Interactive DJs Music Bingo - Need advice on how to do this with my system

[Navydiver]

Was requested to do a wedding vow renewal party in early June. They asked if I could do Music Bingo and I said I would look into it. I am running VDJ8 on PC (with full video capability). Is there a quick and dirty app or Music Bingo Kit to get into this without breaking the bank? If too onerous I may just tell them that they are better off going elsewhere. I am not one to walk a way from a challenge though. Any guidance out there?

 

[steve149]

Can rent access to the game for $25/month .. Sign Up for Extreme Bingo

 

[B-Sharp]

There's no quick-and-dirty approach to the music. Even with the Digigames version priced at $25/month, you supply your own music. What they supply you with are the card templates and music lists. Acquiring the music is your responsibility, but it's easy to set up a playlist in VDJ and manually advance it from song to song.

It's a lot of fun and easy to run. I wouldn't send a client elsewhere. Get into it.

 

[Navydiver]

Thanks all for the feedback. Worth exploring. The music is not an issue other than the work to compile it all - I gather for a card set they would give you a list of music that you need to make it work. I would then use the random playlist play feature of VDJ 8 to play the playlist songs in random order until I get a winner. I could re-shuffle for as many games as needed I would think? The hard part would be printing out the game cards (in sufficient numbers to support multiple games) and collating the necessary tunes into game folders or playlists???

 

[DJ Bobcat]

I'm kinda curious as to how that works as well. I wouldn't think you'd want to keep reshuffling and playing in random order, as you could end playing the same songs multiple times... not too entertaining. You'd also need to know exactly which songs have been played in order to verify the winner. But how long do you play each song? If you play entire songs, it could take hours just to play one round of Bingo. How does that work?[emoji1]


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[steve149]

I'm kinda curious as to how that works as well. I wouldn't think you'd want to keep reshuffling and playing in random order, as you could end playing the same songs multiple times... not too entertaining. You'd also need to know exactly which songs have been played in order to verify the winner. But how long do you play each song? If you play entire songs, it could take hours just to play one round of Bingo. How does that work?[emoji1]


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I think .. as in Bingo .. a song is played just once. You would need 75 song snippets (you wouldn't play full songs I don't think) to match the possibilities of a regular Bingo game. I would set up a directory with those 75 with either edited short versions (say 20 sec) or cue points set to start stop. The tough part is randomizing the cards so there are no duplicates on a card.

Like Bingo, the object isn't to Name That Tune .. it's to fill in a row or X or whatever, so the songs need to be recognizable.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

I think .. as in Bingo .. a song is played just once. You would need 75 song snippets (you wouldn't play full songs I don't think) to match the possibilities of a regular Bingo game. I would set up a directory with those 75 with either edited short versions (say 20 sec) or cue points set to start stop. The tough part is randomizing the cards so there are no duplicates on a card.

That's kinda what I was thinking, but if you're doing this in a bar or at a party, the people who don't play and just want to listen to the music would not be too happy with 20 second snippets.

Oh... and from what I read, the software makes the cards for you (to print).

 

[steve149]

That's kinda what I was thinking, but if you're doing this in a bar or at a party, the people who don't play and just want to listen to the music would not be too happy with 20 second snippets.

Sucks to be them .. If you're going to do a bar .. need to make sure your 20s are the key pieces of some quality songs .. of which you might play full versions later. I think a themed version might work in that case .. say 70's prog rock or 80's hair bands.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

Sucks to be them .. If you're going to do a bar .. need to make sure your 20s are the key pieces of some quality songs .. of which you might play full versions later. I think a themed version might work in that case .. say 70's prog rock or 80's hair bands.

The game still has that "Name That Tune" aspect in that you have to know the name of the song so you can determine if you have it on your card.

 

[steve149]

The game still has that "Name That Tune" aspect in that you have to know the name of the song so you can determine if you have it on your card.

I think participants would help each other, as the actual song isn't important .. just that you have it in a particular place.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

It seems that the software can verify the winning card, so there has to be a tie from the cards it generates to a playlist (it must also generate). If that's the case, it's not really random, since the software would know the winning card (number) before the game ever begins, as long as the player properly identifies all the songs. If that's the case, you could just hand out the cards and announce the winning card number and save everybody a lot of time.[emoji1]


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[steve149]

It seems that the software knows can verify the winning card, so there has to be a tie from the cards it generates to a playlist (it must also generate). If that's the case, it's not really random, since the software would know the winning card (number) before the game ever begins, as long as the player properly identifies all the songs. If that's the case, you could just hand out the cards and announce the winning card number and save everybody a lot of time.[emoji1]


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I assume (big assumption) that the actual picking of the song is randomized (and then the song is eliminated from the pool like a Bingo ball). That's where the software comes in .. generating the cards so they're all different .. and then picking the random song from you entered list.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

I think participants would help each other, as the actual song isn't important .. just that you have it in a particular place.

From what I read, it's suppose to combine Bingo with Name That Tune. If you helped someone name the songs they couldn't identify, it may help them win, and you would lose.[emoji4]

 

[DJ Bobcat]

I assume (big assumption) that the actual picking of the song is randomized (and then the song is eliminated from the pool like a Bingo ball). That's where the software comes in .. generating the cards so they're all different .. and then picking the random song from you entered list.

Agreed.[emoji4]

 

[steve149]

I think one can make up their own rules .. I don't recall a sanctioning body like the ADAA (American Dodgeball Association of America).

 

[Scott Hanna]

When we do it at a bar there is not a name that tune aspect to it. Typically 2 hours.

We've done it with name that tune aspect at a private function

But the non name that tune option is better for bars.

This helps as new people jump in along the way.

We also play the full song and give the name away at the end.

We don't have anyone clear their cards, they keep adding, this seems to help keep people there longer.

We may do a quick snippet one at the end to give away the remaining prizes.

 

[steve149]

I guess it depends on the time available .. full songs could eat up 4 hours (75 x 3 min) .. maybe a little less would net a winner. 20 sec cuts would be around 45 min, so you could get on to other things and requests. I would guess both have their place.

 

[Scott Hanna]

I guess it depends on the time available .. full songs could eat up 4 hours (75 x 3 min) .. maybe a little less would net a winner. 20 sec cuts would be around 45 min, so you could get on to other things and requests. I would guess both have their place.

Hey....it's my way or the highway, buddy!

 

[steve149]

Hey....it's my way or the highway, buddy!

Shall I call you "Canute"?

 

[Navydiver]

So - figured it all out and it doesn't cost a dime. Here is the link to a "Skookum" spreadsheet which automatically generates as many Music Bingo cards as you need and is easy to populate with songs. Here is the link: Free "Do-it-yourself" Bingo Generator Program
Once you generate the cards you simply print them out - preferably at your day job where cost to print is cheap - did I just say that? ;-)

I downloaded the spreadsheet and did a test example by randomly picking a bunch of songs from the Billboard top 100 list for 2010 (what you end up picking depends on your target audience wrt year or group of songs you end up choosing for an event - consultation is important for this). It so happens I have a complete Billboard top 100 list in separate folders dating from 1946 to 2015 inclusive (the very early years were top 30 lists up until the late 50s I think). Anyway I randomly used 2010 as a test year and populated the spread sheet (sheet one) with tunes from that year (for now I just used the dark yellow cells but for a bigger group I would also go to the light yellow ones for a wider selection - once you are in the spread sheet you will see what I mean). I then created 50 cards (or however many you need) which are randomly generated from your song selection. I would then just create a playlist of the songs and use cue points to select the segments I need. Probably just as easy to automix (randomly) to play the songs (acts as your play selector) and to check for winners it is simply a matter of bringing up the already played list to verify. The last sheet in the spreadsheet gives you game options - I doubt I would do full house type games as they would last too long. I would probably go with the more basic/short options (like line of 5) to keep things flowing. Anyway, if anyone wants a copy of the sample I did up just pm me with an email address and I will send it to you. Works slick as snot but does take a little time and effort up front to select your songs and create the playlists.

In the end - All this work and the fellow bailed on my services (partly because my price was high as I was really not that keen on the idea and I would rather be out boating) but at least now I have another capability I can now advertise. Will gin up a number of oldies by year/genre games (i.e. Disco, Classic Rock, 1980s, 1970s, etc etc) to have a library ready to go over the next while....
My plan is to do this for music videos with hard cue points so the name of the group or song is not given away during the intro/extro segments as they usually do.
Cheers
TMF