Depending on your age, the mention of bingo night might conjure images of a smoke-filled bingo hall packed with silver-haired women wielding daubers, marking numbers on the array of cards spread in front of them. Or it might take you back to classrooms and various modifications of the classic word game meant to make learning any subject a little more fun and interesting.
Now, however, bingo is experiencing a renaissance and is being played in bars and breweries across the country by people who are closer to those classroom days and who might have never seen smoking in a bingo hall or any indoor public setting. The game has become increasingly common on the event calendars at Colorado Springs breweries and bars. At some, it has begun to rival long-popular trivia nights.
We wanted to check out the scene and revisit the game, so we took a little bingo tour around Colorado Springs. While some places still host a traditional version of the game, many venues have jazzed up the format. Here’s some of the fun we found and what you can expect at some of the popular bar bingo nights — plus a list of some others where you can rediscover the joy of yelling “Bingo!”
Where to Find Music Video Bingo
Olson Entertainment Music Video Bingo, run by Josh Olson and Shannon Chavarry, hosts Hitmix music video bingo at 7 p.m. six nights a week at different venues. We ventured out on a recent Tuesday to play at Frankie’s Bar & Grill. The crowd wasn’t huge, but it was a Tuesday during Dry January at the end of a recent arctic cold snap — none of which dampened Olson’s enthusiasm.
Players were supplied with a pre-printed game card — the first round had song titles and artist names; the second round had only song titles as it was a round of cover songs. Playing is free, and daubers are provided. (Olson says at some locations, players all put in $1, and the money goes to the winner at the end of the buy-in round.)
When the round started, short snippets of videos played on screens around the bar. In some cases, the visuals are a huge hint, and if you’re stumped, Olson encourages using Shazam or another music-identifying app to help. The games vary, but on this bingo night, rounds were traditional five spots across, up and down or diagonal.
The first bingo winner of the night got a coupon for a free drink (to be used on another night). As the videos continue, players can earn multiple bingos, and each win earns a ticket for a prize drawing after each round.
On this quieter night, the entire experience wrapped up in about 90 minutes. Unlike trivia nights, where the atmosphere is concentrated and competitive, this video bingo is a relaxed way to spend time with friends and jam along when the video of the moment hits that special chord.
Olson’s Hitmix Bingo schedule currently includes:
- Solution Tavern
- Detour Lounge
- Urban Animal Brewery
- Pub Dog Colorado
- Fossil Craft Beer
- Kelly O’Brian’s Sports Bar & Grill
- Cleats Bar and Grill
Watch for new locations being added; follow @OlsonEntertainmentCO for the schedule and updates.
A More Traditional Bingo Night at Mash Mechanix
Mash Mechanix Brewing Company hosts a straightforward bingo night downtown on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. The brewery started its games to beef up one of the slower nights of the week.
They tapped Emma Henley, one of the brewery’s original beertenders already known for her rapport with customers, to host. She’s a dead ringer for a Midwesterner with blond hair, an accent to match and jokes you’d swear were written by the slightly dirty daughter of the Elks Club’s Exalted Ruler. Henley sprinkles in commentary like “Oh, Oh, Oh 69!” and “I 21, I drank a lot at 21” as she calls numbers.
Over nine or 10 rounds, about half are the game we’ve all played with a free spot in the center, and players monitor anywhere from one to three cards per person at a time. In other rounds, you try to fill a pattern like “M” for Mash Mechanix, “7” or “L” for their Lucky 7s Hazy IPA, and an “X” round. Here, you better pay attention. You really only need to track the pattern.
As we found out, when you mark every number, chaos ensues with multiple cards (and multiple beers). Prizes include beer and grab bags containing items like Hot Wheels cars that you can bring back to play in Sunday Hot Wheels races.
Mash Mechanix earned a spot on our Best Breweries list, and you can follow their event schedule at mashmechanix.com.
Singo Bingo at Goat Patch
From 6 to 8 p.m. every other Thursday night (next date Feb. 8), Goat Patch Brewing hosts a thematic music bingo. This family-friendly Singo Bingo plays three rounds on the same card with song titles in the squares. When you hear the music, the game has started. Snippets of songs, mostly choruses, fill the packed taproom, and we strained to listen over chatter and laughter.
TV screens do show the song title as the next clip starts, and you’re welcome to use a song identifying app or share answers with your neighbors. This isn’t music trivia. “I’m glad this game doesn’t require any talent, actually,” player Meredith Champion told us. It was so much fun singing along to this night’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame themed songs. Prizes include free pints and crowlers, but the packed brewery and the engaged patrons were the real winners.
Get info and the events schedule at goatpatchbrewing.com. The Old North End brewery also earned the No. 1 spot in our People’s Choice Best Breweries list.
Drag Bingo at ICONS
Before the fire and smoke damage in the Majestic Building temporarily shut down ICONS, we joined a group of girlfriends downtown for Sunday Drag Bingo with drag artist Belzin Whistlez. (The bar has since relocated into a new space on Bijou.) While each round was a straight-up bingo game, it’s not for the shy friends unless you’re trying to see what — or whose — shade of red is the darkest.
With each square you daub, Ms. Whistlez demands that you make a loud sex sound. In a bar of a dozen or more people, it sounds like a badly written porn flick. With just a few tables, you realize how awkward your friends might be in bed. With each bingo that was called, the winner got to join the hostess on stage for a gentle (or not-so gentle) whip on the tush.
This was likely not your grandma’s way to experience bingo, so we hope ICONS will reinstate it when they reopen. Bonus: The big winner in our party took home a bottle of champagne while others scored free drinks and pins featuring our host. Watch for updates at icons-co.com.
And the Bingo Winner Is…
Us, and anyone else looking for a fun night out. Whether you’re looking for a background “drink and daub” or more of a central event for the evening, there are dozens of local places to bingo in Colorado Springs.
If you want something besides just drinking to get you out to a bar on a weeknight, bingo is a great reason to head into the scene without the cutthroat competitiveness of trivia or the potential divisiveness — or embarrassment — of karaoke. Tuesdays through Thursdays seem to be the nights when bingo gets called most, so check out our previewed locations, the list below or social media for a wider selection.
Where to Find More Bingo Nights in Colorado Springs
Dueces Wild Brewery
This one was recommended to us by Rich, an employee from Mash Mechanix. He skips his own bingo once a month to head near the Peterson Space Force Base to play traditional bingo hosted by a Dueces Wild employee, Wednesdays at 6:30-8:30 p.m.
dwbbrewery.com
Sing along as you try to win singo bingo at Notes Bar. Photo courtesy of Notes Bar.
Red Leg Brewing Company
Every other Wednesday night is bingo night at Red Leg. This take on music video bingo is hosted by Rosefly Productions, 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays with prizes at stake.
redlegbrewing.com
The Robin Hood
Head to one of the Best Dive Bars in the Springs for Dirty Bingo on Mondays at 7 p.m.. Bingos are earned by completing various adult-themed shapes on cards, and mistakes like calling bingo when you don’t have it will get you spanked.
@robinhoodbar
This article was updated in April 2026.
