To understand the experiences and expectations of older adults who regularly play bingo, we conducted an observation and survey study at four bingo halls in Winnipeg. At each bingo hall, the bingo caller made an announcement informing players that we were present to observe the game as part of a research study. To maintain transparency, we sat at a designated table with visible signs indicating our presence.  Our observations were focused on how older adults interacted with each other, the environment, and the game itself. We took detailed notes on social interactions, engagement levels, and gameplay experiences. Our hypothesis going into these events was that older adults attended bingo mainly for social interaction. However, we did not know if this was true or how much of their motivation was related to the fun of the event or the chance to win money. To investigate this, we distributed a two-page anonymous survey to bingo players age 65+ at the four bingo events we attended. The questions were about older adults’ frequency of play, reasons for playing, and willingness to try an online version. As a small token of appreciation, participants received a bag of chips when given the survey form to complete. We collected 113 responses from bingo players at the bingo events in Winnipeg. Our result shows that bingo is a regular activity for many older adults, and while a chance to win money is a main motivator, social interaction with friends or new people also plays a significant role in the bingo experience. More details can be found in the poster below:

Along with an observational and survey study, we also attended 3 live-stream bingo events. These events involved bingo games being streamed via YouTube or television, which allow bingo players to play from the comfort of their own homes and call in when they get a bingo. The streams for these events included the voice of the bingo caller, and a view of the bingo board and each bingo ball as it appeared, but did not support any interaction between bingo players. The Kinsmen live-stream bingo on YouTube allowed people to type into a streaming chat window, but this was not used much, with people mostly just wishing everyone good luck, or asking when the game would begin.

We conducted an environmental scan study of 11 online bingo games in order to understand the available features and how these games may or may not meet the needs of older adult bingo players. Among the eleven online bingo games we investigated, three used very cartoonish designs, raising the question of whether older adults would prefer this style. Player modes varied, with four platforms designed for single-player gameplay, while others supported multiplayer experiences. From a social interaction perspective, the online bingo games that did support multiplayer experiences were very limited. Most only supported playing with other strangers who happened to login at the same time. Only one of the eleven games had in-game text chatting, and none supported voice or video interaction between players. 

The survey responses and our observational study highlighted that a major reason why older adults attend bingo events is for social interaction; however, the online games and live-streamed YouTube bingo events offer very little in terms of social interaction. So, the follow-up to this study will be to conduct a bingo event in an online bingo hall, where older adults can be represented by avatars and move around in a virtual space similar to in-person bingo. This will be designed to allow older adults to communicate through video and audio similar to Zoom, but to gather in a virtual space as part of a community group, mingle with friends and community members in between bingo games. Watch this space for more info on the upcoming study!