Our printables are designed to look good on an ordinary home printer. A few small choices make them look even better and hold up through a party.
Paper
- Regular printer paper (20-24 lb) is fine for anything guests write on once: quizzes, word scrambles, word searches, fill-in-the-blank stories.
- Cardstock (65-110 lb) is worth it for bingo cards, game cards and anything passed around or reused. Check your printer’s manual for the heaviest paper it takes.
- Matte paper takes pen and pencil better than glossy photo paper.
Printer settings
- Choose your paper size in the Game Maker first. We make US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and A4 files, so nothing gets cut off.
- Print at 100% or “Actual size”. “Fit to page” shrinks the design and can make cards uneven when you cut them.
- Turn on “Ink saver” in the Game Maker if you’re printing a lot of copies. It lightens backgrounds and keeps the design.
- Print one test page before a big batch.
How many copies?
| Game | |
|---|---|
| Bingo | One card per guest, plus a few spares and one calling sheet for the host |
| Quizzes, scrambles, word searches | One per guest or per team, plus the answer key for the host |
| Card games (charades, this or that) | One set per group of 6-10 players |
| Fill-in-the-blank stories | One per guest if everyone fills one in, or one for the host to read aloud |
Cutting cards
A paper trimmer gives cleaner edges than scissors when you have more than a few sheets. Our card sheets have light trim marks at the corners; cut on the marks and the borders come out even.
No printer?
Most games can be played on screen: choose Play on screen and run the game from a phone, tablet or a laptop connected to a TV. You can also save the PDF and have it printed at an office supply or pharmacy photo counter.