained in the how-to-play guide.

How to set up your round

• The right group. It works best with a group that knows each other well: your old school friends, the team from the office, one branch of the family. Five to ten people is ideal. It's hard to predict anything about people you only meet at the table.
• Card size by the length of the day. A wedding runs from the ceremony until long after midnight. 3 × 3 fits if you only start playing at dinner, 4 × 4 if you begin at the ceremony. A 5 × 5 card rarely fills up in a single day.
• End date: the morning after. Set the end date to the day after the wedding. The round then ends by itself, even if nobody has filled a line, and everything is revealed over breakfast.
• A prize that suits the occasion. The winner gets the last slice of wedding cake – or is waited on by everyone else at breakfast the next morning.
• Write freely rather than Blitz. No ready-made pool knows what your group always does at parties, so “Write freely” is worth it here. If the idea only comes up at the table, Blitz mode with “Chilling & chatting” is the quick solution: these sentences revolve around conversation and suit any table.

14 predictions for wedding guests

These sentences are written for the wedding day. On the card, each sentence is preceded by the name of a person from your round. Use them as a template and adapt them to your people:

• gets teary-eyed during the ceremony
• photographs the exchange of rings on their phone
• is the first to burst out laughing during a speech
• asks the table how everyone knows the couple
• wonders out loud about the seating plan
• is at the front of the buffet queue
• goes back for a second dessert
• puts a slice of wedding cake aside for later
• asks for a selfie with the couple
• rounds up the old crowd for a group photo
• requests a song from the DJ
• takes their shoes off to dance
• is first on the dance floor after the first dance
• is still dancing to the last song

For the long hours at the table

Between the main course and the cake, there's mostly talking. That's where sentences from the Blitz category “Chilling & chatting” fit – they come true at a wedding table just as on any other evening:

• goes off on a long tangent
• tells the same story twice
• goes around asking what's new
• laughs until they cry
• tells a story from school days
• starts reminiscing about the old days

Tips for the wedding day

• Someone without a job runs the round. Best men, maids of honour, speakers and anyone helping with the schedule have enough to do. The round's host is better someone who simply enjoys the day: setting up, releasing the round and keeping an eye on things at the end.
• Write in advance. Write your predictions the evening before or on the way there. On the day itself there's no peace for it, and anyone still typing at the reception misses the conversations.
• Phones away during the ceremony. Remember what happens during the ceremony and tick it off afterwards, say on the way to dinner. A square can still be ticked off an hour later.
• Don't force anything. A prediction counts when it happens by itself. Dragging someone onto the dance floor just to fill a square spoils the fun – and during a speech it disturbs the couple.
• Include the quieter ones. People who rarely take centre stage often write the most accurate sentences because they listen more than they talk. Also make sure the cards hold sentences about quiet guests that they can actually fulfil: a compliment, a question, a photo – not just appearances on the dance floor.
• Couples as a team. If couples are invited together, from four people upwards you can play “As a team”: each team shares a card, and whatever is written about your own team stays hidden.

Common mistakes

• Predictions about the couple. The two of them aren't playing and shouldn't be. Write about yourselves, not about them.
• Setting the bar too high. “Gives a spontaneous speech” almost never happens. Mix safe bets like the photo of the rings with one or two rare moments.
• Sentences that embarrass. Past relationships, family arguments, a guest's looks or clothes: anything that could hurt someone on this day stays off the card.
• Putting the game at the centre. Loud cheering at every hit draws looks. Tick quietly and save the laughter for later.

After the celebration

The morning after, everything is out in the open: everyone sees what was written about them – including what never happened. Over breakfast this often produces the best stories of the weekend, and you might tell the couple about the best hits a few days later.