Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you might want to know before your first game
The basics
What is BingoStamp?
BingoStamp is a free browser-based tool for creating and sharing custom Bingo cards. You can design a card in under a minute — choose a grid size, pick a theme, fill in the squares — and send it to your group via a single link. There's no account, no install, and no paywall.
Is BingoStamp really free?
Yes. The whole product is free to use. We show a small number of display ads on content pages (like the templates listing and written guides) to cover the hosting cost — none during gameplay. There's no upsell, no premium tier, and no plan to add one.
Do I need to create an account?
No. BingoStamp has no login, no signup, and no password reset flow. Every card you create is encoded into the URL itself, so the card travels with the link you share.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. BingoStamp is a progressive web app that works in any modern browser — iOS Safari, Android Chrome, desktop Firefox, Edge. You can also add it to your home screen for a native-app feel. It works offline after the first visit.
What grid sizes are supported?
We support 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 grids. The classic 5×5 is the default and gives the richest play experience; 3×3 is great for short games and kids; 4×4 sits in the middle for quick sessions without a free space.
Playing a game
How do I win?
Winning depends on the win patterns the card creator selected. The defaults — row, column, and diagonal — mean any complete line wins. Other patterns include four corners, blackout (every square), and pattern shapes like X, T, L, and frame.
What is the free space in the middle?
In odd-sized grids (3×3, 5×5), the centre square is automatically marked when the game starts. It's a traditional bingo feature and counts toward any winning line that crosses it. Creators can toggle it off when making a card.
Can I play with friends remotely?
Yes, that's the main use case. Share the play link with your group — each person opens it on their own device and marks their own squares. If you want someone to host and reveal items one at a time, use Caller Mode (click "Host" on the creator page for a separate caller link).
Do we all see the same card?
Everyone who opens the same link sees the same card data. In most group play, that's fine — in traditional bingo with a caller, players need identical squares to check off. If you want unique cards per player, create the card and then use the "shuffle" option when sharing.
What happens if I close the tab mid-game?
Your marks are saved locally, so if you reopen the same link in the same browser, your progress is restored. Clearing site data will reset it.
Creating cards
How do I create a custom card?
Click "Create a Card" on the homepage, give it a title, choose a grid size and theme, and fill in the squares. Hit "Play" and you'll be taken to a shareable URL. You can also start from a template on the Templates page and edit it.
How many squares can a card have?
A 5×5 card has 25 squares (24 active plus the free space). You can type any text you like into each square — short phrases work best for readability. There's no hard length limit but anything over ~40 characters per square gets awkward on mobile.
Can I use images instead of text?
Not yet. All squares are text. Image squares are on our roadmap — if that's important to you, let us know via the contact page; it helps us prioritise.
Can I save a card for later?
Yes. The "My Cards" page stores cards you've created in your browser's local storage. You can also just bookmark the card URL — the URL itself is the card.
How do I change the colours?
BingoStamp ships with themed presets — classic, playful, holiday, minimal, and more. You can also build a custom theme by picking five colours; we generate the full palette automatically. Custom themes are saved locally in your browser, and they travel with any card you create using them because the theme identifier is encoded in the card's URL.
Privacy and data
What data does BingoStamp collect?
None on our side. There's no account, no server-side database, and no usage analytics for your cards. Cards are encoded into the URL; your saved cards live in your browser's local storage. We do show Google AdSense ads on content pages, which uses its own cookies (see the privacy policy for details).
Who can see my card?
Anyone with the link. The URL encodes the card data — whoever has the URL can decode it. Treat the link like a shareable document: post it where you're happy for people to see it.
Where is my data stored?
Your created cards and stats are in your browser's local storage on the device where you made them. They don't sync across devices. If you clear your browser data, they're gone — but if you've saved the URLs, you can always regenerate the cards from them.
What about the EU cookie banner?
If you're in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, Google's Certified Consent Management Platform shows a banner before any personalised ad cookies load. You can accept, decline, or customise. If you decline, we still show ads, but non-personalised ones.
Accessibility
Is BingoStamp accessible?
We aim for WCAG 2.1 AA. Keyboard navigation works throughout, focus rings are visible, contrast is checked on every theme, and screen reader labels are set on interactive elements. If you find something broken, please tell us — accessibility feedback goes straight to the top of the queue.
Are there high-contrast or large-text themes?
The built-in "Minimal" theme has the strongest contrast. All themes pass AA for square text on background. You can zoom your browser without the layout breaking.
Can screen readers announce marks?
Yes. Each square is a button with accessible name and pressed state. When you mark a square, its state change is announced. Win events are also announced via a polite live region.
Still have a question? Get in touch.